How Do You Tell Someone Their Knife Is Crappy?

I have a crappy knife. And it still out cuts lots of knives many times it's cost. Being able to function as a knife isn't a very demanding criteria. After all, knives are in fact among the most primitive tools available. The world is full of crappy knives that somehow manage to function day in and day out.
 
psycho78 said:
Think about it.... I know that alot of the non knife general public thinks we are complete morons.
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This is a good point. The truth is that most folks would never spend more than $10 on a knife, and get along in life just fine. To them, spending big money on something so mundane is moronic.
 
Being a crusty old bastard , I whittle the edge off their knife , and then whittle it back on . I also like to give demos of lock failures . Throwing at the floor and watching it shatter also works . I dont like pissing matches , I just win em !

Chris
 
Well, you can't insult his knives or he won't hear anything else you say afterthat.

Of course you already know that, or you wouldn't have asked.
( not that obvious to me, i had to read that Dale Carnegie book to realize that)

You must be known as "the knife guy" there

Praise them for their good points and tell them how you got into other knives.
then ask him why and how he has what he has...this will lead you to what interests him.
maybe he is a net guy, maybe a store guy, maybe a show guy

Maybe loan him a few...a one one passaround...
give him a few old issues of a knive magazine with articles on blade steel
send him some links that are applicable to him
take him to a show and point out the good, bad and ugly
 
Of course you already know that, or you wouldn't have asked.
( not that obvious to me, i had to read that Dale Carnegie book to realize that)

You must be known as "the knife guy" there

Praise them for their good points and tell them how you got into other knives.
then ask him why and how he has what he has...this will lead you to what interests him.
maybe he is a net guy, maybe a store guy, maybe a show guy

Maybe loan him a few...a one one passaround...
give him a few old issues of a knife magazine with articles on blade steel
send him some links that are applicable to him
take him to a show and point out the good, bad and ugly
 
You won't win a battle by criticizing , but you can win by educating.

The point made earlier about the speakers was right on.
Look at the things you use daily , are you using the best there is in every aspect ?
Are you using a disposable pen ? why not a Mont Blanc ?
Are you driving an economy car ? Why not a Vette , Porsche or Jaguar ?

We all have our " ball of wax " , face it , for many , a knife is a knife is a knife.
If it cuts , even eventually cuts , it is good enuff for them. It could be they don't care , or it could be they don't want to spend more or it could be that they just don't know the difference.

Educate...don't criticize.
 
If person truly loves the knife and is proud of it and it suites his or her needs... I would never impose my judgement on the knife the own.
 
My buddy Joe has no problem telling me my knife is crappy especially when I try to sharpen the crap out of them with my Gatco. I have learned from my mistakes and only use the Gatco to sharpen my kitchen knives HAHA! Luckily The blades I have screwed up Joey was able to bring them back to razor like sharpness. What are friends for!
 
Post a thread titled "How Do You Tell Someone Their Knife Is Crappy?", mention them by name, then point them towards Bladeforums. They'll figure it out quickly, and they'll also have the information to make an informed decision on future purchases, right at hand! :)
 
You just try to find something nice to say about the knife, as sure does fit my hand or it is sure shiny. Just like a woman, you would tell a fat woman, you sure don't sweat much for your size!
KC
 
John T Wylie Jr said:
You won't win a battle by criticizing , but you can win by educating.

The point made earlier about the speakers was right on.
Look at the things you use daily , are you using the best there is in every aspect ?
Are you using a disposable pen ? why not a Mont Blanc ?
Are you driving an economy car ? Why not a Vette , Porsche or Jaguar ?

We all have our " ball of wax " , face it , for many , a knife is a knife is a knife.
If it cuts , even eventually cuts , it is good enuff for them. It could be they don't care , or it could be they don't want to spend more or it could be that they just don't know the difference.

Educate...don't criticize.
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That's a good point. He may have a 20 dollar knife and have a 30k bass boat.
I have a 800 dollar car and a 20k motorcycle. People are always scratching their head at me over that one. For me a car is just transportation nothing more. He may view a 20 dollar knife the same way.

But I would say he doesn't know it's a cheap knife or he wouldn't have ask your opinion about it. Next time you sharpen one of his knives switch knives with him for a couple of hours while you sharpen his. Say something like "Here, carry mine while I sharpen yours in case you need to cut something". You won't have to say anything if he's wants to be educated he will come back asking questions about your knife. ;)
 
I would never tell someone their knife is crappy, even if it is. I'd probably make some general comment and move on. Not everyone can afford a nice knife, not everyone is aware that nice knives exist, not everyone cares whether the steel is 440A or S90V. I just spent $500 on a new Chris Reeves Sebenza. That could be a month's rent for someone or a car payment. Each to his own.
 
Muddog49 I think hit the nail on the head. I have been drooling over sebenzas since I saw them in all things the movie Collateral and on Ritter's survival site, but the bottom line is I may WANT one but can't justify spending that much on something I might loose when I have a house payment pretty close to that. I buy the knives that work for me and maybe I do WANT a sebenza but can't afford one. So if the guy does WANT to get into knives then let him borrow a "low-end" high end knife. I have seen lots of threads on here "Looking for a $50 user knife and there are GOOD knives out there for that price. I think I agree with letting someone borrow a knife and letting them come back to you for the one they wanted sharpened.
 
I think the way the OP handled it was one of the better routes to go. Give him a descent "crappy" folder and show him the light.

What got me hooked (besides my love of knives) was looking into blade steels and which ones were better. Perhaps showing someone a table of steel elements and put it in a general order of least to greatest blade steels would show them where their knife stands on that chart.

I know it's not all about blade steels, but that is a good way to show someone that their S&W's "surgical stainless" is at the bottom of the chart.

Of course none of this will do any good if they don't ask for your input. If they do ask and want an honest answer (like the way a good friend would ask) then you could introduce a steel chart and list a few good companies.
 
I think I would say something like "good value for the money." If they seemed to me to be a budding knifeaholic, I would point them in the direction of bladeforums :).
 
Hey Guys...

All depends who it is,, and what their situation is...

If I know they can't afford anything better,, then I'll usually keep my mouth shut, A knife is better than No knife..

If it's just that they don't know any better,, then I'll point some things out to them....

All depends really.. Don't want to make someone feel bad just for something to do...

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
 
How Do You Tell Someone Their Knife Is Crappy?

The same way you tell them that their wife is ugly.

You don't.

:D
 
5.56 said:
I give them the most famous line in knife history

The immortal words of Crocodile Dundee

"That aint a knife, this is a knife"

Humor can usually lighten up an uncomfortable situation

Even though we are all sick of that line;)
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that isn't even close to the line. . .

Dundee:
"That's not a knife. . . (draws his bowie)

Now that's a knife" (slashes punk's jacket)
 
How do you tell someone their knife is crappy?

Been there a few times. Opinions are often said to be welcomed and even appreciated. Some even say they can take whatever you say. Mostly I guess thats true until its negative about something they are attached to or have vested interests in, or a different opinion of, in which case you find out rather upruptly that they really are ill prepared to deal with your opinion and that they didn't really want it at all.

In other words a goodly portion of folks don't really want your opinion unless its all good or at the least candy coated when they ask for it so its not something worth volunteering when they don't ask for it. It took me over 4 decades (closer to 5 now that I think about it.) to figure that out but hey, I'm slow I guess.

People still come to me all the time asking me about knives. So far I've managed to piss off a couple manufacturers reps and some makers, and I'm sure some members just for that free sharing of my honest thoughts and opinions about something I was asked about specifically.

Realizing this will most likely change the way I share my opinion in the future with people in one on one situations. Live and learn. Standing where I am today, my advice to the OP is this. Just sharpen the knife, send it home and say, 'that will be ten dollars please' with little or no opinions stated and when asked what you think, answer their question with a question. IE, "so what do you think of it?" Once you see what they like then you can comment on that if you like but otherwise its probably best to stay out of it. Looking back on my own experiences I'd have been much better off to just say, sorry not interested in doing that or no thanks and just left it at that.

STR
 
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