Hype?

Keith Montgomery

Keith Montgomery

Joined
May 9, 2000
Messages
29,205
Is hype a reason that some people purchase certain knives? You bet! If hype didn't work then manufacturers and makers wouldn't spend the time and money to do it. Hype though can be a two edged sword. Many people refuse to buy products just because of all the hype. I am one of these. I definitely prefer a more lay-back approach to advertising. I tend to believe that hype is used instead of substance when it comes advertising.

What say the rest of you?
 
I am with you Keith.
Seems like most of the better makers and factories don't untilize hype. Usually when I see ads talking about spec. ops. knives, best in the world, etc. etc. I stay away. My thoughts are that a good knife will sell itself so the hype must be there to make up for something.

There are also individual makers/dealers/companies who I will never buy a knife from due to the way they have decided to conduct their businesss on internet venues.
 
I don't buy knives where the hype is valued into the hundreds of dollars. You know which ones I'm talking about.
I do buy into the hype when the product is also intuitively - easily recognized as high value, like a BK7.
 
A lot of people underestimate the power of advertisement and hype is very much part of it.

Many people don't even know they have become victims of hype until they hold the product in their hands. Often, the realisation comes too late.

That's why we have the Bladeforums so that we are always two steps ahead of all that hype.
 
Hype makes me wonder which gets more funding: manufacturing or an advertising firm?
Click to expand...

If you don't sell enough product, then manufacturing and design get no money.

Some advertising, some hype, is necessary. But, there's hype and there's HYPE!.

When a company doesn't advertise a certain model, I wonder, "Is it no good? Do they not want to make this model? Why not?"

When a company over advertises a certain model, then I wonder, "Is it no good? Does it not sell itself? Why not?"

So, there's a balance to be maintained.

Some advertising, some hype, is a healthy sign. It's a sign of a company that is proud of its product, is confident in its product, and wants to sell its product and sell a lot of it, a company that's likely to be successful.
 
Is it really hype if the knife lives up to the company's claims?

My Swamp Rat Battle Rat had a little hype about it, but it does everything they say and more!
 
I can live with plenty of hype, and have bought lots of knives on the hype alone. What I can do without is BS. There is a difference. Nothing wrong with tooting your own horn, but some companies(and makers) don't know where to draw the line.
 
Hype, both negative and positive will often make me look at a knife. But my wallet always helps me make the hard decision about whether a knife is worth it or not.
 
Is it really hype or just advertising? Usually the company is the ones that put out advertising and it's the consumers that spread this "hype." Either way I would think that all your BFCers come on here and do enough research to recognize what's just "hype" and whats unbiased reviews.
 
There is a difference between advertising and hype. Hype is to extavagantly promote and to possibly even use deception in that promotion. As far as I am concerned if it can be backed up it isn't hype.
 
I buy knives from reading forums like these. I usually buy most things that way actually. For electronics and other stuff, I usually go to Epinions and research a few items before I make a desision. Sometimes it takes a week or month but I dont think ive regretted most of my purchases. User reviews are always better than manufacturer hype.
 
The concept of 'hype' can be a dis-service. For example, many of the really well built items and manufacturers I patronize were once reported to me in glowing terms I thought might first be hype.

For example, I heard rave reports about Tussey 1911s, Dillon Precision products, Strider Knives, Edge-Pro sharpening systems and Mustang Cobras.

As Will Sonnett used to say, "It ain't brag, just fact."

Having said that, be careful, do research.
 
There's absolutely nothing wrong with advertisement. But hype I can't stand. To me hype is making false or misleading claims, ambiguous statements, or exaggerations.

For instance if I can say my folder held 85 pounds of dead weight without the lock failing, that is not hype that is a fact I can advertise with.

Hype, to me, is claiming that "my lock is very strong because it held 85 pounds". How strong is "very strong"? What does the statement mean by "strong"? That the blade stays in place no matter what, or that the knife won't collapse upon itself under stress, both, or something else? That, to me, is hype.

I hate it, and it's usually subtle. It's just one of those facts of life.
 
8Blades,

I know what you mean. For me, it's the warning verbiage like "Meets or exceeds the minimum government standard for workmanship and structural integrity."

For heaven's sake, a Dixie Cup meets a standard for its use.

That's why I go by a company's history. Dillon advertises that it will replce any damaged item, no matter who damaged it or why it broke. Their presses have been fished out of the gutted remains of house fires, been repaired, and then returned to their owners.

That sounds fantastic, but it is reported in just about every gun magazine that I have read.
 
The only 'HYPE' worth paying attention to is what is really more of a 'BUZZ'.

By that I mean that what a Company says about it's own knives is almost always going to be good. They're not going to emphasize their own weakpoints. On the Other hand 'HYPE' generated by customers of those knives might be worth listening to. Pressumably they are using these knives and don't own stock in the company (though this is not always the case).

One respect in which this may not be true is where one 'HYPE's up a knife they just spent a lot of money on in order to make themselves feel less stupid for spending a lot of money.

I am NOT saying that there aren't expensive knives out there that are worth every penny and more, I'm just saying that if one decides to spend a lot of money on something, anything, one might be more inclined to try to convince oneself that it was worth it, and that they didn't just 'waste' their money, even if it turns out to be less great than one expected.

-John
 
Hype is a mask. What's underneath could be better, worse, or the same, but the mask will either scare or attract you.

Until you take the risk, or watch others whose opinions you trust take the risk, you have no way of knowing if it's true.

That said, I've gotten great stuff from the quiet folks and great stuff from the "Look how cool it is, everybody!" folks. Garbage from both, too.
 
I would say there are 2 kinds of hype, the first and objectionable one is where the maker/company markets the knife in a way as to, well, hype it, extolling its miraculous advantages and such, and that its made, of course, for honest to god Navy SEALS... :) but then, there's the hype that surrounds a knife, but its from people who own the knife in question, obviously this hype is prevelant here in the forums, and this type of hype is different, because, its not actually hype, but the experiences and evaluations of actual owners and shouldnt be discounted the way advertising (false) hype is.

Best example is when someone begins a thread on the Sebenza and some people will inevitably chime in that theres too much "hype" surrounding the knife, well, no, thats not really hype, since its generally the praise of actual customers who love it so much, they cant resist the urge to "hype" their favorite knife, and this is as it should be, and this type of talk does influence me to some degree, so, definitely discount false advertising hype, which is easy enough to recognize, but i listen to some extent to what others think about the knife they own and like, if you want to discount that as hype too, that's your choice, but i see it differently.

If the "hype" that surrounds the Sebenza is based in its quality and thus is deserved, then its not really hype is it, at least not in the perjorative sense of the word.
 
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