I HAVE A QUESTION..............................

Mike,
BFC has made a most profound impact on my knife awareness. I am considering soon buying my first custom. I know that I would not have even thought of spending that much money on a cutting tool two months ago, before I joined. The wealth of information on BFC is amazing, and even nicer is the fact that everyone is willing to share their knowledge with everyone else.
I don't think that the forum and magazines can be compared. A magazine is totally passive...I just read them...no interaction. BF is real time interaction with knifenuts like myself and industry professionals.
I hate to say it, but BF feeds the fire of my knifenuttiness. BF is the catalyst which drives my knife buying.

~Mitch
 
Jesus, where do we start?

Talking JUST about BF, you can chalk up a $200 Sifu and a $125 HI Khukuri.

The Sifu came about because of discussions right here on the forum that I had a major hand in, and getting to know Bill Martino and the rest of the Khukuri nuts was the major factor in finally owning one. In fact, we'd discussed what I was interested in to such a degree that when a solitary oddball one-off long skinny critter came along, several people said "Jim, grab this!" before I even spotted the thread.

The same thing has been going on for me since before BF even existed. The Outsider exists because the design was commented on and "thrashed out" on the "old, pre-breakup" Knifeforums. And I own a Mad Dog directly due to the old pre-split MD forum.

Upshot: we can TALK to the vendors, we can sort out what we want/need/lust over and in a some cases we even get design input.

Ya CAN'T beat that with a paper magazine.

Jim
 
BFC definitely influenced my knife buying. In a very positive way at that. I don't trust magazines (print), as like was mentioned in other posts, there never is a "bad" knife in their pages. Here, with 4000+ opinions, the truth quickly comes out.
Another big factor is that I now know knifes and knife makers that I've never heard of just 6 month ago.
The amount of information available here on just about any issue having even remotely to do with sharp metal objects is simply unmached by anything else out there. BFC is the YellowPages of the knife world.
And, as StJames pointed out in another thread, the internet enables makers to interact efficiently and quickly with their customers and vice versa. BFC offers a perfect setting to accomplish just that.


Ingmar
 
Let`s see here,would I not have bought as many knives if Bladeforums didn`t exist?
Bladeforums is the reason I purchased the following knives:
BF Carnivoir
BF Sifu
BF Millennium apogee
Mission MPF
Talonite Crawford Carnivore
Stellite Carson model 16
And a host of others.Every time I come online here,I learn something new about knives.The direct link to the makers and manufacturers is unbeleivable!I have never seen another industry that has as much contact with,and input from the ELU.
But the best thing is the fine people I have met through the forums. Several of us forumites have the opportunity to go to shows and knife related functions together and this multiplies the fun.It also gives us a chance to check out and evaluate each others purchases,which is more grist for the old retail mill.This is a win-win situation.The rank and file get unprecidented access to industry knowlege,the principles get more honest,direct feedback and more knives are purchased because of it.
David

AKTI#150
 
If BladeForums.Com was not here, would you have bought the same knives you now own? No. Prior to BFC, I had bought about 4 knives in the past 3 years. If that many. Two were Bucks, one was a BM Ascent, and one was a Spyderco Endura. That was it.

Have you been influenced by the info here to better your collection? Yes, although all my collection are users. But, in the time that I have been reading BFC, I have bought, I think, about 6 or 7 knives (maybe 8... or 9... anyway...). Now, my collection includes 2 more fixed blades (BM and Spydie), two custom fixed blades (both on order, one to arrive in about another month from Steve45, one to arrive in 18 months..... wait, 17 months now... I hope... from Rob Simonich), a neck knife (from REKAT), the BF Native. So, yes, it has greatly influenced me.

Did the info here help you make a more informed or better decision? Yes. This is a terrific source to come to and get a straight-forward (most of the time) answer to just about any question on just about any knife.

We want to know if we are having a positive effect on the knife industry and what the manufacturers, and others, want to know is how much an influence BFC has had on your buying decisions? Well, if it wasn't for BFC, I almost certainly would have 8 or 10 less knives. I don't know what more I could say. OH, there is that thing of being able to communicate pretty quickly and handily with the president, or a highly placed official or manager in the company, for just about all the knives that I am interested in purchasing. Which I probably wouldn't be interested in purchasing if it weren't for BFC.

Also how would you compare your experince here to your experince in the magazines? I rarely read the magazines, because I rarely can find them. I don't find them interesting or informative enough to get a subscription to any of the magazines. Conversely, BFC is so interesting and informative that I find it hard to pass up any day of reading it.

Would you rather read a magazine to find info on a future purchase or read and search BladeForums? Read and search BFC, by a wide margin.

------------------
"Absolute safety is for those who don't have the balls to live in the real world."
St. Mary's County, Republik of Marilundt

 
I would have to jump in line with most everyone else. BFC has definitely educated me as to virtually all phases of the blade issue. I have made my own knives and now I know where to get better supplies. Input from highly recognized knife masters has been invaluable.

I wouldn't have bought all the blades that I have had it not been for BFC and the opportunity to discuss with others.

Knife manufacturers and internet dealers should be kneeling at the BFC alter. The forum alone is worth more advertising and marketing than any one of them could buy on the open market. Last year I didn't know of this forum, internet dealers, the good-bad-or ugly. Now that I am informed I can make rational choices and avoid those blades that do not meet my criteria.

Shortly after the holidays, I will personally subscribe to the e-magazine. The only advantage I can see to the print media, is they have avenues to find what new products or lines are coming out. Beyond that I've never read a review in a magazine that said "You know you just shouldn't buy this knife, because it ain't what its advertised to be".
Give me the facts, the truth, and I'll decide whether they are accurate (for my needs).

Without BFC, I never would have purchased:
CS Bush Ranger
CS Bushmaster
CS SRK
Spyderco Worker
K-Bar D-2 extreme (I didn't read all the threads on this one)
Three other Benchmade models.
Microtech Mini-Socom Auto
AND MY PROUDEST PURCHASE
My small Sebenza!
There are some others I can't remember now, but all these were bought in 1999.

So if there is a question as to the REAL impact of BFC on the sales of knives, and the usage of internet dealers after reading all these responses--somebody is blind, crippled and crazy--

Keep BFC cooking!
 
It's like a living library out here, but I still like the paper magazines, since I don't have a laptop computer to take in the restroom while I do my business, I need something to read!

Yes, this place has made my buying decisions a little easier. Folks in here don't hold anything back, so if something is a piece of crap, they say so, and if the consensus is the same it tends to support the reason not to buy and vice versa.

The banners are great, and the link section is really a good thing to have.

So I hope that helps answer you question a bit.
G2

------------------
"There are no dangerous weapons;
there are only dangerous men."
.......... Robert A. Heinlein, 1959


G2 Leatherworks

Gillett, PA.
 
HI Mike!
Yes, BFC has influenced me in buying knives.
There are some knives I wouldn't own now if there was no BFC.
BFC has has definitely influenced me to better my collection.
the info helped me to find better decisions.
Info compared to mag's: It's great to have the info's so fast and I like the possibility to ask a very educated comunity specific questions. (users and maufacturers).
I use the printed mag's as a knid of reference, but for future purchases I like online-info.
hope this helps
red
 
BFC has definitely influenced my knife-buying
decisions. Started reading the general knife info in mid-November and shortly thereafter bought a BM 710. Then "discovered" the Sebenza info and read ALL the archived info about Chris Reeves and his line of quality knives. Took me the better part of my spare time for over four days.
rolleyes.gif
Net result was I called Fred at knifeoutlet.com and ordered a large Sebenza. Now, I'm hooked!

Really enjoy BFC and the endless stream of solid information available. My previous effort at collecting had been limited to a very few very common knives including some Remington "Bullet" knives. Now I know better.
regards, ralph

------------------
ralph
 
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