Knife testing vids: yea or nay?

WillB

WillB

Joined
Feb 3, 2007
Messages
492
Do you watch knife testing vids? Find them useful or waste of time? Do you like a specific way some test a knife but not others?

I have never purchased a knife due to a vid, but I can say some vids influenced my choice on a knife I was already considering. I tend to like hard use vids where the person has a set number/type of tests they will use to test a knife. Some are of course more like abuse than use, but I enjoy seeing how much abuse a certain knife will withstand. That applies more to say what I'd be interested for EDC or bush craft and such vs say a kitchen knife etc., and expect the testing to be withing a logical framework for what the knife is intended for.

Feel free to post a vid you feel illustrates what you find good/bad in such vids.
 
Most are unboxing videos. There doesn't seem to be a lot of actual reviews. Some are good, most are not. Many are also a lot of subjective opinions with a bunch of knife fondling with a lot of discussion about flickability. I am sure that has value to many so I am glad they are there but for me they don't offer much.

I like Michael Christy's videos. Good stuff. Deadboxhero makes good vids too. Cedric Ada also makes videos I like. They all do actual testing.

DutchBushcraftKnives and AdvancedKnifeBro are entertaining and they at least use the knives.

In general videos about folders don't seem to be as good as videos about fixed blades. The bushcraft community makes a lot more actual review videos showing actual use. I like Junkyardfox. He does bushcraft and cleans some fish and small game. Honest use. He seems like a nice guy too.

I don't see much value in destruction testing. Some hard use sure. Breaking a knife just to break a knife doesn't tell me anything I need to know and in general I think it is a disservice to the knife world by emphasizing a quality in knives that isn't really needed and that makes knives not as good at being knives. Just my preference I guess but I think there are already too many overbuilt knives.
 
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I don’t watch many. When I do, I’m always mindful of what they do or do not actually conclude.

For example, my personal favorite:


In the wake of this, some people decided that the 0550 was “one of the best hard use folders”. It was one of the two top performers in vininull’s testing videos, along with the Benchmade Adamas. But, what we really saw was that individual sample, holding up against that battery of tests. His total number of knives tested wasn’t very large. So, our best conclusion is really something like... “a ZT 0550, constructed comparably to his (as most should be), would likely perform similarly in this specific testing process.”

We benefit from slowing down and thinking when we watch this stuff.
 
I go to YouTube for entertainment, as original information is sparse there. So it’s mostly AdvancedKnifeBro and Dutch Bushcraft Knives. With a side of Cedric & Ada.
 
Nay :thumbsdown: waste of time IMO. I'm never going to baton a 200 dollar knife as most if not all of us wouldn't, They make hatchets for that. I watch Nick Shabazz on youtube for info and entertainment while keeping in mind that his opinions are His and not mine. He gives you the good, the bad, and the ugly on the latest and greatest knifes then he will make a disassembly video of that knife for cleaning and lubing. He is well known and reputable and That's all i need. Nick Shabazz check him out.
 
Pfff not really.
Cedric & Ada does testing, and I sometimes watch him just for the entertainment.

Other than that i just watch Nick.
 
WillB said:
Do you watch knife testing vids? Find them useful or waste of time? Do you like a specific way some test a knife but not others?

I have never purchased a knife due to a vid, but I can say some vids influenced my choice on a knife I was already considering. I tend to like hard use vids where the person has a set number/type of tests they will use to test a knife. Some are of course more like abuse than use, but I enjoy seeing how much abuse a certain knife will withstand. That applies more to say what I'd be interested for EDC or bush craft and such vs say a kitchen knife etc., and expect the testing to be withing a logical framework for what the knife is intended for.

Feel free to post a vid you feel illustrates what you find good/bad in such vids.
Click to expand...

No. I just dont find them very useful. If I'm honest 90% of my cutting tasks could be completed with a utility blade in a pinch grip, so wondering if a knife from a quality brand woukd fail me seems silly.

I will on occasion watch review vids. Not for performance, but for execution.
 
Night Rider said:
Nay :thumbsdown: waste of time IMO. I'm never going to baton a 200 dollar knife as most if not all of us wouldn't, They make hatchets for that. I watch Nick Shabazz on youtube for info and entertainment while keeping in mind that his opinions are His and not mine. He gives you the good, the bad, and the ugly on the latest and greatest knifes then he will make a disassembly video of that knife for cleaning and lubing. He is well known and reputable and That's all i need. Nick Shabazz check him out.
Click to expand...

Will do, thanx
 
If I'm not familiar with a knife often there is a YouTube video about it to get a good idea. Also videos by designers I find interesting. For instance here is 2014 Overall Knife of the Year by Blade Magazine.

 
I enjoy watching them, particularly Advanced Knife Bro and Cedric & Ada. Thanks to these guys for testing their knives so I don't have to.
 
I have seen a couple but I could actually feel my IQ dropping when I did so I stopped. Guys thinking up unrealistic and/or abusive tests, many more doing"testing" designed to insure certain knives come out "best". I'll pass.
 
WillB said:
Do you watch knife testing vids? Find them useful or waste of time? Do you like a specific way some test a knife but not others?

I have never purchased a knife due to a vid, but I can say some vids influenced my choice on a knife I was already considering. I tend to like hard use vids where the person has a set number/type of tests they will use to test a knife. Some are of course more like abuse than use, but I enjoy seeing how much abuse a certain knife will withstand. That applies more to say what I'd be interested for EDC or bush craft and such vs say a kitchen knife etc., and expect the testing to be withing a logical framework for what the knife is intended for.

Feel free to post a vid you feel illustrates what you find good/bad in such vids.
Click to expand...

I am with you in wanting to see what it takes to hurt one.

If I watch another manila rope and cardboard cutting or baby seal clubbing and feather sticking, followed by 25 Angstrom finish to three micron bevel optical.clarity reflectivity units (all while handheld) sharpening job, I likely cannot hit stop fast enough before retching.

My world is not made of cardboard and clean manila rope, and any such results highly dependent upon the heavily modified by reviewer blade, and has zero to do with my finding the edge chips on an out-of-box knife while stripping a small limb of larger twigs with black knots at bases of twigs. And no, the batoning again and again normally leaves a guy clueless, as well, as for the edge holding when doing straightforward chores.

I want to know if that "slicey" (gag) blade will double back and snap when I stab something and the broken protruding stub cut tendons on my hand. I am not interested in the world's most expensive cardboard box knife.

I do not live in a cubical, but live in a world where guys use their knives for all manner of abusive tasks, many times because it is all they have anywhere close as to desired tool at hand at the moment, and the job must be done, and now, not later.
 
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