Not much Reviews&Testing of customs?

S

swissdagger

Joined
Feb 2, 2002
Messages
115
Just an observation....
There are way more R&T of production knives than for custom knives:confused:
There are two explanations for me:
1) People don't use their customs that much....
2) There are much more production knives out there than customs...
Get the idea???
 
I also feel that people do not want to say that they spent that much money and that they were not completely satisfied. This is especially true if one orders directly from a knifemaker because a relationship is often developed between the client and the cutler. I can say from my own experience that customs are just like production knives in that the quality of finish can vary widely. Some of my customs I love dearly, others were mahor disappointments.
 
Originally posted by swissdagger
There are two explanations for me:
1) People don't use their customs that much....
2) There are much more production knives out there than customs...
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I think both of those make sense. So does what Anthony said about people who are dissatisfied not wanting to start any bad blood on the forums. So far I've been very satisfied with the custom knives I own, and posted a review of my first one, a DDR CF EDC, after seven months of steady use. I've got a few other customs I wouldn't mind doing a review of. Thinking about it and doing it are two different things, though:p
Also, I've seen quite a few threads that could have been considered "reviews" that were placed in the Custom forum, instead of here. Most of those are just "oh, it's great", "oh, it's beautiful", anyway. 'Course alot of the reviews you see on production knives in this forum aren't much different. People throw up reviews of a knife that they just got earlier today, without having a clue how it performs. I've even seen people put up a review of a knife they just checked out at a store:confused:
It's not that often you see a review that involves alot of use, custom or production, either from testing or daily carry, or that includes insight on how and why a knife performs the way it does. The few that do are a pleasure to read. Those are the ones I can learn something from, be it about a lock, a steel, blade profile, whatever.
 
Originally posted by OwenM
People throw up reviews of a knife that they just got earlier today, without having a clue how it performs. I've even seen people put up a review of a knife they just checked out at a store:confused:
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I've been known to do both of these things. I make it very clear how much experience I have with the knife, however.

For example, I posted a brief review of Cold-Steel's Ti-Lite in here a while back. All I had done was handled it in the local store. I was very clear about this but my points were valid nonetheless. I talked about the blade smacking the backspacer, a horribly sticky liner, etc. It doesn't take months of use to see these things. I would never venture a guess at its performance from never using it, however.

Back to the topic at hand,
I agree that there are a lot less customs out there than productions. After all, that's part of the draw, isn't it?
Plus, as mentioned, the custom makers have their followings and to speak poorly of their products might draw a flame fest.
Look at what happens whenever anyone says anything short of "I love my Sebenza." If someone even utters, "I'm not sure my Sebenza is that great," there will be 20 posts in ten minutes jumping on his ass. I'm sure the same could be said for a lot of customs out there.
And last, but not least, customs are often custom made to the user. While he might enjoy coming on here and saying "Look at how great my personal knife performs," I think it holds less relevance to the rest of us. If someone posts the review of a production knife, hundreds of other people who are interested in that knife know how it will perform if they get one. The same can't always be said about custom pieces.

Just my two cents, YMMV, etc etc
 
Originally posted by ThinkOfTheChildren
I've been known to do both of these things. I make it very clear how much experience I have with the knife, however.

For example, I posted a brief review of Cold-Steel's Ti-Lite in here a while back. All I had done was handled it in the local store. I was very clear about this but my points were valid nonetheless. I talked about the blade smacking the backspacer, a horribly sticky liner, etc. It doesn't take months of use to see these things. I would never venture a guess at its performance from never using it, however.
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Those are very good points. You're right, it doesn't take a ton of experience to know junk when you see it.
I really would like to see more people review the knives that they have carried over a period of time, and discuss the pros and cons, though. Those, and comparisons between knives are always interesting. I didn't mean to downplay negative reviews about products with problems that a prospective buyer would surely want to be aware of, and was thinking along the lines of some "reviews" like the one for a Sebenza that said something like..."I handled a Sebenza today, and wasn't impressed (the end)"
Not much for someone who might be considering buying such a knife to go on, there:(
 
Originally posted by OwenM
I really would like to see more people review the knives that they have carried over a period of time, and discuss the pros and cons, though.
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I agree. I tend to write up reviews of knives that I haven't had for too long simply because I'm so excited about them. I've been meaning to write up some long term reviews of some pieces. Maybe it's about time I stopped being so lazy about it.

...was thinking along the lines of some "reviews" like the one for a Sebenza that said something like..."I handled a Sebenza today, and wasn't impressed (the end)"
Not much for someone who might be considering buying such a knife to go on, there:(
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True, very true. I know that when I first came here I was very suggestible when it came to buying knives.
 
I do not have the kind of knowledge to post a review other than to say how great or how not-so-great a knife works for me so I have never done a review. I also do not have alot of customs that have not been reviewed at one time or another.
I did just get a Gregg lighfoot 460 in trade last week and it is one hell of a knife. Still a little tight to open, but I am putting it through it some hard core use and this knife is a serious user. Yesterday I helped my sister-in-Law plant some trees and cut alot of burlap and had to cut with my hands coated with dirt. The knife is amazing. The fit and finish is first rate, the edge is perfection and Gregg put a beautiful hand-rubbed satin finish on BG-42 steel. The bolsters are CF and of course the knife has my favorite color G-10. I also have an ATROX [Reif/Pirela], a STRIDER GB, an Emerson commander, A Socom Elite and a Talonite Camillus EDC in my user rotation, but I cannot see any reason to not carry this new lightfoot. My only complaint is that it could open just a wee bit smoother, but I am sure it will "break in" or I will ask gregg to tune it up. What a gorgeous knife. here is a photo:
 
Funny no one has mentioned that, all else being equal, customs are much more expensive than factory knives and people might just be reluctant to stress them. No review is really complete until the knife is broken, or at least ruined enough to know that it finally met a cutting chore it couldn't handle. This goes for my reviews too of course. Cliff S. is the only one I know around here who regularly takes the time and has the energy (and $$?) to test knives to destruction.

Aside from such complete tests, the only other kind of review that really tells you what a given knife can take is a report on its performance in some extraordinary episode like "I was trapped in the basement of a 3 story building after it collapsed in a quake and I hacked my way out through 10 feet of rubble with my Seb and it still shaves!" Problem with those kinds of reports is that opportunities to make them come along very rarely, and sometimes, even if the knife can take the abuse, the user dies before he/she can make his/her report!
 
I agree generally with Matthew's comments, however, there is ways to stress or test blades that induce edge wearing, etc. without breaking the blade, this is very useful information. Also you can show if knife preforms differently in different materials, it excels here, it is not very good there, good for hardwood, not good for greenwood, ect. Your old review of machetes is excellent example, you compare an Ontario, Livesay, and one other IIRC, I don't see how much more instructive you would be if you broke them. The review is sufficient and excellent as it stands.
Martin

Oh i forgot to make connection to original question, my apologies. Without breaking I think these examples can sometimes show advntages of custom (if it is infact better). In fact if you have similar dimensions in a large bowie, any good custom should be able to perform beyond where a moderately priced production bowie with similar length, stock thickness, edge angle, etc. Of course a custom bowie that breaks before production bowie at +/- $ 100 should be replaced by the maker!:)
 
Gaucho did a bunch of reviews of customs a while ago.
I remember him reviewing Hossom, Bruce Evans & Trace Rinaldi for sure. And I wouldn't be surprised if there are others too.
 
Your old review of machetes is excellent example, you compare an Ontario, Livesay, and one other IIRC, I don't see how much more instructive you would be if you broke them. The review is sufficient and excellent as it stands.
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Thank you, and I hope you've seen my new comparison between the same Livesay and the Martindale Golok I recently got. Very instructive, and here at http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=207368

You are correct in that you can compare blades against one another for cutting one medium or another without destroying the blades, or even stressing them for that matter. Such comparisons are useful, but they are not complete reviews of any one knife. That's why I like to do comparisons. You can get useful information from them regarding the knife's function in its intended mission as compared to other similar or dissimilar knives, but you can't tell from them how much the knife will really take. If, for example, you wanted to know if the steel/design/heat treat of a custom survival knife might really save your life as compared to a much less expensive production blade, you would have to know under what conditions both knives <i>failed</i> as opposed to whether or not one was a slightly better chopper than the other under ideal conditions.
 
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