Setting up a review system

LX_Emergency

LX_Emergency

Joined
Jun 28, 2007
Messages
3,215
Hi there guys. As you can see I'm trying to set up a review system, a format so to speak.

And so I'd like to know what points do you think are important to know (or rate) in a knife review?

Regards
Alexander
 
I like to mention its
weight balance,
the finish,
the apparent durability, how strong the liners are or the mechanism or handle attachments,
The out of the box sharpness,
the quality and usefullyness of the sheath,
and maybe cut some cardboard, test then sharpen and test.
 
The dimensions. Particularly the spine and edge thicknesses and the blade width. It says a lot (if not all) about the edge geometry. A photo of the spine to see how the blade is tapered as well.

dantzk.
 
That's a good thought. However that can be rather hard to measure, not everyone has calipers lying around (I know I don't) and I"m looking for factors in a review that everyone could use to write a review with a bit of effort.
 
Well, if the objective stuff like spine thickness gets left out because someone doesn't have the proper tools, then I think your going to see even greater variance in results that have less validity. It is hard enough to accurately review something with the right equipment. IMO, without it, you're doing little more than wasting time.
 
Im considering making some reviews too, so im gonna follow this thread to see if i can include some things the majority of BF'ers want.
 
on_the_edge said:
Well, if the objective stuff like spine thickness gets left out because someone doesn't have the proper tools, then I think your going to see even greater variance in results that have less validity. It is hard enough to accurately review something with the right equipment. IMO, without it, you're doing little more than wasting time.
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No, because a review is all about opinions. And whether or not an opinion is based on facts or not is then irrelevant.

I'm not saying someone can't use things such as spine thickness, however you don't need a reviewer for that. You need manufacturing data.

The real question is:

What would you like someone else's opinion on? Because that's what you get when asking for a review.




Your comment is only true when asking for testing results. And that's a completely different thing.
 
Dog of War said:
IMO there's more to a great review than having a sensible format for covering important points and findings from testing: it needs to be interesting, hold readers' attention and stimulate discussion.

Some of the best reviews I've seen are Talfuchre's. Here's an excellent example:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=685678
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You're right. But a sensible format does help especially if you're new at reviewing. People need to start somewhere.

And you can't expect EVERYONE to give great reviews, it just won't happen.

And you're right. That is an excellent review.
 
LX_Emergency said:
No, because a review is all about opinions. And whether or not an opinion is based on facts or not is then irrelevant.

I'm not saying someone can't use things such as spine thickness, however you don't need a reviewer for that. You need manufacturing data.

The real question is:

What would you like someone else's opinion on? Because that's what you get when asking for a review.




Your comment is only true when asking for testing results. And that's a completely different thing.
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With all due respect, have you heard the familiar saying about opinons? If not, PM me and I can tell you what it is there. That said, if that is all you're looking for, I think you will get a lot of them. But I can't possibly read everyone's opinion on all things knife-related that interest me. I also cannot necessarily sort out discrepancies between conflicting opinions, nor can I judge possible motivations for giving one opinion versus another.

I guess I am trying to say that I prefer an informed opinion from someone who appears to know what they are talking about, whose opinion is absent of hype and incorrect assumptions or beliefs.

Take a look at the reviews of "gunmike1". He writes some very good, very informative stuff with little fluff. I have never met him, talked to him, or done a deal with him, but I'd bet my last dollar that he knows what he is talking about and, more importantly, I can count on what he says every time to help me make a decision about a particular knife. Sure, there is lots of room for those who simply exclaim, "I love it", "It's too big", or "Nice knife", but I don't find those to be particularly helpful in the absence of a lot of additional information.
 
That's personal preference and that's fine.

All I'm trying to do is make opinions comparable. That's all.

I personally found the lack of information often disturbing. Reviews of almost every knife are available but you often have to search really hard and when you find them they hardly ever give enough information to compare each other.

There must be 200+ Kershaw leek reviews for instance....but they're all over the place and all talk about different things.

If there's a format then at least you can compare people's opinions even when they only fill out the minimum. They can always tell more than the minimum and can be rates thusly, giving the reader a choice of what to read.
 
LX_Emergency said:
Hi there guys. As you can see I'm trying to set up a review system, a format so to speak.

And so I'd like to know what points do you think are important to know (or rate) in a knife review?

Regards
Alexander
Click to expand...

For what it's worth, I just posted two reviews. There is a link to them and one I did a while back in my signature. Reading them may give you an idea or two...
 
I wish someone would set up a knife review site like this music instrument/guitar review site
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/
It has category's for type of instrument, then a-z listing according to manufacturers name, then A-Z list of reviewed items.
Also each review has an assessment criteria with a grading scale and there is plenty of room for personal opinions and item specs.
The harmonycentral reviews section has been around for at least 5 years, (maybe closer to 10 years).
There is no reason why this could not work for knives/cutlery.
 
LX_Emergency said:
How about this? http://knifereviews.org/index.php/home/folding-knives/queen-cutlery/6-gunstock-amber-jigged-bone
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I really like reviews on the forum boards because the initial review goes into discussion. Owners of the same knife who doesn't want to write a full review can add stuff, disagree with something, offer their opinions. They can also add their own review in the same thread. In the end you get a better picture from reading the discussion thread instead of one view of one person.

In my opinion score points also not that helpful, because there is really no way to score a knife objectively. Take CRK Small Sebenza's $330 price tag. Some will say that price is good for the quality you get, some will say that it is overpriced. Same goes for design, comfort etc. People have different hand sizes, different uses for a knife etc.

If there would be just a way for many people to score the same knife and collect that data, it might be good. A lot of subjective opinions will put together a better picture.

You could have Strider Small XM-18 Sebenza

Average score 7.7/10 (356 opinions)

Materials 8.0/10
Price 6/10
Built Quality 9/10
Cutting Ability 6/10
Sizes 9/10
Comfort 7/10
Design 9/10
etc....
 
effer said:
I really like reviews on the forum boards because the initial review goes into discussion. Owners of the same knife who doesn't want to write a full review can add stuff, disagree with something, offer their opinions. They can also add their own review in the same thread. In the end you get a better picture from reading the discussion thread instead of one view of one person.

In my opinion score points also not that helpful, because there is really no way to score a knife objectively. Take CRK Small Sebenza's $330 price tag. Some will say that price is good for the quality you get, some will say that it is overpriced. Same goes for design, comfort etc. People have different hand sizes, different uses for a knife etc.

If there would be just a way for many people to score the same knife and collect that data, it might be good. A lot of subjective opinions will put together a better picture.

You could have Strider Small XM-18 Sebenza

Average score 7.7/10 (356 opinions)

Materials 8.0/10
Price 6/10
Built Quality 9/10
Cutting Ability 6/10
Sizes 9/10
Comfort 7/10
Design 9/10
etc....
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Funny how you say that and then claim to like the harmony reviews....that include scores.

Also, there's no need to score objectively since a review is based on opinion.

Testing is based on facts and reviews are based on opinion. However opinion can still be used to measure quality (quality is a hard thing to measure but it can be done).

Because although you might claim 6/10 for price for a small sebenza, someone else will chime in and claim it to be 10/10 because it's such perfection that it's surprising that it didn't come cheaper.

And maybe they're right. Maybe the Sebenza IS only an 8/10 knife for a lot of people.
 
tholiver said:
I wish someone would set up a knife review site like this music instrument/guitar review site
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/
It has category's for type of instrument, then a-z listing according to manufacturers name, then A-Z list of reviewed items.
Also each review has an assessment criteria with a grading scale and there is plenty of room for personal opinions and item specs.
The harmonycentral reviews section has been around for at least 5 years, (maybe closer to 10 years).
There is no reason why this could not work for knives/cutlery.
Click to expand...

I know. That's actually kind of what I'm working on at www.knifereviews.org I saw systems like that all over...but not for knives. So I decided I'd try to set it up. It's only now getting off the ground. But hopefully soon I'll be able to add things like forms etc. So that people don't have to just send in their review, they can add it themselves. Or something like that.
 
LX_Emergency said:
Funny how you say that and then claim to like the harmony reviews....that include scores.
Click to expand...


What I was trying to say is that score in the individual review is not very useful, but if there will be 20+ simple reviews of the same knife with scores, then they start to make a better sense. But to be able to accumulate a big number of opinions, the review process needs to be as simple as possible. This is just my opinion and nothing more.

Here is a simple form that I put together is 5 minutes that I think might work:

http://www.2shared.com/file/9305301/7a7b76a7/knife_review.html

(click save to PC at the bottom. Sorry, don't know a better place to upload stuff)


You could also add a place on the same form for a full review (probably will be without pictures) for those who are less lazy and want to share their thoughts. Then add "WAS THE REVIEW HELPFUL" button to each submission, so that the best and most useful review will float up to the top of the page.
 
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effer said:
What I was trying to say is that score in the individual review is not very useful, but if there will be 20+ simple reviews of the same knife with scores, then they start to make a better sense. But to be able to accumulate a big number of opinions, the review process needs to be as simple as possible. This is just my opinion and nothing more.

Here is a simple form that I put together is 5 minutes that I think might work:

http://www.2shared.com/file/9305301/7a7b76a7/knife_review.html

(click save to PC at the bottom. Sorry, don't know a better place to upload stuff)


You could also add a place on the same form for a full review (probably will be without pictures) for those who are less lazy and want to share their thoughts. Then add "WAS THE REVIEW HELPFUL" button to each submission, so that the best and most useful review will float up to the top of the page.
Click to expand...
Oh I totally agree. But I'm pretty new at webbuilding and it'll take me a while to figure things out. It will come in the future. No need to rush though.
 
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