Some Thoughts on Youtuber Nick Shabazz

[GermanyChris]

I still watch his channel too.

 

[budman5]

I like Nicks reviews and his stick..Makes him unique.

 

[Chessie]

No way is that his real voice. I call BS. He switches to different voices....he's an actor doing shtick.

Not as big of a douche as Apostle P, but I think his back stories are made up BS. Everyone wants to be a celebrity on YouTube. Too many armchair authorities that don't do shit other than criticize people's work that do. I hope YouTube is a bubble that bursts and people can stop monetizing BS like the Kardashians.

....and Patreon. The minute people whip out their tin cup and start begging, I wanna break my tablet.

 

[Armadew]

No way is that his real voice. I call BS. He switches to different voices....he's an actor doing shtick.

Not as big of a douche as Apostle P, but I think his back stories are made up BS. Everyone wants to be a celebrity on YouTube. Too many armchair authorities that don't do shit other than criticize people's work that do. I hope YouTube is a bubble that bursts and people can stop monetizing BS like the Kardashians.

....and Patreon. The minute people whip out their tin cup and start begging, I wanna break my tablet.

Seriously?

 

[Mo2]

No way is that his real voice. I call BS. He switches to different voices....he's an actor doing shtick.

Not as big of a douche as Apostle P, but I think his back stories are made up BS. Everyone wants to be a celebrity on YouTube. Too many armchair authorities that don't do shit other than criticize people's work that do. I hope YouTube is a bubble that bursts and people can stop monetizing BS like the Kardashians.

....and Patreon. The minute people whip out their tin cup and start begging, I wanna break my tablet.

seriously?

 

[stuff_things]

No way is that his real voice. I call BS. He switches to different voices....he's an actor doing shtick.

Not as big of a douche as Apostle P, but I think his back stories are made up BS. Everyone wants to be a celebrity on YouTube. Too many armchair authorities that don't do shit other than criticize people's work that do. I hope YouTube is a bubble that bursts and people can stop monetizing BS like the Kardashians.

....and Patreon. The minute people whip out their tin cup and start begging, I wanna break my tablet.

Seriously?

 

[palonej]

No way is that his real voice. I call BS. He switches to different voices....he's an actor doing shtick.

Not as big of a douche as Apostle P, but I think his back stories are made up BS. Everyone wants to be a celebrity on YouTube. Too many armchair authorities that don't do shit other than criticize people's work that do. I hope YouTube is a bubble that bursts and people can stop monetizing BS like the Kardashians.

....and Patreon. The minute people whip out their tin cup and start begging, I wanna break my tablet.

Hmmmmmm.....I think he's serious!!

 

[RipD]

No way is that his real voice. I call BS. He switches to different voices....he's an actor doing shtick.

Could be. Assume that's not his real voice for whatever reason (fun for him, anonymity, has different personas...). Does it really matter? Whatever the voice, I find his reviews helpful and informative. I didn't get the point of the disassembly videos at first. After watching a few I find them helpful. Seeing the internals of some knives I'll never own is great. His videos on different bearing implementations very really helpful.

Is he finding a way to monetize this? I expect so, and I hope so. Good for him. And if this is shtick, it's a good one. I get that some people don't like him or the reviews. Similar to a TV show we don't like, it's very easy to not watch.

I'm borrowing his vocabulary. "Stabby" is now in my lexicon.

 

[Low_rez]

I'm borrowing his vocabulary. "Stabby" is now in my lexicon.

My faves are "Murdery" and "Pocket Pecker"

 

[Murphjd25]

Nick seems like a good guy, he's the only one I watch on YouTube. Always entertaining.

 

[A.L.]

He seems like a nice guy, and I found him entertaining at first. Then later on I noticed that most of the things he discusses about his knives are little nitpicky things and not the functionality of the knife. I don't see any proof that he actually uses he knives, so I stopped watching the vids.

 

[C.S. Graves]

Shabazz face reveal guys:

I consider myself among his fans, and this is in spite of the many differences in our personal preferences. For example, I've got no real problem with nail nicks (provided the spring is forgiving to your nails!) and find they make a folder generally more space-efficient in the pocket than yer typical Spydie-hole or flipper tab.
The main thing is, like many before me have mentioned, his presentation enables me to sit through the entirety of a good many of his videos, something which is a challenge with many other reviewers that can mumble and ramble aimlessly for a half hour, leaving me to despair of ever learning about the knife featured.

 

[Mo2]

Spoiler: Face reveal

 

[mongomondo]

I think he views knives more as fun toys than as tools. His disassembly videos are fun to watch though.

 

[hhmoore]

I like the format he uses (what I've seen of it); but I've never managed to sit through an entire review. Shtick or real, I just can't.
That said, I don't watch a lot of reviews... and, when I do, I'm usually looking for a specific bit of information. I have yet to find a reviewer I liked enough to follow, and many get closed in the first minute.

 

[Slayer2003]

Recently found Nick on YouTube while doing some research which lead to a purchase thanks to his review, and found his videos extremely informative. So much that I seem to have wasted a weekend about a month ago watching most of his vids...ouch.

It took me a while to get used to the fake accent, but I really like his review style. He is very opinionated about the products he reviews, and nearly mirrors how picky and thorough I am about the items I purchase in this hobby. It's nice to finally see a reviewer that isn't afraid to slam or dis a product, even one that was sent to him by the maker for review on his channel, whether it be a mass-produced cheap item, or a completely custom one-off blade. Very nice.

However, I was also just burned by him via one of the subtle recommendations he makes, or products he seems to stealthily promote. I was in the market for a better lubricant for my knives that is food safe, doesn't spoil, and can be used for storage purposes for those case queens. Nick seems to LOVE Frog Lube CLP paste and liquid, and after a few hours of digging around it seems many other enthusiasts do too. The red flag for me I guess should have been that no one had a SINGLE bad thing to say about this stuff. I found it was cheaper on Amazon Prime by a few bucks rather than buying directly from the maker, and it could be here same day! Whoo hoo! It arrived, I tested it on 3 varieties of knives that have given me trouble in the past and it was like two wet glass plates rubbing together smooth. Holy cow, impressed! I used it on at least 12 blades that day alone.

Fast forward to last week. I went to use one of the knives with the new CLP on it, and it was like I caked it in axle grease. It was like thick honey pouring out of a bottle on a Benchmade Griptilian and a Spyderco PM2, both free from the locking mechanism and hanging upside down to let the blade fall free. Both of these knives were my personally customized babies, very often carried and used, with VERY highly polished friction surfaces( stepped up to 20k grit, I hate my fingertips ). A brand new out of the box Benchmade Shot Show Sequel, and a FleaBay garbage beater Griptilian I scored for $30 out performed them by miles. I was so disappointed, and rather furious. I thought, maybe I put too much of the liquid on, or didn't do the heat gun treatment properly with the paste, or maybe the tension was wrong with the frame screws/pivot/nicked the washers/fubared the axis lock somehow, but no matter what I try I can't get this new lube to work after a few days of sitting. All of my other knives that have been treated by this stuff are now acting the same way. And they ALL make this WONDERFUL scratching metal-on-metal noise when operating them. Take your fingernail to an empty drink can and lightly rub it up and down. This is exactly what nearly two dozen of my knives now sound like.

Holy crap I'm so glad I didn't use this stuff on my guns! I've found reviews now after the fact of people using them on their personal defense or conceal carry weapons at a range, and how they just can't even fire they are so jammed/gunked up. I would have NEVER imagined the type of lube I used praised so highly by so many, may cost someone their life. My order is now past the 1 month return policy of Amazon, so I'm basically screwed out of $40 for a product that will never be used, and I can only hope it didn't damage my one-off or limited production blades.

Nick. My man. Still like the way you do things...but....ow.

 

[Bdtry]

Fast forward to last week. I went to use one of the knives with the new CLP on it, and it was like I caked it in axle grease. It was like thick honey pouring out of a bottle on a Benchmade Griptilian and a Spyderco PM2, both free from the locking mechanism and hanging upside down to let the blade fall free. Both of these knives were my personally customized babies, very often carried and used, with VERY highly polished friction surfaces( stepped up to 20k grit, I hate my fingertips ). A brand new out of the box Benchmade Shot Show Sequel, and a FleaBay garbage beater Griptilian I scored for $30 out performed them by miles. I was so disappointed, and rather furious. I thought, maybe I put too much of the liquid on, or didn't do the heat gun treatment properly with the paste, or maybe the tension was wrong with the frame screws/pivot/nicked the washers/fubared the axis lock somehow, but no matter what I try I can't get this new lube to work after a few days of sitting. All of my other knives that have been treated by this stuff are now acting the same way. And they ALL make this WONDERFUL scratching metal-on-metal noise when operating them. Take your fingernail to an empty drink can and lightly rub it up and down. This is exactly what nearly two dozen of my knives now sound like.

Holy crap I'm so glad I didn't use this stuff on my guns! I've found reviews now after the fact of people using them on their personal defense or conceal carry weapons at a range, and how they just can't even fire they are so jammed/gunked up. I would have NEVER imagined the type of lube I used praised so highly by so many, may cost someone their life. My order is now past the 1 month return policy of Amazon, so I'm basically screwed out of $40 for a product that will never be used, and I can only hope it didn't damage my one-off or limited production blades.

Nick. My man. Still like the way you do things...but....ow.

Yea, it is great at rust prevention (through multiple tests here and elsewhere) but not so great as a lube and it can really gunk up if left alone for a while. That is why Nick only applies it to liners (sometimes the blade itself) and uses oil as a lube. I heat up what ever parts to say 40-50C (100-120F or so?) apply a really thin coating and let it sit for a few minutes then wipe it off fairly well. You should really clean the pivot/bearing surfaces quite well or just avoid application in those areas and use oil or other lube of choice. That will give you the best of both worlds.

I'm not sure if it was actually tested in a lab as I can't find the thread, but many say that FrogLube is actually coconut oil and a few other ingredients.

 

[palonej]

I had the same kind of experience with Tuff Glide.
If just a little too much is applied it will bind up the action on a very smooth knife. Seems ok at first, but after the carrier dries it binds.
Never again!
Joe

 

[NickShabazz]

Recently found Nick on YouTube while doing some research which lead to a purchase thanks to his review, and found his videos extremely informative. So much that I seem to have wasted a weekend about a month ago watching most of his vids...ouch.

Hah. Sorry to hear about your weekend. Must've been terrible!

Nick seems to LOVE Frog Lube CLP paste and liquid, and after a few hours of digging around it seems many other enthusiasts do too. The red flag for me I guess should have been that no one had a SINGLE bad thing to say about this stuff. I found it was cheaper on Amazon Prime by a few bucks rather than buying directly from the maker, and it could be here same day! Whoo hoo! It arrived, I tested it on 3 varieties of knives that have given me trouble in the past and it was like two wet glass plates rubbing together smooth. Holy cow, impressed! I used it on at least 12 blades that day alone.

...

All of my other knives that have been treated by this stuff are now acting the same way. And they ALL make this WONDERFUL scratching metal-on-metal noise when operating them. Take your fingernail to an empty drink can and lightly rub it up and down. This is exactly what nearly two dozen of my knives now sound like.

Sorry to hear about the experience there, but, sadly, I'm not so surprised! FrogLube is great for rust prevention, and on static parts, but if you watch my disassembly videos or my disassembly toolkit video:

... you'll see that I almost never use it for actually lubricating knives, just for rust prevention, and the few cases are for knives that don't need much lubrication or need really high viscosity. I'll use Nano-Oil (usually 10wt), or Daiwa Reel Oil, because they don't develop the same gunkyness you report. You can pick up a tube of either, and after you clean out the Froglube, they'll run like a dream again. It's a bit odd that they're dry already, usually it sticks around longer, but still, always a shame!

My order is now past the 1 month return policy of Amazon, so I'm basically screwed out of $40 for a product that will never be used, and I can only hope it didn't damage my one-off or limited production blades.

Nick. My man. Still like the way you do things...but....ow.

I've never been Wan to disagree with a Star Wars Meme, but I hope Obi regaining some stature with you in the future!

Again, thanks for the kind words, and I hope your knives smooth right back out!

 

[adamlau]

S Slayer2003 : FrogLube should be buffed off after application with heat. It is best used as a treatment or dry lubricant. Leave a light sheen only when a product is being placed in storage. Avoid concomitant use with petroleum based wet lubricants.

OK, I'll be the bad guy here. I'm a fan of the reviewer (seems like a genuinely good guy), but not a fan of the reviews themselves. Admittedly, I have only watched a handful. The PM2 disassembly video stands out: Not first taping the blade for safety. Removing screws with the knife in hand instead of securing it on a table or within a padded vice. Excessive wet application of FrogLube to the liners where the product will eventually gunk. Prying off a liner/scale from the lanyard tube with a metal instrument instead of a wood dowel, a nylon spudger, a Delrin takedown tool, or another guaranteed non-marking tool. Not fully removing the liner from the scale in a disassembly video. Over oiling with Nano-Oil when only a light sheen across parts is desired. NickShabazz : A safer, more deliberate and complete process would have been preferred. This is particularly true for users new to knives where your influence can set the bar for how they treat their knives in the future.