Why isn't there any independent testers yet who will just show what the brand/models are capable of?
Is everyone really that afraid of what the results would be? Are you so attatched to your favorite brand, lock type, steel, etc. that you would just rather not know? Fearing the knife that you like might become less desirable and drop in value should it do bad in such tests?
I always found it perplexing that destruction tests are frowned upon in the knife community. "You won't/shouldn't use your knife like that."
No one expects to get into a car crash either, but it happens. And how are cars safer nowadays than ever before? By crashing countless cars intentionally, studying the wrecks to see what failed, and improving the designs with the new data gathered. If you were in the market for a new car, the safety rating is probably one of the things you'll consider, so why not for knives? If I happen to be shopping for a 3" framelock that weighs around 4 oz. - yeah, I'd like to know which is stronger in that category, and factor that into my judgement for determining the value(e.g. Am I willing to pay $$ more for 10% increase in durability).
A lot of people hate on Cold Steel for their "dumb tests", but I personally respect being able to make bold claims and standing by your product. Internal testing with results that are unavailable for customers? Useless. If you're proud of what your own products can achieve, why is there a need to hide? If you happen to make the longest lasting batteries in the world, would you hide that data in fear of hurting Duracell or Energizer sales?
The truth is that abusive/destructive testing will only make knives better, and its users more knowledgeable. We will all find out more specifically what constitues abuse, what are unreasonable expectations, how to better handle and how to better pick knives for certain tasks, and what knives are outdated/unfit to be widely accpeted as a 'good knife'.
I don't plan on using my knife as a prybar or a screwdriver, but if I was expecting to venture into a situation where that's a possibility(and carrying a separate prybar/driver isn't an option obviously), it certainly would be nice if there was such data available, so I can decide for myself whether I'm willing to carry extra weight/spend extra cash for more capabilities, or so I can decide that the extra commitment isn't worth the minor improvement.
Also, expecting that a knife will always be properly used is ignorant. Most people who use knives and don't frequent forums like this have no idea that it's taboo to dig, pry, stab, chop, throw, or whatever we 'knife nuts' consider to be abuse. They think in the ways of 'I spent $100 on this knife and I'm not even supposed to open a soup can with it?" And in truth, those people know more about their knife than someone who might be on forums only using their knives to cut paper, cardboard, and other things that again, 'knife nuts' consider "safe".
If I had the resources, I'd have no problem breaking every knife just out of curiosity. Negative data is infinitely more useful than no data.
Is everyone really that afraid of what the results would be? Are you so attatched to your favorite brand, lock type, steel, etc. that you would just rather not know? Fearing the knife that you like might become less desirable and drop in value should it do bad in such tests?
I always found it perplexing that destruction tests are frowned upon in the knife community. "You won't/shouldn't use your knife like that."
No one expects to get into a car crash either, but it happens. And how are cars safer nowadays than ever before? By crashing countless cars intentionally, studying the wrecks to see what failed, and improving the designs with the new data gathered. If you were in the market for a new car, the safety rating is probably one of the things you'll consider, so why not for knives? If I happen to be shopping for a 3" framelock that weighs around 4 oz. - yeah, I'd like to know which is stronger in that category, and factor that into my judgement for determining the value(e.g. Am I willing to pay $$ more for 10% increase in durability).
A lot of people hate on Cold Steel for their "dumb tests", but I personally respect being able to make bold claims and standing by your product. Internal testing with results that are unavailable for customers? Useless. If you're proud of what your own products can achieve, why is there a need to hide? If you happen to make the longest lasting batteries in the world, would you hide that data in fear of hurting Duracell or Energizer sales?
The truth is that abusive/destructive testing will only make knives better, and its users more knowledgeable. We will all find out more specifically what constitues abuse, what are unreasonable expectations, how to better handle and how to better pick knives for certain tasks, and what knives are outdated/unfit to be widely accpeted as a 'good knife'.
I don't plan on using my knife as a prybar or a screwdriver, but if I was expecting to venture into a situation where that's a possibility(and carrying a separate prybar/driver isn't an option obviously), it certainly would be nice if there was such data available, so I can decide for myself whether I'm willing to carry extra weight/spend extra cash for more capabilities, or so I can decide that the extra commitment isn't worth the minor improvement.
Also, expecting that a knife will always be properly used is ignorant. Most people who use knives and don't frequent forums like this have no idea that it's taboo to dig, pry, stab, chop, throw, or whatever we 'knife nuts' consider to be abuse. They think in the ways of 'I spent $100 on this knife and I'm not even supposed to open a soup can with it?" And in truth, those people know more about their knife than someone who might be on forums only using their knives to cut paper, cardboard, and other things that again, 'knife nuts' consider "safe".
If I had the resources, I'd have no problem breaking every knife just out of curiosity. Negative data is infinitely more useful than no data.
