What do you wish people did in reviews?

We do some reviews but do more overviews of a newly released knives. Basically we give the specs, show it in the hand and then compare it to other knives by the same company, and knives of similar size from other well known brands. I will say even doing the simpleton stuff we do is not as easy as I thought it would be. I hate being in front of the camera, I hate the sound of my own voice and most of the time it takes a lot of takes to get it where it is half decent. So before I say anything critical, I have to say that anyone doing a review gets some credit just for being willing to do it!

Personally I hate long reviews. I feel like anything over 10 minutes is tough to watch. This is especially true if they are not using the knife or like others have said, just sitting at the kitchen table. I also hate the bigger known reviewers who think their opinion is all that matters. They have no idea what kind of impact a bad review can do for a knife company. It is one thing when everything they say is true and the knife is truly flawed. It is another thing when they just throw out their own opinion of why they hate the knife. I will not say the name of the reviewer or the knife company, but years ago a very well known and long winded reviewer put up a very bad review of a knife that prior to that review had been receiving serious praise from most in the knife industry. The sale of that particular knife declined significantly after this negative review. You would think the impact could not be that great from one reviewer, but we saw it on the sales end. We even had people call us to talk to us about the review because they had previously thought about buying that particular knife but now had doubts. So my point is, be careful what you say and at least note that it is your opinion and others may like the knife!
 
Gideons said:
Great comments so far. I'm wondering what type of "use" do you wish to see the knife in? I'm sure it depends on the type of knife and what it is meant for.
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I think that should be up to the reviewer, and that will provide a lot of variation in reviews.

We can find certain reviewers that use knives the way we like to use knives, and get valuable info then. :)

For me, with a pocketknife I'd like to see a whole bunch of different stuff cut. Everything from rope to cardboard to food, to various camp-style woodworking tasks. Basically, if a reviewer carried the knife around and used it for all their cutting tasks for a few weeks to a month, they'd probably end up with a pretty well-rounded review. :thumbup:
 
I wish everybody, reviewing knives that is, STOPPED CUTTING FRIGGIN PAPER!!

Everybody can sharpen to their own preferences so showing how sharp a knife is is really not that interesting..
 
I was about to say a YouTube reviewer I like then I saw the OP's name, Gideons. Related? I have no idea, so here it is:

I have watched quite a few knife reviews lately and realized I like Gideonstactical reviews on YouTube the best. I like them because they always say what is good and BAD about a knife. So many YouTube reviews seem to be based on saying great things to get more free knives from manufacturers. Reviewers frequently say they only review products they like so they don't post negative reviews. But if reviews just go on about how great a knife is, and every knife they review goes the same, it's not really a review so much as a commercial. I like that Gideonstactical trashes some knives, and it seems deserved. But most knives he points out that the knife's shortcoming is based on HIS needs. That short coming may be a benefit to others based the way they would use the knife. So to me it seems balanced and not just a knife commercial.

I like the cutting montages because they demonstrate use of the knife, but if they are too long, I tend to jump past them. How long is too long? Hard to say, depends on my mood. I agree that skinning or butchering animals might be useful to some but I think many viewers would rather not watch that part in a video.

I like the comparison to similar models of similar prices. I also like the occasional inclusion of Mrs. Gideonstactical. This gives a good idea how people that do not "wear large sized gloves" feel about the knife. I think this applies to how easy it is to open folders as well as the comfort of knives with "finger grooves" on the handle. Her opinion would be a good addition even if she is not in the video directly.

Not related to Gideonstactical: Once I realize a knife review is an unboxing or table review, I'm done with it.
 
I like to see an actual writen review with pictures posted here on BFC rather than just dumping a video link and saying "let me know what you think!"
 
I often cook and prep food with my current folder, and it's a bit more than opening cans or boxes :)
I'm always curious to see how a knife behaves when you have to slice thin veggies of various textures, meats, cheese, bread slicing... How it is for mincing garlic or chive... And how dirty it gets in the process.
 
craytab said:
I like to see an actual writen review with pictures posted here on BFC rather than just dumping a video link and saying "let me know what you think!"
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Ditto. I can digest a written review in a tenth of the time spent watching someone ummm and errrrr their way through a video review.
 
Well said. XDJ, Aaron, if you're the man, could you just indulge one of your subs and for a brief second or two, just show me the point of balance? :)

And I love written reviews as well.
 
Measure, measure, measure. Make sure the specs from websites match the actual knife. Get an Rc hardness if at all possible (I know that one is asking a fair amount), measure the angle acuity of the tip of the blade, give us thickness behind the edge at the heel, midway point and tip of the blade and thickness halfway up the grind at those same points (digital calipers are cheap, so I just don't think there's as much excuse not to do this). Hard data tends to be seriously lacking for knives, so anything you can add is valuable and, when you do add that data, have it prepped an ready to go before you start talking about it.
 
I wish they would show the knife from all angles. Many times I watch the reviews just to see the spine of the blade to see how thick it is and also how thin the tip is. This view is almost never shown and usually I have to try and pause the vid while the knife is in motion to get the shot I want. Many dealers fail at this too. One that gets it right is GP Knives. They always have the best shots of the view I am looking for.
 
Sharpening. How acute could it go and still perform intended tasks?

Handle hot spots. Which grips had hot spots after how long doing what hard work?

If a video wastes one second reading specs from the manufacturer, I back out. I can find the manufacturer's copy on their website.
 
In addition to all said before,

I'd like for some reviewers to keep the knife still or slowly move the knife while displaying it. I've seen videos where the knife was waved around as the reviewer spoke; the knife was just a blur most of the time.

Also, actually use other holds on the knife; hammer grip, reverse hammer grip, choking up on the handle.

Lastly, give a size comparison; using other common blades is a great way to show size.
 
Hateman said:
In addition to all said before,

I'd like for some reviewers to keep the knife still or slowly move the knife while displaying it. I've seen videos where the knife was waved around as the reviewer spoke; the knife was just a blur most of the time.

Also, actually use other holds on the knife; hammer grip, reverse hammer grip, choking up on the handle.

Lastly, give a size comparison; using other common blades is a great way to show size.
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Equivalent sized/POU/price... some sort of comparison is always good. Agree.

Also, a review of the sheath is useful. Most do that, to be fair.

Also a full disclosure about how the knife was obtained for review is, in my books, essential. If someone is reviewing a knife he or she didn't purchase themselves, well, bias, conscious or otherwise, could be an issue.
 
Comparisons are key. Similar options such as knives in similar prices and especially ones that at are similar sized regardless of price. Trying to find a delica compared to a rat 2 or skyline was ridiculous. Yes they are different costs or styles etc. However for me it's size find a knife that's well owned and use it as a basis for each size tier for like of a better term. Seriously the comparisons are truly lacking
 
smilk327 said:
Comparisons are key. Similar options such as knives in similar prices and especially ones that at are similar sized regardless of price. Trying to find a delica compared to a rat 2 or skyline was ridiculous. Yes they are different costs or styles etc. However for me it's size find a knife that's well owned and use it as a basis for each size tier for like of a better term. Seriously the comparisons are truly lacking
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True. That is a brilliant example.
 
stabman said:
I wish they'd actually use the damn knife.

So many reviews about action, fit and finish, and how pretty (or rugged) it looks, but they never show any actual use of the knife!
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This!

craytab said:
I like to see an actual writen review with pictures posted here on BFC rather than just dumping a video link and saying "let me know what you think!"
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But also this.
 
I like proper terminology. I have a hard time watching a review when the reviewer makes up words or just bolognas his way through the vid. Take a little time a research what the more common parts of a knife are called and do some extra research on the one your reviewing.

And I like to see use reviews but practical ones. I'm not going to be using my edc folder for heavier fixed blade stuff and I'm not going to use my camping/hiking fixed blade to do edc stuffs.
 
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