What knives do you find overrated?

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Cryo once again! I wanted one so bad when I first saw and heard about it. Got it and .....No wow, just wasn't for me. Passed it on to someone else, and leave it! To each their own I guess.
 
Woodcamo Nut]Honestly I think the Sebenza is overrated, it has no grip, looks like it will slip out of your hand in certain situations.


Have you even held or used a sebenza:rolleyes:
 
Neko2 said:
I really wanted to like the Cryo better too.
It's like a boat anchor strapped to my pocket but feels too small in use.
Still looks sweet though.
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My experience with the Cryo as well. Maybe I would like the Cryo II better.
 
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I honestly feel like mid tech knives are over rated. There are a lot of custom makers who's work I admire, and I can understand paying the premium for a custom knife, but midtechs? Come on, honestly a midtech is basically a production knife at 2 to 3 times the cost of good high end production knives, with arguably the same quality, and materials.

That being said, I really want a Bodega, but I think the price is crazy for a mid tech.
 
I'm glad everyone agrees that Emerson Knives are NOT overrated, as I just love using my murdered out roadhouse. :D
 
Oh, wait, I have one.

Boker Kwaiken. Too small. Too flimsy. Too thin. Same with the Urban Trapper. They both just feel so insubstantial - like I would snap the blade accidentally during normal use.
 
I think most responses seem to be combining over rated with over priced. But perhaps the two go together.

I think this question is just about impossible to answer maunly because everyone's tastes are different. In this thread for instance, the Cryo has taken a couple hits. I don't know for sure, but I'd imagine if a search was ran in the forum, just as many posts would be praising it. And I had a Cryo. Hated it. Wanted to like it, but yeah, it's gone. :)

Look at pocket knives. Some makers 3 1/4" closed, single blade, slip joint, will sell for well north of $1000. Is it over rated? Couldn't even use the thing. Sit there and look at it in it's cool little display case. But there are guys who buy them. It's not over rated or over priced at all to them. I can have another maker with a lesser known name, make an almost exact copy using the exact same materials readily available from a number of suppliers, pay him $200, and use the knife all day long. So I'd say, that's a better value. Who knows. And many think spending even $200 on a knife is nuts. Lol.

What does help with the over rated issue is these types of forums where guys can ask questions about a purchase under consideration to try and get an idea of what guys think about it. Same with all the YouTube reviews now. Info is easy to get. I do like being able to watch someone working with the knife, just to see it being used.

And speaking of over rated - how about some YouTube reviewers. Holy smokes. Some of those guys think the sun rises and sets based on their reviews.

*** Lol. Forgot to add what I think are waaaaayyyyyyy overrated. Flippers!
 
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ebidis said:
I honestly feel like mid tech knives are over rated. There are a lot of custom makers who's work I admire, and I can understand paying the premium for a custom knife, but midtechs? Come on, honestly a midtech is basically a production knife at 2 to 3 times the cost of good high end production knives, with arguably the same quality, and materials.

That being said, I really want a Bodega, but I think the price is crazy for a mid tech.
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Midtechs have a place in the knife world. they fill the niche for people that cannot afford a custom, but want to have a the same dimensions. Not for everyone, especially those on a tight budget (can sometimes be a case of one's eyes being too big for their stomach). The quality can be much higher in a midtech than that of a comparable sized folder of a lower price. Just because you don't see the differences does not mean they aren't there.
 
The more I mess with knives the harder it is for me to call knives out-and-out overrated. Overpriced? Yeah, there are plenty I think are overpriced, but what we all want out of a knife can vary so much that it's hard for me to completely knock one just because it didn't serve my needs. Not to be yet anothet guy picking on the Cryo, but it's a good example. I want my small knives to be sleek, light and unobtrusive. I want them to have efficient cutting grinds. I'm not a fan of A/O and I don't much care for any metal handles, but I particularly hate SS handles. Obviously, I'm not the target audience for the Cryo. But plenty of people obviously want a short, stout, heavily built folder that won't break the bank. If the Cryo fills that gap for them, that's all good. I just won't spend any money on it.
 
Woodcamo Nut said:
Honestly I think the Sebenza is overrated, it has no grip, looks like it will slip out of your hand in certain situations.
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If you have large hands, do NOT use the small Sebbie. This was my finding, although it took me a lot of Sebbies, both lge and sm, to finally come to that conclusion. Some of the wood inlaid models just look nicer in the "smalls." I do believe that the Sebenza is one folder that can last you twenty years with moderate EDC, so it's worth the cost. Not many manufacturers can come close to that.

Over-rated to me means Benchmade. Once the price increase hit, I was done with them. I still like the 710 in M390, and the 940-1 in S90V, but that's about it.

The company that I really enjoy is Spyderco. I've had so many of their models, and the fit/finish is generally outstanding.

Somebody up above mentioned "midtechs" as being over-rated. I don't think so, but then, I carry a Southard AVO every day. I have no regrets. It's a flipper but the flipper-part is transparent to me. It works and works very well and positive.
 
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knarfeng said:
None.

There are knives which don't match my wants or needs, but which match other folks' perfectly.

So there are plenty of popular knives that don't ring my chimes, but that does not mean they are overrated.
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Well said:thumbup:. Wants, needs and what one can afford drive the market. If CRK, Busse, GEC, ZT, Bark River and the the others weren't gushed over, there wouldn't be people wanting to find out what the hub-bub is all about. If no one wanted to know what makes a certain knife special, our hobby would be quite a bit duller as a result.

There are over rated refrigerators and lawn mowers too. Treat the knives you feel are over rated the same way to treat those refrigerators. Without a second thought.
 
knarfeng said:
None.

There are knives which don't match my wants or needs, but which match other folks' perfectly.

So there are plenty of popular knives that don't ring my chimes, but that does not mean they are overrated.
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This was literally my Exact thoughts, worded better than I could have worded them!
 
ebidis said:
....but I think the price is crazy for a mid tech.
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I honestly don't know for sure what mid-tech is other than perhaps a ZT, Sebenza (CRK), or high end Spyderco.

Added: You know, I think "customs" in general may be over-rated. I have more than a few, and I'm happy with them. But just being a custom knife doesn't increase the cutting ability all that much relative to a good factory knife.
 
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Sonnydaze said:
If you have large hands, do NOT use the small Sebbie. This was my finding, although it took me a lot of Sebbies, both lge and sm, to finally come to that conclusion. Some of the wood inlaid models just look nicer in the "smalls." I do believe that the Sebenza is one folder that can last you twenty years with moderate EDC, so it's worth the cost. Not many manufacturers can come close to that.

Over-rated to me means Benchmade. Once the price increase hit, I was done with them. I still like the 710 in M390, but that's about it.

The company that I really enjoy is Spyderco. I've had so many of their models, and the fit/finish is generally outstanding.

Somebody up above mentioned "midtechs" as being over-rated. I don't think so, but then, I carry a Southard AVO every day. I have no regrets. It's a flipper but the flipper-part is transparent to me. It works and works very well and positive.
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+1 on Benchmade; in general, this is the company you go to when you want the least possible bang for your buck; for boring, rehashed designs, and terrible cutting edges that always require reprofiling, they're the company you turn to.

They have made some good knives, obviously: the 940-1 and Contego are fine choices -- for the most part -- but 95% of their catalog features knives with Spyderco or ZT rough equivalents that are far better, in terms of design and materials, for less money. If Spyderco is offering S30V at a certain pricepoint, Benchmade will offer 154CM. If ZT is offering Titanium and Carbon Fiber, Benchmade will counter with G-10. They'll explain why these cheaper options are better, than ask you to thank them for it by charging a higher price.

I really want the Neil Blackwood Benchmades, and their Model. 52 Balisong is pretty damn great as well. But their quality control is terrible, especially for an American production facility, and the ratio of good designs to mediocre or bad is the worst of any high-end production knife company. Benchmade has done a far better job of building an image and reputation than they have on their knives; they could write a 'How To' book on becoming over-rated and staying that way.
 
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My 10/10 knife is one that blends seamlessly Utility / Aesthetics / Price

When I think "overrated" I can separate into three different things based on what a knife is to me:

Overrated : Rated higher in tests than its true performance. (Design & Performance) / Knives that no matter how good we're told they are, they are either ridiculously heavy, uncomfortable or just painfuly impractical.

Overpriced: Priced higher than what it's worth. (Value) / Anything beyond 150-200 $ that is not indestructible by a naked man (without access to tools)

Overhyped: Marketed as better than what it actually is. (Sales pitch) / Anything considered awesome and "a milestone" whose fame comes from just the word of the maker or from repeating like a parrot how awesome it is. Anything whose performance does not match what it is marketed as. Also knives marketed (viogorously, although most times indirectly suggested ) as badass because they're used by any branch of the military (which I consider deceptive).

I know Im not "discerning" truths in these categories, and actually reducing all infinite possibilities to these three tenets, and that there's someone who could always say "well, knife is just a name, just about anything can be a knife, however ugly, uncomfortable and dishonest (its marketing) may seem to you". Yeah, sure.


If we consider overpriced like so, just guessing numbers from my own collection, maybe 70 or 80% of all knives can very well be considered overrated.

I can come with three knives (that I own) , one being more notorious on one of these categories, even though I think the categories work together:

Bad design&performance / OK price / OK marketing. Overrated: TOPS Steel Eagle 107C

OK design&performance / Bad price / OK marketing. Overpriced: Fallkniven WM1

OK design&performance / OK price / Bad marketing. Overhyped: Chris Reeve fixed blades (in this case, a Pacific)

Not to mean there aren't any (in fact many) more.
 
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RevDevil said:
Midtechs have a place in the knife world. they fill the niche for people that cannot afford a custom, but want to have a the same dimensions. Not for everyone, especially those on a tight budget (can sometimes be a case of one's eyes being too big for their stomach). The quality can be much higher in a midtech than that of a comparable sized folder of a lower price. Just because you don't see the differences does not mean they aren't there.
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But lets also be honest Rev, havent you seen a couple people abuse that word "midtech"? i for one have seen it applied to some peculiar circumstances. I guess I dont exactly mind true mid tech knives but what bothers me is when people abuse the term to portray the ordinary as extraordinary.

Insipid Moniker said:
The more I mess with knives the harder it is for me to call knives out-and-out overrated. Overpriced? Yeah, there are plenty I think are overpriced, but what we all want out of a knife can vary so much that it's hard for me to completely knock one just because it didn't serve my needs. Not to be yet anothet guy picking on the Cryo, but it's a good example. I want my small knives to be sleek, light and unobtrusive. I want them to have efficient cutting grinds. I'm not a fan of A/O and I don't much care for any metal handles, but I particularly hate SS handles. Obviously, I'm not the target audience for the Cryo. But plenty of people obviously want a short, stout, heavily built folder that won't break the bank. If the Cryo fills that gap for them, that's all good. I just won't spend any money on it.
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:thumbup: totally agree. A perfect example for me is a sebenza. Amazing knife. I can see and feel the quality and tearing them down and putting em back is a breeze and actually enjoyable. But at the end of the day I like bearings and flippers. And while they are not needed they are my preference. But I can totally see why the sebbie has the following it has. I refer to it as my future purchase when i grow up. But I dont wanna grow up. Im a Toys R' Us kid.
 
In terms of both over-rated and over-priced, I'd have to say Benchmade and Golden manufactured Spyderco. And, oddly, both those companies have avid followers who'll scream heresy over this opinion, particularly Spydie-fans.

Although most customs would seem to merit the over-priced/over-rated label, I don't think you can attach a value to Craftsmanship (unless there is none)
 
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