I've been checking out the reviews posted at iKC lately and there is a bit of a trend that bothers me.

Reviewers simply seem to praise anything they get into their hands. There's no critisism, no comparing to other knives, other manufacturers, no checking against standards or expectations. Ther latest reviews posted seem to be more of a "Look at this cool knife I got isn't it awesome" show-and-tell style thing than that they actually look at flaws, pro's, cons, features etc.

Is anyone else noticing this?

Well yes. I'd also advise someone not to "review" their knife right when they bought it.

Because in general....it's very difficult to be anything other than excited about something you just bought.

Much better to carry something for a few weeks and see how you feel about it then. I've seen this time and time again on other forums. People have been waiting for a certain knife for AGES...and then they finally get it and write what they call a "table top review"....and basically start listing all the selling points that the manufacturer has on his website and say a couple of things that they think look nice on the blade....

This is not a review people.

Well, the Famars knife review has been posted. And it's a perfect example of what I was talking about earlier. There seems to be no objective comment in the entire review apart from the specs mentioned.

Although it's enjoyable enough to read, and the excitement of the owner about his new knife is understandable......who on earth gives out multiple 10's in a review?

I love the fact that he does reviews....but I wouldn't call his writeups reviews with any stretch of the word. Overviews, showings, unboxings all true. But review? There's no real critical note, no looking for faults, no making the points that the maker could improve on.

Will it help the maker in sales? Offcourse. But that's what a sales pitch of a commercial is for.

Will it help the maker make a better product or deliver a better service? No. And THAT is the point of a review. Finding faults so that a better product can be made in the future.

Does the mean that a knife can't be perfect in a certain aspect? Offcourse not. It can have a certain thing nailed down. But 9,97 points? really? That's pretty much a perfect 10. I refuse to believe that any product is near perfect in all points.

I agree with Alex, the rush to judgement and giving virtually all knives reviewed a great rating without putting the knife to a single cutting test. I think Scott is trying to do a good job, he just needs to make a few more test in his review. He's trying, you gotta give him that.

It's quite simple really. Before you "review" a knife you need to have clear what your expectations are.

Scott is "blown away" by almost every knife he looks at. So either his expectations are very low or he didn't have any beforehand.....

A long while back we had discussed a way to have a standard test for a blades cutting ability. No one was able to come up with something that would work and be consistant for each knife tested. Maybe we could all go back to the drawing board and see what we could come up with. Also, other things that need to be tested on a knife, to be able to really review the knife for it's workmanship, material and value.

What I am trying to say about the review is that it takes alot of a mans time to feild test a knife and we have not come up with a standard cutting test. Scott has tried to do a good job and I enjoy his reviews. I may not always agree totally to his opinion but he's trying. I think Ron had tried a couple of times to make a review and didn't do too bad a job.

I've (today) recieved a foursome of knives that were made in Pakistan. I'll probably review them as a set. They'll be rockwell tested and everything.

That would be great Alexander, I love knife reviews!

Alexander,

Cant wait.  I like the idea of Rockwell testing them also

Sadly the guy who was going to test them for me has a broken rockwell tester at the moment. So I'm going to have to find someone else to test them for me. But we'll figure this one out.

They'll also be passed around on the Dutch knifeforum. The results will be posted along with my review here.

Keep in mind...this may take a while though.

Anything good is worth waiting for ;)

Good response Craig.  Thanks for the hard work Alexander!!

well Blade mag had an article I thought was interesting.  I happen to like the informal types of reviews we have mostly.  But apparently someone has a "plan" for a review.  Just thought I would share it...

These are headlines to make up a knife review 

#1 Presenting the knife 
Pic's, Brand, Measures, Steel, Rc hardness, Grind, Geometry, Tang, Handle, sheath.

#2 Purpose of use 
What uses did the maker design the knife for? 

#3 The reviewers purposes with buying the reviewed knife. 
Kitchen, Wilderness, Camping, EDC, Utility, Bushcraft, Survival,Collection, etc.


#4 Showing how the knife works by the reviewer for the intended purposes. 
For example, reviewing a 4" utility knife can use these headlines:

Hunting
Fishing
Bushcraft
Kitchen
Professional use
Summary

Allright, just wondering. People here on this group should be the more critical of our little community. So I'm wondering what you guys think of our little iKC Gepetto Whittler knives.

I'm not much good at knife reviews, Alexander, but here goes.

I really love my Little Geppetto whittler.  I got one when they first came out and I feel that the iKC Club knife may be built a bit better.

Fit and finish is just beautiful.  No gaps and the bolster to handle transition is flawless.  Backsprings are good (and I like them strong).  "Great walk and talk".

I'm still limbering mine up a bit as they are snug.

Blades aren't "super" sharp, but I was able to shave hair with 2 out of the 3.  A couple of minutes tuned them all up to my carving standards.

The only "problem" that I've heard of is the master blade rides a hair high which can be remadied by filing the blade kick slightly.  Not an uncommon task, I do it on my working Seahorses when they are high.

All in all, I'm giving this one a 10, and 2 thumbs up.

JJ, Thanks for taking the time out of a busy weekend to give us a review

Just wondering...with such a small run of knives, am I the only one happy with my Geppetto?

Here's a quick teaser Recognise this little guy?

JJ,

To answer your question, no.  We bought three and each one is awesome.  There was a corner on one with a bit of an edge but I actually hit it a few times with my emory board and ...no more rough.

Donnie uses one of them on a regular basis for work and has had no issues.  It walks/talks and stays just as it should.  He does a multitude of tasks with it so it does need sharpening sometimes LOL.  But it holds an edge well and takes one easily when it need to

I'm certainly glad. I was kind of upset by all the folks that had problems with them. I'm hoping that by next week I'll get some time to do some pit carving with mine. Christmas is just around the corner and I have some to carve as gifts.

Well JJ, you might not like my review of it. But the review is up now.

Thought it was a good review, Alexander.  Might be misaken, but I only saw 2 negatives in your review, and a little oil took care of 1.  Since mine is going to work, I may be less critical on mine, (though I didn't ned to).  Guess If I intended to just put it in a shelf to look at I'd have cause to complain of blade rub too.

JJ, Bladerub in a knife this price bothers be simply because I feel that means the construction of the knife just isn't done well. A $140 knife just shouldn've have any bladerub.

I don't mind scratches on my knife since I use them....but I'd really prefer to put the scratches on myself. I know some people don't mind paying for pre-faded jeans...but I'm not one of them.

Currently working on a review of 3 One Hand Knives. Still need to take some decent pictures before it's done though.

Glad you guys like it. They're a set of knives that I really do like.

Next up, a review of my Mcusta Tactility I think.

Sounds great Alex.

From Brad T.'s discussion Key elements of a product review

LOL, Andrew I understand.  I just got a new phone and it is driving me crazy.  Have you tried something like Renaissance Wax?

The steel is not well thought of. It will harden to as high as 65rc hardness and sharpen readily. Ii is the equivalent to 440A. It is used in many brands of knives made in China for American firms. The low amount of chromium is not enough to make it very rust resistant. Then there is the question of  quality control of steels coming out China. Snap-On has purchased BAHCO making them the largest tool manufacturer in the world. BAHCO makes many cutting tools and even contract some Morakniv products to sell. The experience that Andrew Setzer is having is typical for those buying Chinese blister packed knives that are popping up everywhere. But, it is tempting to we who like the designs to throw it in the basket. As to how to keep the rust down without buying something expensive and hard to find, use common petroleum jelly (Vaseline) when you store it. Press it into all joints and friction points. It readily wipes off and is safe to use. It's a good idea to keep a small container in the vehicle, tackle box, and the shop.

7CR17MoV: A Chinese Stainless steel that is similar in quality to AUS6 stainless steel. The follwoing formula is a break down in the steel: 7CR part means it is 7% chromium and the 17MoV means .17% molybdenum  and .17% Vanadium 

You know I'm excited about that! Looking forward to the feedback!

We add one more member over last few days, that's a start but I wish we could have a membership drive or something. We need more regular members here. Maybe if the old members get more active, we'll attract more new members, that way.

I just remembered, I was supposed to do a little knife review on a fixed blade knife I have gotten from Alex Noot. I thought to help generate more interest in this group I would do a review on it next.

 Please, tell your friends to join this group and feel free to add a knife review of your own. No one here is an expert. Just do the best you can.

Steve, you should do a review about your Noot knife. I am sure we all would love to hear what you think about it.

I wonder if I should review one of my own knives LOL. I suspect I'd be more negative than most of you would be.

I'm usually my own worst critic.....either me...or my wife is LOL. She sees flaws in my knives sometimes that I hadn't even noticed yet.

She sounds like mine us to be about my fishing. She just wants you  to be the best.

That she does Rob, for sure.

Yea buddy. Behind every good man is a great woman.

I'll do a review on my A.G. Russell Cowboy next I think. It's a large sodbuster type knife and I'm surprised at how much I enjoy carrying it.

I would enjoy it also. I am sure Mr. AG. would enjoy it too.

I was thinking about a bunch of knives that are not spoken about much. I'm not sure if this is the right group to talk about them, I'll just judge the response, because I know a lot of ya'll own some of these. The group is "Small Fixed  blades". This is a bunch of knives that I actively use and collect. I am sure a lot of ya'll own some and don't realize they are a little different from your full size fixed blade. Please tell me what ya'll think. 

Personally I love smaller fixed blades. I make MANY more small ones than large fixed blades.

Currently I really love carrying one of my own "Little Undertakers" in stainless steel. t feels so solid yet the grind is so thing it could probably slice anything it needed. I feel fixed blades in pocket sizes are very underrated while folding knives (especially "hard use" folding knives are a little overrated.

I could not agree more. A small fixed blade can do a lot more jobs than it's given credit for. Some Tactical folders have become very large and blunt and are a bit clumsy to use. Most of my fixed blade user are small to medium. I don't own any large fixed blades.

The nice thing about non folding knives is often also the handle/blade ratio. In a folding knife there are a lot of technical limitations because there has to be a pivot and the knife has to fit into the handle.

In a non folding knife there's no such thing. A 3" blade with a 3" handle is no problem. Or a 4"/4" blade handle knife.

Try doing that in a folding knife....you'll NEVER get as much blade as a handle unless you cheat like this:

And I'd hardly call that a proper folding knife....on that needs a sheath so you don't cut yourself. That's like a folding knife without the advantages of a folding knife while keeping the disadvantage of being "pre-broken".

A fixed blade, won't get blade play or a broken spring. I think a fixed blade can hold up to more hard use than a folder.

There is that offcourse, also...no lock wear, no off center blade, they're generally lighter than folders of the same size, they're usually cheaper and with a slim sheath they'll carry almost as conveniently in the pocket as a sizeable folder.

Tired of big ornate titanium flippers that cost several Benjamin's and have the edge geometry of a trench shovel?.  A Manly knife review.