Today, I have a rant whose core idea is quite simple: In 2023, there are so many amazing knives already available that there is no reason to release anything other than excellence. That is now the lowest possible bar.
@@AhmadRiyal I agree. My biggest gripe with them is their grinds. Really hard to find a Benchmade with less than 25 TBE. And just throw out the idea of consistent primary bevels on both sides.
@@AhmadRiyal yeah that is another huge one. they have the worst omega springs, which is kind of insane being the company that invented it and made sure no else did for like 20 years.
Good video Nick. I haven’t purchased a knife in over a year myself. It’s all more of the same I feel. Although anytime I see a design I like the price or availability just ends it. At this point I’m just rotating what I have and standing on the sidelines. Keep up the great work!
"...a miasma of mediocrity" - that is truly excellent, in that it's absolutely correct: this is a problem that desperately needs discussing, and that it's a gem of a phrase. Thanks for keepin it real Nick!
I’m a Benchmade purchaser. There is a vast difference between their tax and overpriced. The tax is warranty and r&d. IMO, the narrows is overpriced in comparison to the bfly tax, even with the newer axis lock.
I just but Benchmade when they go on sale, I bought a houge deka in magna-cut, then I bought a benchmade bugout for $120 on sale. No comparison between the two, the benchmade had a more ergonomic handle, more solid scales, and was slimmer in the pocket and easier to control with cutting. Not to mention the studs were more comfortable. The deka can’t remotely be considered a bugout killer, even considering the blade material and price difference as it doesn’t do everything else that the bugout does as well as it does.
I said what Nick said when the Benchmade Full Immunity knife came out. It is honestly like Benchmade said "do you see those knives they sell in mom and pop gas stations, let's make something like that". Poor design and the green aluminum scales just scream cheap gas station knife.
Benchmade paying attention? Good one. There is no one at the helm. The employees shrug at quality and can't even fix simple problems. Anyone who bought the narrows is a mark.
The Flyway is another example. $200 for what essentially is a steak knife. 😂 They have lost their damn minds. I’ve had a 940 for about 20 years, and a mini griptilian for just over 10 years. They’ve both been great, but they’ll likely be my last Benchmades. They truly are on some BS lately.
The problem is that Civivi and CRJB can’t grow a business only selling Elementums and Pyrites. Once everyone has one or two of each, they’re gonna move on to the next evergreen knife that comes along. And so everyone else is racing to have the next Elementum or Pyrite or PM2 or whatever, but it’s like they don’t know or understand what makes a knife great, so they throw every random sketch that comes across their desk into production hoping something sticks.
And the problem is also once they have an elementum and a pyrite, they’re pocket knife needs are fully covered. Why buy another knife? Hype is one answer.
Nick it has been a while since i dropped in on a video. I just wanted to say Thank you so much for being with me at the beginning of my knife world journey and teaching me all of the important things i needed to know to spend way too much money on way too many knives and not get ripped off or buy a dud.
I wish more of the “high end”makers would follow in the footsteps of TRM or Quiet Carry - a limited range of designs but they are all wonderful and feel intentional in every aspect of the design. They’re also at an interesting price point where they’re not cheap, but they are a good value and a real joy to use.
@just9911 I was reading through the comments and noticed your mention of Quiet Carry. Do you have one? I’ve been looking to step up into that range of knives and am curious what people think of them.
@@geodesicmonkey I’ve only ever handled the Drift and the Waypoint. I owned a Drift and a few friends have had one or the other design. Both are excellent. The machining is all crisp and well done, the grind is excellent for edc tasks (especially food prep), and the action is superb. I only sharpened it 2 or 3 times before I sold it along, but it felt like it was treated properly and wasn’t run soft like some other makers do. I would expect the rest of their lineup to be equally great. Don’t take me selling it off as a knock against it. I just got sick and tired of frame locks so I moved a decent chunk of my collection that I was accumulating. I had done a similar thing about 6 years back. I am probably going to pick up one of the g10 Drifts as they’re a liner lock. I realize now that liner locks are just more appropriate for me as I can’t always keep my fingers off the lock bar during deployment of the blade. I have massive hands, so it is very much a “me” problem. Yet I seem to keep forgetting that fact and end up buying a shit load of nice framelocks (I’ve been addicted to knives for 20+ years). You won’t be disappointed if you pick one up. But I would be doing you a disservice if I didn’t tell you to take a long look at three rivers manufacturing. The Atom and the Neutron are also terrific designs that are well executed. A few buddies have them and I keep trying to snag one but they move quickly.
Every knife buyer, designer, manufacturer and retailer should listen to this video. It resets their strategic perspective and establishes consumer expectations. 🙏.
Your voice will always remind me of my first knife disassembly. It was a major step in my knife collecting hobby. You’re videos are always a treat. Thanks!
I was thinking the exact same thing. I’ve bought numerous of both in the last year and I think I’m none with both, not worth the price anymore. I’ll rotate what I’ve got.
Love this commentary! Really great points all around. The market has changed a LOT since I first began collecting. I'm thinking back to when pretty much the only "best budget" recommendations were the PM2 or one of the Ontario Rats. There are so many GOOD things in every bracket, it definitely is the GREAT that have become more elusive by getting lost in the mix.
I was just thinking about this the other day when I got my cjrb pyrite xl. After years of not touching anything below $200 I've missed the revolution of budget knives. It's remarkable how good they've gotten.
You Hit it on the nose Nick. A top American company famous for its powerful spring automatics and high quality mostly uses 154cm and aluminum. If you want the same knife with titanium scales, the price goes from $300 to $600. If you want anything other than plain scales you can add another $200 on to that. There knive are great, but not price competitive. I hope they listen to you
EXCELLENT video! I will have one side bar to the necessity of excellence; people’s personal preferences will always overshadow the attributes of perfection. Most companies unfortunately don’t care about pure quality over profit and so they cater to a massive fan base as opposed to making a truly excellent product. Hopefully that will change but until companies feel it in their wallets, I do believe the Civivi machine will keep churning out knives at an exponential rate until we are drowning in the big C! Keep up the good work Nick and spread the word!!
Well said, Nick. You can take that to the bank. After many years my Chaparral and my mini-Griptilian still get a lot of pocket time. Traditional knives interest me more than a lot of the newer stuff which often is just more of the same. You can get a flawless Kizer (Original/de l'Orme) at a very reasonable price these days.
Agree 100% although something needs to be said: Seki City Spydercos (yes that includes the Delica) are not excellent and if they were a new release knife in 2023 everyone would call them trash. By the criteria of price, materials, and fit and finish they are sub par. This is coming from a Spyderco fan.
Great rant. I wish you could get the accountants to listen to this video. Thanks for being the lighthouse for us collectors in this foggy sea of the knife world.
Tactile comes to mind bc every new knife they release has issues and it takes them a couple gens to get it right. Microtech comes to mind bc of the 59 HRC M390 and they are at 4 or 5 gens of the MSI and Stitch and they still have issues.
@@dan_taninecz_geopolBecause they’re USA made, niche, not absurdly expensive and somewhat available. They’re a trendy local craft brewery in the form of a knife manufacturer. I still have high hopes for them, their pens are awesome. They did some cool things with the Maverick, but they undeniably fumbled some fundamentals.. which is not a good look, because it looks like they didn’t care or learn from their previous mistakes.
I've been into folding knives since 2016. Back then getting "hot" models was an issue, but nothing like it is today, with boutique brands living on waitlists and drops that sell out in minutes while crashing their site. What has ruined the hobby has been limited availability; often times, I believe, for marketing's sake. If your knife is selling out within minutes, either you're purposefully not creating enough or you're not charging enough, period. I'm not saying you should charge exorbitant amounts, but charge a price that will cause the majority of stock to sell within a reasonable time, but there will still be stock a week, two, three weeks later. Having to go to the secondary market for production knives is frankly BS and it makes me, and a lot of others, not interested in the hobby anymore. I agree with you Nick on many points, specifically make what people want. In the day and age of social media, it's not hard to figure out what people want. Heck, you can even look at the secondary market to figure that out.
Awesome insights! Couldn’t agree more. The people spending money on every new release and every “exclusive” are the ones that need to stop the madness. No market, no subpar new launches. 🤙🙂🏴☠️
Hi Nick, I’ve been watching your videos for at least the last five years, and have always referred to your reviews as the “gospel.” You’ve certainly put in enough time and effort to lay back and slow down...I’m guessing that the money isn’t as good as it was a few years ago either, but even if not... You’ve made knife (and other “toy”) reviews so much fun for so many people that I think you’ll be remembered for many years (should you choose to retire), and your name may be passed down to future generations. I know this sounds corny, but there is nobody else like you out there, and many people follow you for your unique personality, rather than the subjects of which you’re reviewing. Because of you (and several other reviewers, but mainly because of my compulsive “collecting” nature), I now have a knife collection that I have to catalog in written form to remember everything that I have. Thank you for all the many minutes of RU-vid viewing that I’ve “wasted”, and I’ll keep watching anything you decide to post in the future. BTW - my favorite all-time folder is the Demko AD-20 texturized Ti in 3v...been carrying it every day for almost six months now, and I keep reaching for it without hesitation every time I decide what to put in my pocket.
Great rant, Nick. For my latest sub par knife adventure (Hogue Deka Magnacut). Bought 1 to find the scales not good, and the thumb studs literally chewing my thumb. So waited to get notified and purchased the exclusive SMKW version, scale issue fixed. And a Glow Rhino Benchmade thumb stud to prevent my thumb from bleeding. That adventure continues as I still own the regular Hogue Deka and I debate custom micarta scales or just selling it off on ebay. My next adventure is a better swiss army knife. Nick, have you looked into the MKM Malga, or Campo and the Fox Volpis? 2 to 7 other tools in 420 and an M390 main blade.
I just bought a Kunwu Pulsar, and I was thinking the same thing. It's really good for just 200$. Does it rock my world? Not really, I have plenty of other knives who are excellent as well, but for what it is I can appreciate it. I think we are at a point where everything is so good that it's really hard to wow someone anymore.
So as a newer knife maker myself (only fixed blades and into it about 3 years now) this hits home for me. I am hard pressed to say my knives are anything but subpar when compared to bigger production or factory made stuff. I could make excuses for many issues and say it’s hand made, hand ground, hand shaped handles and etc. however all I can do as a maker is continue to try to make them better and be thankful for the supporters I have that buy my knives from retailers. There are ways I could improve them by outsourcing everything including cncing the bevels and handle contours however I value the skills of being able to grind the bevels by hand and and shape the handles by hand to do that. The only thing I can say is my saving grace is that even if there are minor aesthetic flaws in my blades they will function fantastically. I try to get most of my knives to be .015 BTE or thinner. And if a knife has a hot spot it doesn’t leave the shop. It gets worked until the ergos melt into your hand. So I’m trying for excellence and perfection but I’d be a fool to say my knives are at that point yet.
Sorry this isn't a more current vid, but hey lol I just received my NS Diamond Voctorinox. Came across it scrolling BHQ and smiled when I saw it. Smiled when holding it as well and was happy to place in my show drawer. I also finally pulled the trigger on getting a Shaman: little big for my work day to day, but it'll be carried as I may wonder why I didn't pull the trigger on a Native instead. 🤘🏼✌🏽
Nick isn't kidding about there being a lot of excellence even in the budget market. As one example, I have been using a CJRB Feldspar (jumbo) for three years now. This is a fantastic all around folder I got for $36. Just one of many in the price range that punches well above.
Agreed, Out of all of my knives the QSP Penguin is one of my favorite, that being said I have the more gucci variants with carbon fiber and titanium etc. But it's still a $30 knife at its core.
Great rant, Mr. Shabazz. I'm new to this hobby but I can already see what you're talking about. I'm a lot more careful than when I first jumped in, after getting burned a couple of times. BTW, what's that knife at the top left of your display? It caught my eye. Have you reviewed it?
I have a tiny company. It's well-regarded on a regional level, seen as one of the best. Right now we have a shortage of inventory. We do have some grade-B product that folks would buy, but we can't offer it and risk our positioning. As such, we're not shipping for the next month. For the most part. I've learned a lot from the knife business. Mostly, the concept of scarcity and its impact.
Thanks for the rant. I find it nearly impossible to buy anything lately because of the little voice reminding me that next month there will be 50 new things to choose from. Are any of them better than anything I already have? Thanks again for validating my frustration.
🔥🎸🔥 Thanks for the video! I only just got back into knives. And that was for the explicit reason of retiring two of my everyday carry knives. Now that I got the upgrades I was looking for I'm happy to get back out. After all my research I still have two knives I want to own but my wife will know what I want for Christmas soon enough. That said, I have to wonder if market demand for junk is underestimated. There is just too high of a demand for mediocre quality. Plus there are enough companies willing to step up to the plate, and cut corners off the back of their brand name. Most every guy I know doesn't see a difference between a garbage and a quality knife. And if they do they're not willing to pay for quality when they don't view a knife has anything else than a momentarily usefully cutting tool to abuse. It's very rare to meet someone who cares about what they carry and do so with pride, let alone carry a cutting tool at all. Then again this could just be my own experience and I'm missing something. The flyweight, medium/light use, Benchmade Bugout is a top seller. Often at a higher price than a hard use knife such has the Spiderco Manix 2, let alone the similar Hogue Deka. But all three of these knives gets you far more than most anything on the pocket knife market 30 years ago. Anyway we cut it we're living in a unique time in history of design, availability, and affordability.
Individual taste effects the quality too. one can overlook a lot if it tickles the other senses. I think the sliding scale for a knife being gas station to excellent is further modified by a person’s individual taste. I believe it is a greater influence over the whole reasoning for loving or liking a knife. That may give some more room in the standards. If they make the knife in the right color combo or texture that hits the spot for a group of people it’ll be better than a knife that is fancier. I think the amount of knives we have now makes it dramatically more difficult for someone to find those special knives. If only we could all just get a Holt knife.
One mistake I see in many products is that they will build down to a price point instead of up. The fastest route to crap is cutting corners until you match a target price. Start with no widget in front of you and start adding bits until you have the best widget possible for the price. It will force you to make different choices and pursue different avenues. Materials don't always scale. You can't just use thinner titanium scales for a budget knife and no resin will work for a high end model. That's why you can't start with a Rat 2 (an excellent knife) and build it up to a $300 knife, you will end up with something that is either not worth $300 or isn't a Rat 2. The proposition is even uglier if you try to build a $50 Sebenza.
Regarding a Shabazz designed knife: “When you’re in Hollywood and you’re a comedian, everybody wants you to do other things. All right, you’re a stand-up comedian, can you write us a script? That’s not fair. That’s like if I worked hard to become a cook, and I’m a really good cook, they’d say, “OK, you’re a cook. Can you farm?”” - Mitch Hedberg
Grrrreetings frrrom Rrrussia, my frrrriend. Great point there. Really loved to listen to this rent, and it all sounds perfectly reasonable. And with that said I am buying right now my 4th CS Recon 1, as they have finally made Tanto blade with the edge fully sharpened all the way down to the choil (they used to have an unsharpened portion there). And I know it is going to be thicker behind the edge than I would like it to be, and that they are going to sharpen it with their right leg stretched behind their left ear right after finishing some sick selfdistructing bear drinking contest, so I will have to reshapen it myself right out of the box. And I am still soooo buying it. Next, althoug there are tons of lightweight summer EDC options out there, I am still taking my 20CV Delica with me tomorrow. It is also far from perfect with how they finish spiderholes and FRN edges in Seki city, but I am still taking it, because I freaking love this knife. My point is, however correct your point is, the real knife enthusiasm is not always rational. However perfect the market is now, old boys like Delica, Military (talking about imperfect pricing), some popular Cold Steels and Benchmades will still be there in all their glorious imperfection. By the way, would really like to see your review for Recon 1, especially in Tanto. Coldsteel seems to be changing, at least compared to their CTS-XHP era. The G10 texturing gets less rough, Tri-ad lock seems to be easier to disengage. But overall Recon 1 is still the same beast it used to be. I'd love to know your opinion about it. Best regards.
Totally agree. There are a lot of hit and misses when it comes to buying a knife. More attention to tolerances and quality control standards would help a lot of the issues. If something is a piece of junk out of the factory it will never be right. Yet, most companies send the junk out anyway. This occurence isn't restricted to any one knife company. They ALL do this mess. I'd like to see consistency. Consistent edges, consistent fit and finish, consistent heat treats on blade steel. These are simple things yet they drop the ball. Sick of it.
There is a severe problem with that Mitch Clark Gunstock, I'm sorry to tell you. The problem is that I don't own it. 😂 In all seriousness, this phenomenon is basically why I "quit" the knife game. I have my top 10 pieces in my collection which essentially cannot be dethroned at this point. I have removed all but the epitomes of knife manufacturing and the chances of me stumbling across a 10/10 that dethroned my 9.5/10 just isn't worth the risk most of the time. Now, the extent of my collecting is me eyeing south african custom makers here and there (again, give me that damn Gunstock), but the production stuff does nothing for me anymore... not because I'm a snob, but because it's all really good, and I already have things that are really good, or it's clearly uninspired and I'm not interested. Still love your content. Keep up the great work. You'll always be the OG.
I would love the Excellence conversation to start with Best Heat Treatments. Specific to specific knives. This aspect of knife build is the very first filter and yet it is the most invisible. And we absolutely rely on the knife community for help. Who is doing this?
I'd pay good money to be able to walk into some large knife makers boardroom with you and hear you give them the honest lowdown. The sad thing is most already know it, they just don't really care.
Unfortunately there is a reason how the knife market got to this stage in 2023, it's too easy to make money selling new knives despite the mediocrity. Every time a new knife that comes out, there is massive hype around it thanks to influencers/reviewers. Just google any knife on youtube, you will have tons of people singing its praise regardless. TBH Nick's honesty really stands out among them, I may not agree with what Nick likes or dislikes, but he is consistent and will call out makers about stuff he does not like. This is why I watch this channel. All this shilling is insane from where I am sitting but the worst part of is, we knife enthusiasts as a whole, BUY INTO IT. Knives are constantly selling out and everything is a "drop" now. When a knife is not "excellent", either in execution of design or availability, we need to take a stand with our wallets and tell in real terms to OEMS "hey, this stuff doesn't fly". Alas, it seems like every marketing tactic is full green lights right now. Looking forward to more videos in this series.
Nick is a truth teller. I remember this man said the WE Eschaton was an art knife and that it should only be considered as such. I disagreed and bought one thinking it’d be my daily. Got it and immediately realized I’ll never be able to sharpen it without ruining the grind. It never left my house. It never cut anything more than paper. It never even went in my pocket because it was too beautiful to risk a scratch. Sold it a couple months later but at least I broke even.
Agreed. I think that price of knives has far exceeded their value. Furthermore, competing in the market with price of product, as opposed to quality, is undermining the integrity of the whole market, & driving prices even higher. This is why we end up with gated communities.....
Amen Nick! Thank you for saying this! I've been wanting to say something for months but wasn't sure how to articulate it properly, I don't want to sound like an idiot, and I haven't been doing this long enough for anyone to listen/take me seriously anyway lol! I'm gonna tell the 20 or 30 people who watch my channel to watch this video. Hopefully if we spread it around a bit, it will at least get the conversation started. Thanx again man! You rock the cats box!
AMEN! I miss my favorite brands who uused to make quality. Now I just bought one from a small maker for 685.00 and they sand blasted the inner scales but didn't bother to protect the washer points so it's grinding and chunky all because they couldn't take the time to do the little things. We can all do better and not settle for mediocrity.
Finding anything with my preferred features has legitimately been the biggest unexpected chore. One hand open/close, deep pocket clip, superb edge retention and corrosion resistance. I EDC firearms that get surface rust… I don’t need my blade getting rusty Needless to say back to my Griptillian in 20CV
Most of the mediocrity is coming from the IG/RU-vid reviewer influencers who are out there copy designing knives and getting Chinese OEMs making them. The sheeple need to stop buying all that crap.
