What is important in a knife review?

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Permalink Reply by D ale on March 31, 2010 at 12:33

standardized testing
standardized results
Standardized units (in*lbs of force, Rockwell C scale for hardness, ...)
verifiable repeatable evidence

analyze what concrete information/data is desired .. then .. design test methodology to provide that data ..

Example: Test & evaluate the robustness of a locking system.

Desired data = the overturning moment (OTM) expressed in inch*pounds (in*lbs) required to compromise a locking system.

define a std test config such that test knives are supported in like fashion .. different blade lengths can be accomodated w/o compromising test integrity .. a static load (force in lbs) is applied to the open blade a given distance (dist in inches) from the pivot point .. force applied in the direction that most compromises the lock .. define sample pool size ..

I'm doin this off the cuff .. the test procedure would include test jigs, diagrams defining direction of forces, definition of test procedures, etc.

Test results provide a quantifiable verifiable repeatable concrete means of comparing locking system "X" and locking system "Y" .. the OTM at which a system fails ..

If sytem "A" fails @ 29 in*lbs .. system "B" fails @ 87 in*lbs .. system "C" fails @ 48 in*lbs ... locking system "B" is the most robust.

.. sure .. there are other considerations on a more personal "i like/dislike" level .. unless the results are close .. the > OTM : the more robust ..

I've found this more useful than .. it took joe's boy 6 hacks to get through this .. oh .. about 3" tree. Last time it took him less than 30 seconds to get through a similiar tree w/ that other knife ...

alright .. exaggerating to make a pt .. but .. you get the idea ..

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Permalink Reply by D ale on March 31, 2010 at 12:59

Also .. analyze system failure .. can tell you ALOT !!!

catastrophic failure testing is FUN and extremely informative .. quite often .. identifies the next weakest component/design aspect !!!

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Permalink Reply by D ale on March 31, 2010 at 15:39

"a good (almost professional level) review"

obtain the Request for Quote (RFQ) specs the military issued for knives like Gerber's assisted/auto issued to our troups .. farm out the testing to an independent lab .. test to the RFQ specs .. witnessing the test is part of the tuition .. I've never been denied pics for inclusion in a report ..

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Permalink Reply by D ale on March 31, 2010 at 16:29

Scott

.. military RFQ specs have got to be out there for .. everything the military has used ..

.. straight knives .. tacticals .. autos .. machete's .. hatchets ..

.. an established criteria of acceptance has already been defined ..

reviews/tests relative to these specs could hold somewhat universal appeal .. military historian .. interest in tacticals .. survivalist .. straight knives .. specs for custom knives to exceed ..

standardized specs & tests that will be hard to argue with .. certainly .. not subjective !!

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Permalink Reply by D ale on March 31, 2010 at 21:18

troops

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Permalink Reply by Scott King on March 31, 2010 at 21:19

Wow! Dale this is good detailed info. Thank you.

Question: Do you do reviews ever? Sounds like you need to. Might have a place for the reviews if you do :)

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Permalink Reply by D ale on April 4, 2010 at 0:40

Scott,

The specs & performance criteria called out in MIL-K-818D are not severe. They were for a peace time utility knife.

But, what a great starting point. The performance criteria held important are identified. Measurement & qualification standards are defined. Individual tests are defined for each “important” performance criteria.

Not everything called out may be important or practical for the purposes of a review. Pick & choose within the limits of available resources and the needs for the review.

Now .. if a similar document for a tactical currently being issued to our troops could be located ….

Dale.

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Permalink Reply by Scott King on April 4, 2010 at 21:34

Good idea, Dale.

If anyone here has contacts with any tactical makers who sold to the US Gov for the wars, please help us out. I know the VP of Sales at KaBar.

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Permalink Reply by Jake on April 13, 2010 at 14:43

Well first off, the best reviewer I have seen on youtube so far is Nutnfancy. Mostly before his reviews are consistent. He doesn't hold back when criticizing something either. Sometimes he does over criticize a little but most of the time he is very fair. Dale you should definitely do some reviews!

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Permalink Reply by D ale on April 13, 2010 at 15:01

Thanks Jake .. I'm doin a little research in that direction .. we'll see what comes of it ..

Check out the Mil Spec for this military utility EDC .. attached pdf .. I was thinking of evaluating some current production EDC's to this std .. what do you think ??

What I'd really like is to obtain the RFQ specs that were issued for a current military tactical .. like the Gerber assisted/auto our troops are being issued .. then, evaluate current production tacticals to the same standards ..

Mil spec & defined test procedures were determined after exhaustive comprehensive analysis .. they've succesfully withstood the onslaught of many a hungry vendor .. AND .. they're objective & repeatable !!

Attachments:

• MIL-K-818D[1].pdf, 805 KB

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Permalink Reply by Eliel Lopez on April 14, 2010 at 23:35

Well Scott, Here's what I look for. When I run across a review, especially one about knives, I like to see all the specs on it. Then perhaps a no-nonsense performance test that the everyday user would face. I think an honest review would span a given length of time like say a month ? or so, of everyday usage. In a video, I like to see the "how it's made" kind of thing. I find those very interesting and after watching a few of those I get a good sense of the quality of the knife. A good site for this other than u-tube is World knives LTD. Check it out if you get a few minutes to spare.
Eliel

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Permalink Reply by Matt Freeman on April 26, 2011 at 1:11

Check out my channel...http//:www.youtube.com/ftwcm

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