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Ryan: I agree with you. When a knife is not so hot, in by humble opinion, I am going to say so. The key is finding a way to say it that doesn't hurt anybody in the special case of a maker whose work is generally well respected.

TomW: True, it is good to have a venue of knife discussion that isn't swayed by advertising dollars.

Any one of us who wants to do a negative revue though should take some responsibility for their words. Always put your opinions in perspective. If you have only seen one knife from a maker, and you hate it when he has hundreds of satisfied customers, keep that in mind. For example, instead of saying the knife is a POS, you could say it just wasn't your cup of tea.
 
Yeah, those are some great points that Steve Harvey makes.

It's certainly possible to write a bad review of knife without causing a riot. A writer can express his honest opinion and still be considerate.

Bad reviews can be extremely helpful to the buying public and also the maker. If the review is well written, the maker will seriously consider the criticisms and use them to improve his knives. However, if the review is not well written, the maker and his fans will just become defensive, and bad blood will ensue.

A bad review doesn't always have to lead to a flame war. If you're writting a bad review, there are several things you'll want to avoid.

Use plain, objective language and avoid any personal comments about the maker. Also, try not to use condesending or demeaning language. If the knife sucks, just say so. Cracking jokes and making fun of it will only infuriate the maker and his fans.

Additionally, try to avoid generalizing, like Steve Harvey pointed out. Don't say that all of the maker's knives suck just because the one you're writting about sucks. Even more importantly, don't say that the maker personally sucks. Similarly, avoid generalizing when considering others opinions. Don't assume that other people will share your opinion, or that they're stupid if they don't.

I hope more bad reviews are written here. I'm sick of the ridiculous magazine reviews that beg for advertising dollars. If you're going to write a bad review though, you can't be careless about how it's written or it simply won't be productive.
 
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