Some Thoughts on Youtuber Nick Shabazz

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VermontEdge

VermontEdge

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So having just received my first CRK knife I've been spending some time over on that sub-forum and I've seen a couple threads discussing YouTuber Nick Shabazz. I've seen a lot of criticism launched at him and I just thought I'd start a thread here to discuss my feelings about him as a reviewer and member of the knife and bladeforums community.

Knives are a personal thing. For some people they're a hobby, for some people they're a tool, and for others they're a means of self defense. Personally speaking, I use a knife all the time at work (I'm a distiller) and carry higher end knives the rest of the time so I guess I'm somewhere between a user and an appreciator.

Given my situation I find Nick Shabazz to be an invaluable resource and member of this commmunity. I think that his videos and reviews strive to discuss all aspects of a knife and, in doing so, every kind of knife user. You'll often hear him point out a detail of a knife and say "this doesn't matter to me, but it might matter to you". This attention to detail and consideration of what either people look for or value in a knife is, in my opinion, part of what makes Nick so great. I often find myself agreeing with him or at least finding value or an interesting perspective in what he's saying. Rather than stating his opinions as facts he really strives to stay objective and keep opinions as opinions and facts as facts.

Nick doesn't come across as an intense prepper or survivalist or super soldier. Instead he comes across as a knowledgeable guy who is passionate about knives and has good taste and an incredible eye for detail. He's entertaining, charming, witty and helpful. I genuinely appreciate his presence in the community and I just wanted to start this thread to say so. That is all.

Keep it up Nick!
 
I've been following Nick for about a year now and he remains my favorite YouTuber for folders. In fact, his was the first chanel I EVER subscribed to. I don't really think of him as an expert, more like a "critical enthusiast." I've learned a fair amount of stuff from him, some of it from his blunders! I frequently disagree with him on matters of taste and preference, but to his credit, he does a good job explaining the why to his likes and dislikes. I've actually sought out knives based on his dislikes.

My two bigest Nick likes are he's more concise and better paced than most other folks, and he DEFINATELY does not take himself too seriously. [emoji106]

I find his disassembly videos valuable. Not that his technique is always perfect, but I appreciate getting to see what the inside of some of those knives look like.

Not everyone agees with you and me about Nick. Some of them will check in at some point.

EDIT: Oh, yeah, I guess you're right about this being a trading forum, jb. Saw your reminder after I posted. Whoops.
 
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jbmonkey said:
huh? is this just a ra- ra fan post for this youtuber guy or is their a transaction with him on buying selling or trading? you know good bad ugly on selling, buying and trading forum?
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Crap I'm really sorry I think you're right. I figured this was the right area but I might be wrong. Apologies if this is the wrong place for this.

I just feel like the guy is a solid resource and I wanted to give some positive feedback to his channel.
 
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VermontEdge said:
Crap I'm really sorry I think you're right. I figured this was the right area but I might be wrong. Apologies if this is the wrong place for this.

I just feel like the guy is a solid resource and I wanted to give some positive feedback to his channel.
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I think this is the right place. I seem to recall other similar threads moved here from GKD because they weren't dealing with particular knives. I don't see any difference between a thread complimenting a dealer and one complimenting a reviewer. If I'm wrong, a mod will move it. BTW - Once I got used to his voice (wow!), I loved his vids.
 
HappyDaddy said:
This is a "family friendly" area. Might want to lose that cartoon.
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Noted


Nick doesn't get everything right. Who does. Seems he tries to be honest and unbiased if not technical.. For sure doesnt take himself too serious..much more tolerable than most...Brave enough to put himself out there.

I grew up in NYC..his voice and cadence are something familiar..Not sure if Nicks an east coaster, accent slightly off for NY..but I can see how that alone could distract some.

If you find yourself getting high emotions from a Youtuber... You should probably get more exercise.
 
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Nick's not an expert, people think he is. He's very entertaining. He does somethings most people wouldn't, it works for him.

For instance no one should be using nano oil for knives. It's pure snake oil, it gets gummy and nasty. It's claim to fame for Nick is that it comes in 3 viscosities. And he puts wayyyyyy wayyyyyy too much of it on.

I believe he does this because he wants to try and get that drop shut action, problem is, it's snake oil and not for knives because it doesn't provide metal to metal protection and is overly expensive. It seems to him and others that it provides less friction, for about a month until it starts to gum up. A knife lube should provide long lasting metal to metal protection without the gumming up.

Not only this but nano oil marketing is just snake oil and they fought tooth and nail at pushing Nano oil to the knife market, and it's now part of it due to lots of clueless people and knife makers. Now to top it off people see his videos and want it. No scientific data or standardized testing on this snake oil. The guy selling it doesn't even know what's in it.

The other issue I see, and again he doesn't claim to be a professional, is lubing crk knives, or pb washers in general.

Those are my only real rants about the nick. I've told him before, he argues against me, it's whatever.

I dunno what I'd do without the Nick otherwise. I do enjoy his vids and share alot of his opinions.

Check out his knife rants on Tuesdays at knife ews
http://knifenews.com/knife-gripes-episode-4-tough-on-teflon/
 
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His voice reminds me of Gilbert godfried, and I can't stand his voice. He'd make an exceptional mime.
Quiet said:
I can't stand Nick's voice so I've watched a total of three of his videos, and was forced to turn them off about a minute or so in. (shrug) There are plenty of great knife reviewers on YT thankfully.
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I don't see any reason to form personality cults around anyone on YouTube, but I kind of like Nick Shabazz. I don't always agree with his opinion, and my experience isn't always the same as his, but I think he's earnest and his opinions are mostly genuine and reasonable. Also I actually kind of enjoy his voice and his weird verbal expressions, they make me laugh, and it's good to not take it too seriously.
 
madcap_magician said:
I don't see any reason to form personality cults around anyone on YouTube, but I kind of like Nick Shabazz. I don't always agree with his opinion, and my experience isn't always the same as his, but I think he's earnest and his opinions are mostly genuine and reasonable. Also I actually kind of enjoy his voice and his weird verbal expressions, they make me laugh, and it's good to not take it too seriously.
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I couldn't agree more
 
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