Some Thoughts on Youtuber Nick Shabazz

I think he's had a lot of fair reviews. A few of them I thought were way off. For the most part though he seems as objective as possible.

I do think he missed the boat with the CRK models. I also think his emphasis on a knife's action is a bit much. I mean it matters some but the purpose of a knife isn't how fast or smooth it opens. That side really gets almost to the art side of a knife and in that, it's certainly all personal.

The biggest bust for me was his review of the Kizer Gemini. Mine is an absolutely fantastic knife and the review was so passionless. I thought if that knife had a ZT or custom maker label he would have given it a glowing review that it otherwise didn't. That one just felt extra biased because of the brand.

It's tough to be judged on every video. I've come to take some points away, ignore others that mean a lot to him, and make my own call from there. I like the disassembly videos especially on knives that are a bit picky.
 
The biggest bust for me was his review of the Kizer Gemini. Mine is an absolutely fantastic knife and the review was so passionless. I thought if that knife had a ZT or custom maker label he would have given it a glowing review that it otherwise didn't. That one just felt extra biased because of the brand.

I can totally see your feelings there. The Gemini's a great knife, objectively speaking, but for some reason, it absolutely left me stone cold. Lots of other examples, the Small Sebenza/Sebenza 25/Inkosi, Spyderco Sage 2 , Benchmade Griptilians, Spyderco Stretch, heck any EDC fixed blade: Lots of people love them, but there's just no way for me to get up a head of steam for them.

It's tough when that happens, when I've got something that I know many people love, and that I can see intellectually is pretty decent, but where I don't "get" it, or even worse, find it absolutely awful. That's the rub of being one guy with one set of views: Sometimes, I'm way against the grain, and, at least according to a lot of folks, I'd be more "fair" if I could manage to give a damn and see what other people see in it. But I just have *nothing*, and don't "get" it. So I try my best, but wind up missing "the magic", and the review usually ends up cold, and angering the people who are in love. That's life.

That said, I love a lot of what Kizer's done, and I have no problem with them as a company. Heck, one of their knives, the T1, is in the running for the best new knife of 2017 so far. So I don't think that's quite fair. I may be nuts for not loving that knife, but I don't think that THAT is why I'm nuts in this case.

Finally, your statement:

I've come to take some points away, ignore others that mean a lot to him, and make my own call from there.

Is awesome. That's about the healthiest way to view *any* review. Figure out where Nick Shabazz is unreliable, crazy, stupid, or biased, then factor that out, making your own decision on the basis of what's left, and what you can pick up elsewhere. Anybody who takes my words or opinions or passions as gospel is, sooner or later, gonna find themselves with a nice tall glass of ugly, as they've painted themselves into my corner, where they may not want to be. Nicely put.
 
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If you don't think it was a brand issue I'll take your word. It did seem like one of the first quality China brands/model to come through and at the time a lot of others were overly harsh about it based on brand/country of origin. I remember a lot of hate in general from the community because of it being China made from a Chinese company. For whatever reason I had that in my mind as part of your critique but it's been a while since I watched that video so I will admit I'm probably wrong of what was in the video and I'm certainly not in the position to tell you what you were thinking.

It is tough as an individual reviewer. You either have to go with the trends and hold little individual value or you speak your heart and frustrate those who see it other ways. And to be honest I'd much rather it the way it is than have you just fall in line with the trends. I can't imagine what it's like to give an honest review about your opinions while also knowing a good review can cause a large sales boost and a bad one can be very harmful. It's a tough line to try to be fair while not hurting feelings for things that didn't stand out for you.

Most of your interests and feelings on knives match mine and I certainly listen to all of your points good and bad for a knife.
 
For size comparison we have the ontario rat numba 1 and the ontario rat a numba2
That line right there is my favorite part of every nick shabazz video. Love the way he says that. Keep up the good work nick.
 
I like him,i do admit the 1st time I saw a video I was shocked to hear him, I thought I was listening to a car salesman from Brooklyn, but I got used to his voice,has great info and views on the knives he reviews.:thumbsup:
 
And at least hes not promoting clones and fakes like that luvthemknives marblemouth! Nick is a positive fellow; keep up the good work !
 
Nick I enjoy your videos and your humor emensly.
You have never touted yourself to be anything other than a knife enthusiast and gadget geek, which I relate to. I appeciate the disassembly and maintenance videos, as I learn from your experiences... The good, bad, and ugly. Thanks and keep up the good work.

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Absolutely. It still blows me away what this channel has become. I didn't anticipate having 17 subscribers, let alone 17,000. So, I'm doing my best to up my game and precision, even though I'm still regularly not a brilliant man. I try to stick to techniques which I can do well enough to set a good example (which is why you don't see videos on things like sharpening or lockbar retensioning or action tuning), and there are some knives which I advocate people don't attempt to disassemble at all, if I don't think there's an easy way for somebody new to the game to get into it. But I'm absolutely still growing and learning and trying to keep up with expectations. It's very odd and a bit scary to be treated like an expert when you're just a random jackass doing his best to know what he's on about.



You're not being a bad guy, just trying to educate, which I appreciate. I've tried to improve some of those issues in the year or so since that particular video was filmed, but the fact that I don't take all of those particular measures is partly because they're exceedingly cautious, beyond the level I care to work at, and partly because my viewers won't reliably have a non-marking Delrin disassembly tool and padded vices at the kitchen table. I want people to understand that maintaining your tools is for everybody, not just knifemakers, and that the process isn't so complicated and scary.

There's always room for me to improve, sure, and there are always nits to pick, but the videos show my honest process, and hopefully people learn from my errors as they do their own disassemblies. I figure it's better to have an (imperfect) example that people can follow from somebody who does a pretty reasonable job of it, rather than to have no video at all, with people at home just shooting from the hip next time their knife gets gunked up.

I also encourage you to leave a (constructive) comment next time you see me do something truly boneheaded in a disassembly. This way, somebody who finds the video and sees the comments will see a teachable moment, and ideally, do it better than I did. People who disagree (without being hateful) are always welcome in the comments, and in many cases, I've stickied "Here's a better approach" comments at the top, or in rare cases, re-filmed videos to reflect new information. I'll never learn to do it better next time if nobody mentions these issues!

Thanks for taking the time to give the feedback, though.
 
Honestly one of my favorite YouTubers to watch for knife and gear. I like that he has a good format to go off of, and I think while opinions are obviously subjective, it serves as good point of reference. If he thinks of knife one way, perhaps one that you have you have a good idea what that translates to in another knife.
 
I can totally see your feelings there. The Gemini's a great knife, objectively speaking, but for some reason, it absolutely left me stone cold. Lots of other examples, the Small Sebenza/Sebenza 25/Inkosi, Spyderco Sage 2 , Benchmade Griptilians, Spyderco Stretch, heck any EDC fixed blade: Lots of people love them, but there's just no way for me to get up a head of steam for them.

It's tough when that happens, when I've got something that I know many people love, and that I can see intellectually is pretty decent, but where I don't "get" it, or even worse, find it absolutely awful. That's the rub of being one guy with one set of views: Sometimes, I'm way against the grain, and, at least according to a lot of folks, I'd be more "fair" if I could manage to give a damn and see what other people see in it. But I just have *nothing*, and don't "get" it. So I try my best, but wind up missing "the magic", and the review usually ends up cold, and angering the people who are in love. That's life.

That said, I love a lot of what Kizer's done, and I have no problem with them as a company. Heck, one of their knives, the T1, is in the running for the best new knife of 2017 so far. So I don't think that's quite fair. I may be nuts for not loving that knife, but I don't think that THAT is why I'm nuts in this case.

Finally, your statement:



Is awesome. That's about the healthiest way to view *any* review. Figure out where Nick Shabazz is unreliable, crazy, stupid, or biased, then factor that out, making your own decision on the basis of what's left, and what you can pick up elsewhere. Anybody who takes my words or opinions or passions as gospel is, sooner or later, gonna find themselves with a nice tall glass of ugly, as they've painted themselves into my corner, where they may not want to be. Nicely put.
This kind of perspective is what makes Nick popular.
 
He is a freaking gem.....

It appears he has integrity, and seems to be impartial. I like that he has not sold out like so many of the other you tube knife reviewers.. although a lot of his nitpicks I don't agree with, I do appreciate his point of view. I like that he can and does tell it like it is and he does not appear to do infomercials like most other reviewers. He also seems to be having fun and acts professional..

His taste on the otherhand...... not so much .... the Razel....OMG , the ugliest knife, well just not for me.. He probably single handily is responsable for the ridiculous second hand market of the Grimsmo brand..
 
I wish I could stand the voice. The reviews otherwise seem great but for me, the voice is like a fingernail down a blackboard for a review with this kind of format. No doubt if I was American it would be easier. Just seems like the personification of every cheap, old, cliched, NY based flick I've ever not wanted to finish watching.

Sorry I'm pathetic Nick. I'm sure you're a great guy. You saved me from a Feist when they were first released.
 
The good, the great, the bad, and the ugly. If you dish it out, you also have to take it.

Are you planning to publish a review on the WeDropFerrumFalcon Nick? It passed in front of the camera a few weeks back and have been meaning to ask. Would be interested to hear your thoughts on that little guy.
 
Nick Shabazz is highly amusing, and a very good sport. A few of his vids have made me laugh out loud. They usually raise a few grins, and that is a good thing.

I wonder how much of his excellent innuendo flies way over the head of how many viewers...

He’s very bright.
 
He carries a folder for 3 days and reviews it...
But he's amusing none the less.
 
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I wish I could stand the voice. Sorry I'm pathetic Nick. I'm sure you're a great guy.

Nah, you're not pathetic. Different grinds for different kinds!

The good, the great, the bad, and the ugly. If you dish it out, you also have to take it.

Are you planning to publish a review on the WeDropFerrumFalcon Nick? It passed in front of the camera a few weeks back and have been meaning to ask. Would be interested to hear your thoughts on that little guy.

Yep. Not sure when it'll air, but it's filmed. It's a great start in the collab, although it's got some frustrating issues too.

He carries a folder for 3 days and reviews it...
But he's amusing none the less.

That's the nature of loaned gear, alas. But you're right, if you want the six-month long term reviews, you'll want another channel. Then again, remember that some gear gets way more. I've probably EDCed the Spyderco Shaman four times as much as most items for review, and am still on the fence that I fully 'get' it. Some knives are easy. Some... not so much. Glad to amuse though!
 
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