Function testing versus destructive testing:

I have issues when a ranking system is applied to a product based on subjective testing. I say “subjective” because there is no real way a person can cut the exact same way every time. In order to have an accurate and fair test, there must be a system to ensure an equal amount of force is used, in the same direction, for the same period of time.

Some dude saying the knife felt like it cut better doesn’t meet any real standards of consistency.

Cutting 2x4s isn’t fair because no two boards are alike. One can have easy to split straight grain while another may be a board pulled from Satan’s back deck and have grain like a maze. You need a consistent medium for cutting tests to be of any real value.

Cutting steel? BS. A cold chisel would cruise through that test but would make a crappy knife wouldn’t it? Why, because it is design to cut steel.

The comparisons to automobile crash testing are wrong because the auto crash testing is designed to, under strictly controlled conditions, show how the vehicle protects the passengers, not what it takes to destroy the vehicle. If we just wanted to destroy the vehicle, there are easier ways to do it.

I could literally go on for pages and pages about the issues I have with this type of testing but it would be pointless. For me, I will not be basing my knife choices on what I see on that site.

If I want a knife that will chop better, I will seek out a knife with the correct blade geometry and correct temper to perform that action. I also won’t complain when an axe (great chopper) sucks for delicate slicing. You must seek out the correct tool for the job. If you are using a knife outside its intended use, don’t be surprised if it fails to do it well.

Nobody is surprised that a Hummer would suck for drag racing. No one would find it distressing that a rail-job doesn’t handle off roading well.

I acknowledge the argument that in an emergency we’d need to use our tools beyond their intended purpose. However, to what level do we expect a tool to function beyond the design? I wouldn’t fault a light summer sleeping bag for not keeping me toasty warm in sub-zero temps.

Finally a quick aside: why is it people get all wound up about how sharp a knife comes from a manufacturer but don’t bat an eye about a Glock or Kimber’s break in period? A Kimber’s groups reportedly don’t start to tighten up until a couple hundred rounds have gone through them, does that make it a piece of junk?

These are, of course, merely my opinions on the matter.

Patrick