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Why I Don’t Do Forums

A buddy of mine sent me a link to a recent forum thread today, and it just blew my mind. The topic of the forum thread is Coye Knives, which, if you follow Monderno, you know I’m a fan of. The amount of egregious ignorance contained within the thread is unreal, and is a perfect example of why I don’t do forums.

The thread starts out with someone asking about Coye Knives. Right away, a forum moderator responds with photos copied from the Coye Knives website, complaining about the prices. This tells me two things: one, this person, who again is a forum moderator, has no clue what they are talking about, and two, this person didn’t even TRY to form an educated opinion before running his mouth. If he had browsed around the Coye website just a bit, he would have noticed that Coye Knives are CUSTOM knives – as in made by hand. Of COURSE they are going to be more expensive than a production knife.

Here are a few of the pages on the Coye website that would have clued him in:

He then goes on:

Note that these are machine finished (tumbled) knives so there isn’t any time intensive finish work being done on them.

Also, it looks like these are from waterjetted blanks. Not that there is anything wrong with that but it vastly speeds up the process.
It would be interesting to know if he jobs out heat treatment.

If so they are asking $345 for a knife that consumes $25 worth of materials and has maybe an hour of labor.

I don’t even know where to start…maybe a half hour or labor to build a custom knife? Are you kidding me? He then says later in the thread:

Per unit profit margins are HUGE at the prices that Coye is asking…

Apparently this guy builds custom knives, and it only takes him a half hour. I’d love to see his work. Also, according to him, Bill is getting rich off of working 80+ hours a week building knives by hand. You know, because huge profit margins and all. As Bill is a friend of mine, this really pisses me off.

Another forum moderator then jumps in, posts a picture of the PRODUCTION Coye/Boker Ridgeback (which incidentally goes for ~$55 street), and then says the design looks like a Kasper/Polkowski fighting knife, but that that it’s way too thick and it’s grip is too short.

Hey guys…it’s short BY DESIGN. It’s a three-finger design for EDC. Also, it’s 5/32″ thick. Again, more incorrect information.

So in summary – they publicly and vaingloriously disparage someone’s work with ZERO firsthand knowledge, all the while displaying their ignorance by pretending to be knowledgeable. This has sadly been my experience with forums, and why I stay away from them.

Obligatory disclaimer: I know nothing about THR forum other than this thread. It might be awesome, I have no clue. Also, I’m sure there are some forums out there filled with good people providing good information, with a minimum amount of Windex consumption and general contemptuous douchebaggery. I’m genuinely curious, if there are some forums out there that are good, let me know in the comments.

23 Responses to Why I Don’t Do Forums

  1. Mike September 19, 2014 at 2:50 pm #

    My eyes are bleeding after reading that forum thread…wow. What a bunch of douchebags. I don’t do forums either anymore, got my fill of idiots from hanging out on barfcom.

  2. GGP September 19, 2014 at 3:18 pm #

    wethearmed.com is pretty good, lots of good folks there, minimal douchebaggery.

    THR is one of the old school gun forums, but the amount of self-righteousness and know-it-alls is trying.

    • Brandon September 19, 2014 at 3:25 pm #

      Thanks GGP

  3. Kevin September 19, 2014 at 3:21 pm #

    Thanks, Brandon.

    There’s a big difference between an opinion:

    “I think Coye knives are overpriced”, or “I believe the knife’s grip is too short”

    And a statement which is presented as a fact but may actually be totally incorrect:

    “Per unit profit margins are HUGE at the prices that Coye is asking”, or “Note that these are machine finished (tumbled) knives so there isn’t any time intensive finish work being done on them.”

    Everyone is entitled to their opinion. If you think the knife is overpriced or the grip is too short, don’t buy it. That’s cool, and it’s the way things should be.

    However, there are WAY TOO MANY self-proclaimed “experts” who anonymously spout off opinions and disguise them as facts on forums. That’s why I read some of them but pretty much disregard anything that seems like a fact but isn’t referenced or easily verifiable.

    Keep fighting the good fight, my friend…

    • Brandon September 19, 2014 at 3:24 pm #

      Thanks Kevin.

  4. Ricky September 19, 2014 at 3:31 pm #

    There are some good forums out there. Actually THR has a lot of good information BUT that being said, all forums are full of folks that think they know everything. I make knives as well. I mostly use machinery to do the blanking and shaping of them it and they STILL take an amazing amount of time and investment to manufacture. Another time on ar15.com (i believe) i was reading about how some guy got lower that wouldn’t assemble correctly with any upper. A few people began to promptly inform him that he had no idea what he was talking about and the lower was fine “because they’re all made by machine and no way only one was bad, if one was bad hundreds would be”. I (being a machinist that runs his own CNC shop) came to his defense and tried to educate the lot on how CNC machining actually works and how there’s still a tremendous amount of room for human error that can happen on a part by part basis. I was then told by a guy that had a brother that was a machinist that i was wrong and had no idea what i was talking about……I gave up on that thread but if every person that actually has knowledge to impart or has the ability to correct erroneous facts shies away from forums because of the idiots, then who’s going to be there to give the poor guys that just want to learn at least the opportunity to hear the truth. There’s a good chance that that guy that asked about Coye knives won’t buy one now because no one spoke up with the truth about them.

    • Brandon September 19, 2014 at 3:35 pm #

      Thanks Ricky. I considered creating an account to to battle the idiots, but I just don’t have the time.

  5. g September 19, 2014 at 3:32 pm #

    Forums mix many kids of people… regular folks, “internet experts”, genuine experienced people. Sometimes, they’re useful, sometimes… not.

    ARF is notorious for bad behavior. Personally, I only frequent Northwest Firearms Forum (mostly WA, OR, ID, AK folks) and AK Files (Kalash all day).

  6. South Texas Arms September 19, 2014 at 4:03 pm #

    As a member, I presented my disdain for the comments, and presented to the OP my opinion and information regarding Coye knives. Certainly, I’m probably going to be banned for my comments, but I will gladly wear that badge with honor. SMH…. I dislike greatly people with pompous attitudes towards another man’s way of life.

    • Brandon September 19, 2014 at 8:21 pm #

      Thanks man.

  7. Greg Toal September 19, 2014 at 6:11 pm #

    Not-fer-nothin, I’ve heard that Monderno is pretty good. Not a ” forum” mind you, but the info’s spot on though.
    I go to maybe 2 info sources for reviews & such. Most places are naught but B.S. and self aggrandization. Thanks for the “plain” truth

    • Brandon September 19, 2014 at 8:20 pm #

      Thanks Greg.

  8. Adam September 19, 2014 at 6:52 pm #

    I hang out on ARFCOM religiously. Everyone and their mother there has an opinion about what is good and what sucks. The hate changes weekly in GD. One week we hate Mossberg and the next Troy.

    Like ANY source, you have to pick around the crap to get the good information. All forums (except maybe m4carbine.net) have good information. You just have to be able to separate people’s opinion from information. No different than a blog, other than instead of one individual’s perception you have multiple ones to account for.

  9. lupy September 19, 2014 at 8:59 pm #

    300 blackout talk is a great. What other forum can you debate with one of the creators and not get banned. Also, misinformation is quickly called out and majority of all are polite and answer questions respectfully.

    • Brandon September 19, 2014 at 9:57 pm #

      Thanks lupy – I really want to build a 300 blackout upper by the way, but the price of ammo keeps me from doing it…

  10. Andru September 20, 2014 at 10:07 pm #

    AR15.com is really a great place filled with a lot of great information.

    • Brandon September 20, 2014 at 11:05 pm #

      It seems like people either love or hate AR15.com, with very little middle ground.

      • Neil September 21, 2014 at 10:34 pm #

        Regardless of the mixed opinion afrcom gets, the main reason why I like it is because of the lack of smug (Yes, that’s a South Park reference). Sometimes other forums are way too serious about themselves.

  11. shorikid September 21, 2014 at 7:55 am #

    You know what is wrong with Coye knives? I will tell you exactly what is wrong with them, and I am an expert having ground out a few knife shaped objects. Coye knives are so horribly awesome that I want one and would gladly pay the price. However, as an expert, I assure you my wife would stab me with it if she found out what I paid for one.

    Keyboard warriors and instant net experts are as old as the web. I haven’t even found a good gun forum yet and can almost never find a quality martial arts related forum for them either.

  12. Mike September 24, 2014 at 11:02 am #

    If you’re looking for honest, well informed, genuinely knowledgeable and dare I say truly helpful folks to speak to in a forum setting (predominantly around knives and other sharp things although all manner of gear, guns and other “tactical goodies” are to be had and discussed)…

    I can’t recommend ANYWHERE better on the Interwebs than the Usual Suspects Network (USN) – http://www.usualsuspect.net.

    The community as a whole is a little like drinking from a fire hose when you first check it out (as there is a lot to read and review), but they value honesty and balanced criticism over ignorance and blind comments. Fools aren’t tolerated and they are QUICKLY put in their place or removed entirely. it is great to be able to speak to many, many professional knife makers both big and small in one place – all of who are willing to discuss things with everyone on a level playing field.

  13. hardh8 September 27, 2014 at 7:29 pm #

    As you know I’ve bought a couple of coye knives you’ve talked about on this forum before. I think the quality is very high and would recommend them to one and all. Yes you might find a less costly knife, But IF your life depends on a blade, I think this isn’t a wise choice. Just my uneducated opinion though.

  14. Jason M. October 27, 2014 at 7:27 pm #

    I used to browse and occasionally comment on THR forum about seven years ago. They are all based on the same culture–a collection of barely functional fools that have an opportunity through the confidence of anonymity to say whatever they want as fact or experience-based. If you go to any online forum you will find a handful of “experts” that the rest of the forum sheep look up to.

    I browse only two forums these days and it’s limited to the classifieds sections.

    • Brandon October 28, 2014 at 9:00 am #

      That’s been my experience as well.