Hey everybody, Nick here, and today, I’ve put up a website to serve as a hub for all things Nick Shabazz!
If you haven’t yet, you should absolutely check out my Channel on YouTube, my Instagram and Twitter where I post more regularly, and you’ll get sneak previews of what’s being tested, carried, and reviewed now, along with the occasional live stream. Also, check out my Patreon page, home to my patrons only Discord server, and the place where you can support my reviewing, if you value the time I spend on the channel.
Thanks so much for stopping by, and for all of the support I get from the community at large!
One other note: I do not have an assistant, and do not have somebody who “arranges product reviews”. Always contact me first, using Instagram or either of the addresses below, if you’d like to confirm that I’ve reached out.
Frequently Asked Questions
About the Nick - How to Send Nick Gear - Gear-related questions
Do you have a list someplace of everything you’ve reviewed?
Why yes, yes I do. I’ve got a Google Sheet right here with a list of every public review, as well as links, my gem/junk rating and some basic stats. It’s often a bit out of data, but check it out!
How can I contact you, Nick?
If you’re looking to send me gear for review or want me to do some consulting, check out the Sending Gear Section of the FAQ so we’re on the same page. If you’re another channel looking to collaborate, or you have some other proposition which you think , I’d love to hear about it by email.
If you’re just looking for a friendly chat, or to ask for a recommendation, ask for a review, or offer a gear loan, the answer is complicated. As the channel has grown, there are days where I wake up to more new messages than I’ll have time to answer all week, and as much as I’d like to reply more, even messages from generous people offering gear or saying kind things end up falling through the cracks.
So, if you’d like to chat with me, the best way is to join my Patreon page and hop onto the Discord server where I hang out regularly, along with a great community of Patrons, all passionate about gear.
All that said, if you want to contact me by email, nick at nickshabazz.com will get you there.
Do you sell t-shirts, mugs, or other merchandise?
Actually, yes, I do! Thanks to my buddy Ari who’s serving as my Merchmaster, I’ve been able to set up a store full of Nick Shabazz branded merchandise. Anything purchased there will support the channel directly, so I very much appreciate it, but like Patreon, it’s completely optional. If you have any questions about a Merch order, please email merch@nickshabazz.com and it’ll go straight to my Merchmaster!
Are you on any forums or other social media?
In addition to YouTube, Twitch, and Instagram, I’m on reddit (/u/nickshabazz), posting in /r/knifeclub and /r/watches. I’m “NickShabazz” on BladeForums, WatchUSeek, and the Spyderco Forums. I’m no longer on Facebook, because it’s vaguely evil and I wasn’t using it anyways, and I’m only barely on Twitter and Twitch, but I don’t post there very often, and don’t respond to messages, so it’s about the worst way to get in touch with me. And if you’re trying to get ahold of me, email is the best approach!
What do you do for a living, Nick?
Not YouTube, that’s for sure! This is just a project, driven mostly by a love of gear. I’m a scientist, actually, as my day job. I talked about this on video once.
What do you look like? Why don’t you show your face on the channel?
Oh, what the heck. Here’s a recent picture of me.
To answer the question, I don’t show my face on the channel mostly because I want to keep my work and play separate, because you never know when your next employer may be a serious zombie knife enthusiast. But at this point, it’s become an inside joke on the channel, and let’s face it, you have seen my face. But I very much appreciate that my viewers respect my privacy, and allow me the ability to keep work and play separate.
How can I support your gear reviewing habit, Nick?
Thanks for asking! The best way to support what I’m doing is to like, share, and recommend my content on YouTube. This gets the word out, and provides some (very some) ad revenue.
If you’d like to support me in a more financial way, go to my Patreon page and set up a donation. Finally, if you’d like, you can buy some Nick Shabazz Merchandise, whose proceeds will go straight to the channel. You can also use my Cameo page to order a custom video.
But, honestly, one of the best ways to support me is to be kind to a new reviewer on YouTube or elsewhere. Find a small channel you love, and donate some cash, some gear, or some time to help them out. There, you’re doing good for the whole community, rather than for one random jackass.
Do you accept Cryptocurrency donations?
Absolutely. My bitcoin address is 3GJZRfYAMARFxpCX6VvH9vpnG6GpnD4iCJ, and I’ll happily accept blockchain-based support. I’m also happy to accept Ethereum or other currencies, just email me. #NotTheBrilliantSatoshiNakamoto
Do you do custom videos?
Yes and no! If you’re a company, or want me to advocate for something, absolutely not. It’s honest review, or nothing at all. But if you’d just like me to send a message to a friend, family, or loved one, or to have a custom greeting, check out my cameo page to get a custom video made!
Wait, you had that item on your Instagram months ago, but there’s no video up? What gives?
Because work on the channel has to happen on weekends or after work, and I’ve often got loaned gear I need to get home, I write and film content whenever I can. This means that often, I film more content in a week than aired last week, and this leads to a backlog of un-aired reviews. This means that even when work takes over my life, I’ll still have new content on schedule. But it also means that it might take a while for a review, particularly if it’s not a new release or highly-requested piece, to actually come to the “front of the line”.
Wait, you used to have a video up on X, but now it’s gone! What happened?!
I’ve been reviewing for a while now, and I’ve learned a lot. Both about gear, and about reviewing. As a result, there have been some videos that I’ve decided to pull after some time. Sometimes, I’ve come to think the review is unfair after I learned something new. Sometimes, my views have changed enough, or become more nuanced, such that the original video doesn’t reflect my current opinions. Sometimes, a video becomes obseleted by a more recent follow-up review, or is just plain out-of-date. And sometimes, honestly, I just decide that the video needs to get pulled for any number of reasons. So, don’t worry, it’s just a jackass who constantly over-analyzes his own work.
How to send or suggest gear to Nick Shabazz for review
If you’re looking to send me gear, I really appreciate it. It means the world to me that you respect my work or content enough to want to support the channel. That said, I am now ridiculously busy with my day job, and having to substantially dial back the amount of time spent making content on the channel. As a result, I’m having to be very, very selective about the gear which I take on for review. If you’d like to send me something to check out, I’m looking for a few things:
What I’m looking for
If you’re interested in sending things along or want to make a suggestion, I’m happy to take a look, but I’m most interested in…
Uniqueness and innovation in the product segment: There are so many same-same-same releases out there, so if you’ve got something which stands out from the other gear, I’m interested. If you truly believe your product represents a ‘new frontier’ in design, materials, or approach, I’d love to hear from you.Related, I’m always interested in people ‘rethinking’ how a given product works or should work. So, innovative mechanisms, approaches, or materials go to the front of the line.
Exceptional fit and finish: My viewers know I love mastery. If your piece of gear shows me that you truly care about the details and went every extra mile, I’m 100% interested. But of course, this doesn’t matter as much if your gear provides…
Exceptional Value: I love fancy gear, but I’m also really interested in finding great value-focused gear to share with my viewers. That said, I’m not looking to ‘race to the bottom’, and for something to be considered on my channel, it should still have the necessities like warranty processes, solid distribution, and great quality control.
In Production: I’ll need to review the final, ready-for-mass-distribution version of your product. Production prototypes with ‘some functional tweaks needed’ aren’t a good idea, as it doesn’t represent what buyers will actually receive. If it’s just a ‘oh, we changed this text on the dial’, we can talk, but generally, I want to review what people are buying. I’m happy to do a ‘stealth review’ on your prototypes, though!
New Makers: I love featuring new makers doing amazing work with pride, particularly once they’ve gotten to the point where a several thousand person onslaught of interest is ‘exciting’ rather than ‘apocalyptic’. I’m particularly interested in supporting new factories, family-owned businesses, local makers, and folks making a strong effort to ethically support their team of employees and pay a fair and livable wage.
History of Excellence: I’ve said many times that the way to make amazing gear is to make good gear, and then make it better. So, folks who I see improving their past work, and folks whose work I know has been amazing before, are very easy to put on my list.
Kindness: One easy way to jump to the front of my line is to be amazing to people. It is important to me that I use my platform to help support makers and companies who are welcoming, caring and respectful towards their customers, fellow makers, and the community at large. I’m also only interested in makers who take constructive criticism with a kind grain of salt, rather than getting angry or lawyery, and makers who make charitable giving and work an important part of their mission. If you want to catch my eye, be a gem to people.
Dealbreakers
There are a few things that make me pretty unlikely to take on your gear:
Loans from Viewers: I really appreciate the many offers I get from people to loan me some of their favorite gear for review, but these days unless it’s something truly exceptional which I couldn’t source new, or it’s a very close friend who doesn’t mind the timeline, I’m generally saying no. The biggest problem is time: I’m very slow, and I feel awful keeping your gear for as long as it would take. There are also issues with not knowing how it was used previously, and whether any problems are from the factory or prior use. That said, you should absolutely consider looking around at some of the other great reviewers on YouTube, and making the offer to them, as loans are the lifeblood of new channels, and you’ll be doing them a huge favor.
Crowdfunding Campaigns: I’m not interested in reviewing crowdfunded (e.g. Kickstarter/IndieGoGo) products until after the campaign has concluded and the products have been delivered to backers, with the item now available for general sale. This is because videos for un-funded products wind up a waste of everybody’s time, these projects can be risky, and usually the final product winds up differing from the prototypes sent around to reviewers in meaningful ways. Your project/product has to be both very unique and very promising, and ideally from an existing company which has delivered product before, for an exception to even be considered here.
Limited Editions: I’m not interested in reviewing ‘limited run’ items. These include ‘limited editions’, numbered (1 of 500) runs, ‘single run’ or ‘flash batch’ products, or other products where the maker has ruled out making additional batches. I will make exceptions for exceptional work, but if your product will not be regularly available for purchase 6-12 months after the review, not only is that super ugly and quite frustrating, but it makes the video completely useless after the product sells out, and encourages no shortage of hate and unhappiness in the comments. I understand that repeated small ‘drops’ or repeated smaller batches are a reality of life for many makers, and that’s workable, but at this point, limited run items are an ugly fad, and are not eligible for consideration for ‘gear of the year’ or similar honors.
Planned Obsolescence and Poor Repairability: I’m a big proponent of right to repair, and believe firmly that good tools should be able to be maintained at home. So, I won’t feature makers with policies like ‘any disassembly, whether it causes damage or not, voids the warranty” or ’All maintenance or sharpening must be done via our factory ’spa service’ or the warranty is void’. Finally, makers who make their products defective by design and make consumable parts non-replaceable (e.g. flashlight batteries which cannot be replaced by the consumer) will not be entertained. Similarly, needless use of ‘security’ or proprietary hardware (e.g. screws), one-off proprietary chargers (rather than USB-C), or non-standard batteries in full-size lights is simply ugly. These are daily tools which are meant to be maintained by the owner, and proprietary hardware, chargers and consumables simply make them worse in every way.
Opaque or Questionable Sourcing: Quality is about effort, not geography, and I’m happy to review quality goods from all around the world. However, country of origin is important to many of my viewers, so I do expect makers to be transparent and honest about their sourcing. So no, your $50 OTF knives in ‘M390’ featuring Eagles and Flags and Crosses are not American made, I’m not an idiot and neither are my viewers. Also, extraordinary claims requite extraordinary evidence, so if you’ve just started a brand new Made-in-the-USA factory producing intricate titanium framelocks, you’ll want to have public evidence supporting your sourcing claims (e.g. single-cut factory tours starting at street-view-able locations, ‘making of’ videos featuring company representatives and the gear in question being made, and opportunities for public tours). Overwhelming evidence is not hard to produce if you’re legit, and I’m happy to talk with you about how to best provide sufficient evidence to the public. But put simply, if you’re acting sketchy about your sourcing and production, I have to assume your sourcing and production is sketchy until you publicly demonstrate otherwise.
Clones and ‘homages’: Counterfeiting and ‘cloning’ is just plain ugly. Not only are fake or ‘clone’ goods bad for the knife and watch industry, promoting companies that rip people’s work off and fool less savvy buyers, but they’re also not much good to review, either. So you’re unlikely to ever see a ‘clone’ or counterfeit watch or knife on my channel, and if your company produces counterfeit, ‘unbranded clone’, or ‘homage’ designs alongside unique pieces, I’m not going to review any of your products, original or not. There are too many great companies doing unique designs for me to bother with the rest.
Marketing Speak: I’m happy to connect with your marketing folks for loans, but be warned, if you use the phrase “influencer” or offer me money in exchange for a positive public review or ‘social media campaign’, I’m going to groan audibly as I delete your email. Seriously, guys. Just no.
That sounds like me, and I want to send something along…
First, I want to make sure we’re on the same page: I owe it to my viewers to provide an honest and fair review, and every review I make looks at the Good, the Great, the Bad, and the Ugly of whatever’s on my table. There’s also a chance that I simply won’t have the time, or that I won’t be interested in your particular item(s), but know that regardless, I appreciate the offer.
For transparency, I’ve posted my full review disclaimer online for you to read, so we’re on the same page before you even open an email.
If you’re still interested in sending something along after reading that, shoot me an email (nick at this website dot com) letting me know you agree to the review disclaimer terms, but more importantly, describing what you’ve got and why I’m going to love it. Then we’ll take it from there.
I make gear and I’d like you to do a ‘stealth review’ or consult for me!
Sure! I love doing confidential consulting for companies, telling you what’s good, great, bad and ugly about your product, and providing feedback and thoughts on your products. Because these take considerable time that I could be spending on reviews for my channel, I do have to charge an hourly rate for stealth reviews and consulting, but new makers will be given a break.
For more details, check out http://nickshabazz.com/consulting and we can go from there!
Frequently Asked Gear-Related Questions
What’s the very best watch/pocketknife/pen??
This is really tough one, because everybody’s got different needs. The best watch for a Scuba diver is very different than the best watch for a CEO. The best pocketknife for the desert is quite different than the best knife for Detroit. Your needs will determine what’s ‘best’, and there’s no ‘one-size-fits-all’ choice.
If you’d like to know what the very best gear for my particular life is, find the latest videos in my Collection Overviews Playlist. I can’t afford to keep a large collection, so the gear that sticks around is the best-of-the-best for me.
Why don’t you review…
Audiophile and Sound Gear: I’m a Sound Guy, and I love headphones (Sennheiser HD650 at home with a Schiit Jotunheim Amp, HD598 at work with a Headroom Micro Amp/Dac). But reviewing them on video is really kind of weird. Because so much of what brings people joy is the subjective tone quality that’s really hard to convey. So, as much as I enjoy sound, I review from a functional basis, and that’s just plain hard with high-end audio.
Balisongs/Butterfly Knives: I’m just not that coordinated! So I’d be more a danger to myself than to boxes and envelopes!
Big Automatic Knives: In California, automatic knives over 2” are illegal to carry, and frankly, automatics don’t do much for me anyways. Given the legal complexity of buying and selling them they’re just not that interesting.
Handmade Custom Knives: I talked recently about why I’m (mostly) done with custom knives, but long story short, they’re just not much fun to review, not very useful to watch as reviews, and they’re very expensive. So, I’m leaving that to passionate collectors, and focusing on production and CNC-made small batch knives. One or two might slip in from time to time, but they’re never going to be a focus.
Chinese Microbrand Knives: I do review gear from lesser known overseas brands, but generally speaking, I wait on new brands until they’ve a) been around for a while, b) got a solid distributorship and repair base through actual knife dealers (rather than relying on international drop-ship sites or Amazon), c) I’m seeing good signs of quality and consistency in a series of models, and d) they’re not selling any clones or ‘homage’ pieces. Yes, that’s a high bar to clear, and I’ll often make exceptions for new designers working with established factories, but when each review is a few hours of my life, I’d rather focus on established brands with a reputation for quality, where gems are more likely to be found. Feel free to let me know if you’re having great experiences with a brand, though, so I can build up data.
Brand X, Y or Z: More likely than not, it’s just that I’ve never had any of their gear on my table. Only a few brands are “silently banned”, and that’s usually because they’re regularly doing something I find deeply ugly, like regularly and needlessly using proprietary screws, producing “homage” or clone pieces based on other people’s designs, acting hostile or litigious towards the community or towards myself personally, or just producing junk (which isn’t cheap enough to be entertaining).
Firearms, Brass Knuckles, Fidget Spinners, Kubatons, Lanyard Beads, Spin-tops, Survival Gear, etc.: This one’s easy - I just don’t have any passion for these products. So, reviewing them is no fun for me, and I can’t do a great job of it, so the reviews would be no fun for you. Sorry!
What tools do you use to disassemble and maintain knives and pens?
I’ve got a whole page dedicated to this. If you’d like to pick them up, and support me, using the affiliate links on that page is a great way to do it.
Can you recommend me a knife/watch/pen that…
Let me stop you right there: The answer is “probably not”, and I’m really sorry about that.
You see, I get 10-15 recommendation requests per day by email, Instagram DM, YouTube comment, and otherwise. If each request only takes 4-5 minutes to ponder and respond, that adds up, and considering that everything I do for the channel needs to happen in my free time after work, it’s tough to lose time I could spend writing reviews or preparing new content, which everybody gets to enjoy.
If you feel like your request is really exceptional or unusual (“I’m going into space next month in a Soyuz capsule, and I need a pocketknife which can…”) and might make an interesting video, feel free to send it along, but please don’t be offended if I can’t get to it.
The best way to find something I would recommend is to check out the Nick’s Gems Playlist on YouTube. It’s kept updated with all the latest stuff, and every piece of gear on that list is something I love, and would recommend to any viewer who asked. If you find it on that list, it’s among the best in the business, and absolutely is worth checking out.
Finally, because they’re supporting me and helping to make the channel possible, Patreon Patrons get access to my Discord, where you can get recommendations from myself and my passionate supporters.
