Informal poll(or pole if you prefer).........

[knife7knut]

This has been working on me for a long time and I am not sure if there is a correct(or incorrect)answer to it:
When you post a picture of a knife or a tool that has an exposed knife blade,do you show it with the blade edge up or down?
I suppose you could always post it with the edge to the side but if you do then which side?
Didn't think you were going to get away that easy did you?
My own personal preference is to pose the knife with the master blade open to about 45 degrees with the edge facing down and the mark side showing.This usually puts the pivot pin to the right unless you are showing a 4 blade senator in which case the pivot is usually on the left due to the master blade positioning.
So what say you? You will NOT be graded on the answer.

[Mumbleypeg]

I always use the same method you described - except when I don’t.

Ken

[orvet]

I always use the same method you described - except when I don’t.

Ken

Me too Ken!

[Paladin]

Ditto for me!

Ray

[jerryd6818]

How about a picture. That would make it much easier for my small mind to understand what you're talking about.

In the meantime, I always pose my knifes for pictures like this

[FRJ]

I generally do something like this.

[Railsplitter]

I usually do the same thing Jerry does. If I'm only posting one knife I'll post several pictures in different angles showing each side of the knife with the blade(s) open and closed. I'll often post a pic of the back springs too.

[knife7knut]

Perhaps I should have clarified this a bit more. Whenever I am photographing a knife I try to make the picture as pleasing as possible.In my view the knife looks best if it is posed with the mark side toward the camera with the spine laying on the surface and the master blade opened at about a 45 degree angle.This is for a single blade knife.
For a two blade knife I will pose it somewhat different.If the blades are on one end of the knife(as in a jack)I will always open the smaller blade slightly more than the master blade as to me it seems to look better.
If the blades are at either end as in a pen knife,I will pose it a couple of different ways. If the knife has half stops I will usually open both blades to the 90 degree position.If they do not I will usually pose both blades open to about 45 degrees. I hesitate doing this because I do not like to put undue pressure on th4e back spring and this is even more acute with blades that have half stops.
Three blade knives usually have at least one blade with a half stop and I will pose one blade open to 90 degrees and the other about 45 degrees. The master blade I usually open to 45 degrees.
Four blade knives are a different ball game.On these the master blade will be at 45 degrees and the smaller blade opposite it will be at 90 degrees.I do the same for the other two blades so that the stress on the springs are equalized. Where it gets a little funky is the master blade on a senator has the tang stamp in the same place as a normal knife which puts it on the back of the blade because the the way the blades are set up in them it looks like it was designed for a left handed person. So if I pose it as I do other knives(with the pivot to the right side)the stamp is barely visible and there is no nail nick***
(***)the exception is this four blade I*XL knife that has nail nicks on both sides of the master blade! Believe it or not this is the first time I noticed it.
Anyway I still like to pose knives with the blades open but the edges on the down side.Here are some pics

[kootenay joe]

Ray, i orient knives the same way that you do and i think most people here do the same. However as long as the knife is clearly shown, i don't think orientation is that important. For example, the picture above by FRJ is oriented differently from your pictures but it is attractive and shows the knife well.
kj

[XX Case XX]

I'll often post a pic of the back springs too.

That is something a good number of sellers don't do Rick. That's an excellent way to get a well rounded view of a knife. Gary Kennedy does this on almost every single listing.

____________
Mike

[kennedy knives]

I'll often post a pic of the back springs too.

That is something a good number of sellers don't do Rick. That's an excellent way to get a well rounded view of a knife. Gary Kennedy does this on almost every single listing.

____________
Mike

Thanks Mike
I try to take 10 different views to get a good perspective of the knife and point out any flaws I see . I hate to see a knife I'm interested in and can't tell what it really looks like . I wish I could take better pictures . Jerry D takes great pictures . Just hard for and old dog to learn new tricks

[jerryd6818]

Just hard for and old dog to learn new tricks

Aww Gary. Not hard at all. First ya gotta wanna. Then get yourself a copy of the free image program - "PhotoScape" - then play with it. You're not going to break it no matter how hard you try. Until you save an image, you can always go back and do it over again. Wander around and try this, then try that. It's not a big deal.

Downloading PhotoScape is a mine field so use this link to get to the real free download ---► https://photoscape.en.uptodown.com/windows/download

Or don't. Your choice.

[GSPTOPDOG]

I always like to see the maker's mark, so I try and get the blade to a point where it is best to show the tang stamp. So here is how I usually take the shot....in this case of course there are multiple tang stamps....