The Slow and Painful Decline of TKOR Channel

[@An_Average_Idiot]

Not sure about others, but for me i stopped watching because it stopped being about learning about science or doing strange experiments and started being more and more about "hey look at all this *insert sweets here* that we have." Looking back at the channel now, it has become almost entirely clickbaity titles and thumbnails and seems to be even less about actual science. My personal guess is that while the algorithm made it hard to attract views, the content also changed to be targeted at a younger audience. (Bright colors, lots of candy, smaller experiments that can be done inside or at least somewhat safely.) This probably alienated quite a few of the viewers who had the same problem i did with the direction of the channel which reduced the amount of views the channel was getting even more. Dont get me wrong, I loved some of the content they were still producing but it started to feel less like a science channel with some food experiments and more like a food experiment channel with some extra bits thrown in. (At least when I stopped watching which was in late 2019.) Looking at the channel now, it seems to be staying afloat somewhat but it takes two months for a channel of that size to break 100k views on most of their content videos which isnt great. Edit: looking back at the videos now, the titles became far more clickbaity just a year ago so im not sure what happened behind the scenes there.

[@notthomasjoel]

Absolutely agree, should have put it in the video. The old videos were much more educational. For example the metal forge. In me it sparked an interest in metallurgy and few weeks later I tried out forging a knife out of a metal rod. It taught me quite a lot. Then as you said came the rush for KZbin Kids and they have tried to capitalize on it but it didn't really work for them, meanwhile they have managed to alienate their loyal fanbase. Overall great analysis. Your comment deserves a pin.

[@Twist_Ligma]

I stopped watching before the change like maybe like 1 yr Before the change But it made me Just Wow everybody is mad and sad i was confused why i tought they just changed the name But they changed completely and king of random was a good channel before What it became today:(

[@drslime7]

I remember watching Nates video and the word management came up alot wich I think lead to the decline as it takes a person to make a great youtube video not a company that's chasing numbers their not gonna get. I think if there wasn't a management and just Nate and Cali continuing on from Grants legacy but still again Grant is what made TKOR not putting marshmallows in homemade vacuum pump and calling that a video (not tryng to throw shade on Nate and Cali I loved there videos and still occasionally watch there own videos.)

[@The0Train]

i stoped watching after they removed nate because he has been the main person for like 4 or 3 years after grant died

[@whyismynamehere]

Nate is a chad I loved him. But most importantly grant I miss him ☹️

[@Eggythunder6712]

It was genuinely painful for me to check back in on tkor and see that my favorite science teachers channel had become a budget 5-minute crafts

[@JBlooey]

It's especially ironic when you remember they used to have a series where they debunked 5-minute crafts videos.

[@TheTallOne890]

i mean technically they are far more successful then they ever were but that's not necessarily a good thing

[@Ark_knight0]

​@@TheTallOne890that's not even true, the new views are getting 20k views or even less, while having 12 million subscribers. They are not doing well at all

[@TheTallOne890]

@@Ark_knight0 they are also pumping out content alot faster and that content is getting more views when compared with when they were posted

[@wassupbros4629]

⁠@@TheTallOne890 How is content that is being pumped out a lot faster a good thing. It almost always means that the quality of the content is significantly hurt and especially for a channel like this quality is one of the most important things.

[@abysspegasusgaming]

To me, Nate BECAME the TKOR, along with Callie. I'm glad that Nate still keeps up with Grant's legacy on his own channel and has Callie team up with him for the awesome experiments that they do. He might not do the same things as what he did on TKOR, but the videos he makes are entertaining.

[@xynonners]

yeah. nate really picked up the torch

[@thomasn3071]

Same here

[@Skywalker8510Too]

Nate used to be the prince of random but he eventually became the king of random

[@Ledut-in-YT]

Care to drop his channel name? Thanks in advance mate

[@abysspegasusgaming]

@@Ledut-in-YT Gladly, Nate's channel is Nate From The Internet (@NFTI) +554K subscribers currently!

[@RoshFragger]

The worst thing they have recently done is getting rid of Nate and Callie, the original legacy-keepers after Grant's passing...

[@a180combatbowsergamepro6]

what do you mean they got rid of nate and callie

[@rrkred3561]

@@a180combatbowsergamepro6 They were fired

[@a180combatbowsergamepro6]

@@rrkred3561 how they literally were the ones in control they owned it

[@sqredreaper]

@@a180combatbowsergamepro6 I think his wife owns it but is hands off. Nate made a video about a year ago explaining the whole thing.

[@MyrrdynWhitefall]

​@@a180combatbowsergamepro6basically from what I gathered, Callie was let go because of her sexuality in a morman state. But I could be wrong.

[@SquidGames1]

Grant brought actual science to us with real data. After he left us us the science turned into, "ooh look at the pretty colors" R.I.P. Grant

[@BGTech1]

Exactly!

[@mercedesdrake9113]

the irony is before he passed grant was still running everything from behind the scenes

[@jacobburns3515]

@@mercedesdrake9113 did you even watch, his own co-host said he had been hands off for months prior to the accident.

[@ImMacke3000]

TKORs worst mistake was letting Nate and Cali go, their personalities are what made me stay when Grant was moving away from the camera and im pretty sure thats why a lot of others left too. NFTI (Nate from the internet) is a really good channel to watch if you like the Nate/Cali era of TKOR as Cali sometimes guest stars there

[@Alfred-Neuman]

Hey! Why the money printing machine not spitting big stacks of cash like it once did? Hum... Let's push random buttons until the machine starts working again...

[@Oatmealism]

Nate and Cali coming back and doing what they do on the NFTI channel was one of the small things that gave me hope that everything grant worked for wasn't for nothing.

[@blueberrypitbull87]

"Hurr-hurr let's see what happens when we put random thing in a vacuum chamber"

[@ImMacke3000]

@@blueberrypitbull87 i go to "the action lab" for that content

[@Mrtomatopeels]

Especially since Nate was the original person hired and trained by grant making him basically be like grant in his ideas

[@Luci4_]

I still remember the passing of grant he was definetly the best host and ever since it has been going downhill. Honestly nate and calli were also amazing but the newer hosts (forgot their names) just doesnt feel the same. I used to watch tkor every day but now i rarely even look up the channel its just not the same. Anyways amazing content keep it up!

[@Ie_Froggy]

Grant, nate and calli are the best, the editing style everything was perfect, they were also random it wasnt a 5 minute crafts kind of thing. Now its just oversaturated shit for kids.

[@Luci4_]

@@Ie_Froggy that is so true it’s actually sad to see what the channel has become

[@frostwing1899]

@@Ie_Froggyyeah this. it definitely was something you could do on your own at home but it wasn’t a 5 minute craft diy type tutorial, they were more just random all-day projects that were fun to mess with

[@sarah1390]

I also remember where I was when I watched the video relaying the news that Grant had passed. I was in a hotel room in Ottawa Canada on a vacation and we had gotten back to the hotel room for the night.

[@F4wk3s]

I think I was waiting to get picked up from school when one of my friends informed me. Both of us loved Grant and TKOR.

[@LT72884]

I remember when grant, about a year or so before his passing, made the decision to stop making the movies and have other hosts. He did this because he wanted more time with his family, its almost like he knew what his future was going to be and wanted to spend his last moments with those he loved.

[@jwalster9412]

He always wanted the channel to be self-sustaining without him. It never was unfortunately, especially when he passed. I hate to put it this way, but it's exactly how it went down.

[@user-has-left]

What a load of hog wash

[@TheGeneral75746]

@@jwalster9412 It absolutely could have been sustained without him. It's failure is not on him - it's on the channel management.

[@jwalster9412]

@@TheGeneral75746 I agree, but I have a feeling of he was around he would have at least seen the signs, and tried steering the channel into he right direction

[@xynonners]

​​​@@TheGeneral75746but since grant owns the channel, he probably would have involved himself before he saw his hard work go down the drain

[@RealMakotoYuki]

I cried when the news Grant died, even now it is sad to see what the channel has become. Callie's firing to Nate's subsequent letting go was the last straw, I really do wish that it was different. But reality is often disappointing, and things can't really change so easily. Yet, it is happy to see Nate and Callie doing their own stuff and them collabbing(?) together. I really can't express how much disappointment that I feel currently. Hopefully things will get better but this is quite unlikely. Rest well, Grant, Nate and Callie, I hope you will still do stuff and continue the legacy of Grant. Even the videos Nate does is still more TKOR than TKOR.

[@CheeseBoat25]

Nate has his own KZbin channel Wich is a lot like the old tkor that we knew, and calli has a twitch channel and is doing quite well for herself

[@Chocoffee_battery]

​@@CheeseBoat25some of nate's videos are still 5 minute crafts tho, and calli's videos are missing on twitch(idunno if she's back, or made another channel. Didn't checked yet)

[@jwalster9412]

​@@CheeseBoat25they occasionally collaborate.

[@brutibear1423]

i remember back when everyone hated nate so much.. now we miss him

[@xynonners]

​​@@brutibear1423to be fair, at that time nate was practically a robot in front of a camera

[@nobodynone]

After Grant left my interest started to taper of. To me he was and still is the only King of Random. Nate tried but in my eyes he couldn't fill those shoes and I don't think anybody can.

[@TedJM]

Nate had a good crack at keeping TKOR going and I respect him for that, the same for Callie but I was the same with you mate, as soon as Grant passed TKOR was never the same.

[@itsarin2166]

Nate honestly did pretty good, if anything his own channel feels more like TKOR than the current TKOR.

[@Metal_Master_YT]

@@itsarin2166 I feel like Nate, at heart, has a similar passion as Grant, and he had the most experience with his original projects and channel and new him best, making him the most fitting replacement for Grant, not that anyone could truly replace him.

[@3RR0RNULL]

At least Nate still uploads on his own channel. Without him, this would honestly make me cry.

[@3RR0RNULL]

I’m going to give my personal opinion on why they declined to the point that they are at now, even if it is the small things that don’t change it much. 1: Grant’s death, despite what you said in the video, it most likely had an impact on the channel, as people missed him and some may have wished to not think about him at all to avoid the sadness of his passing. 2: Yes, the algorithm change. The algorithm over time has gotten worse and worse, it commonly recommends clickbait videos rather than actually good ones at this point. 3: They fired Nate and Callie. Now, personally, this is half of the reason I stopped watching, Nate and Callie were definitely the lifeblood of the channel, and without them, it just wasn’t the same. 4: the decline of the content. Not only did the quality of the content decrease and become clickbaity, but they remained with the around 2 videos a month from what I can see. That is all. Feel free to disagree if you wish, it’s an opinion, everyone’s is different.

[@NeverOutOfTheFight]

@@3RR0RNULLcompletely why I stopped watching

[@SergeantSpandex]

​@3RR0RNULL absolutely, i watch Nate's channel because it reminds me of what TKOR used to be.. compared to the dry husk of TKOR with clickbait maggots eating whats left

[@grimreefer213]

I just looked at The King of Random’s channel and man their subscriber to view ratio is abysmal. RIP to their channel, you were right about the slow and painful decline. Changing the hosts was probably a huge hit to the channel, Nate still gets tons of views on his channel, way more than TKOR so that should tell you something.

[@notthomasjoel]

Yeah, I made this vid year and a half ago and the situation just got worse. The views are rarely exceeding 60k now.

[@NeverOutOfTheFight]

⁠@@notthomasjoelyou a real one for responding after so long

[@sirlordofderp]

​@notthomasjoel you should do an update.

[@notthomasjoel]

@@sirlordofderp A lot of stuff's going on in my life rn. And I kinda got frustrated and scrapped like 4 video ideas. Some of them were like 50% done. But I will try to get back into ytb.

[@sirlordofderp]

@notthomasjoel I hope you do, your videos are really interesting.

[@RustyShackleford53]

It wasn't the same after Grant passed away but at least we had Nate and after he left that was when everything completely fell apart Grace has destroyed the channel in every possible way I don't understand why they don't just memoralize it at this point at least show Grant some respect for all his hard work ffs 🤦‍♂️

[@GreenGaslight]

Pocket Sand!

[@TheGeneral75746]

To be fair to her, it isn't really Grace's fault. It's the fault of the person running the channel.

[@mendelt]

It's a slippery slope when the views become more important than the content you're making.

[@xynonners]

​@@TheGeneral75746as we have seen the hosts barely have any choice on the direction of the channel

[@spec_opsgaming]

​@@mendeltbut they don't even get the views, they get a tiny FRACTION of what they did with even nate and callie, the new vids barely scrape the 50K mark after 2-3 months

[@drslime7]

Thomas I had a craving to watch an old TKOR video like Grant making a furnace and I was immediately disappointed at the videos I saw on the channel I then looked to see if they had a playlist of all the original videos so I searched the decline of TKOR and stumbled across a truly beautiful and high quality production from a now 40 subscriber channel. You put to words a feeling that so many of us had and took a year long legacy and was able to summarize it a video that went quicker than it felt. I believe you have lots of potential with your channel and I really look forward to your next upload.

[@notthomasjoel]

Thank you so much. I have been trying to start working on the channel again but I don't really know what to make videos about. I was also thinking about uploading my travel documentaries here but I am not sure about it yet.

[@midwestchem368]

Poor grant he worked so hard to build up an amazing channel and a great following only for it to be diluted to no end. Grant is a legend and a great humble guy RIP dude.

[@Oso2g4u]

Makes a grown man cry to see his childhood flash before his eyes and one of the figures that helped him through it all

[@bobjeff8790]

Yup

[@richardmillhousenixon]

I started watching way back when the channel was still called "Grant Thompson" with the old style title card and the almost ASMR like voice over. When Grant left the channel, I was disappointed, but Nate and Callie did as good a job at keeping it alive as they could. And then I got an upload notification from CodysLab on July 31st, 2019 just titled "Grant is gone." I instantly knew what had happened and my heart sank. After his death, Nate and Callie did their best to carry the torch, but it just wasn't the same. Honestly, they should have bowed out gracefully. If Grant could see what his channel, his legacy has become, I think he'd want to pull the plug too.

[@The0Train]

them removing nate was kinda stupid in my opinion because i kinda didnt wanna watch them after grant left but now since nate left i feel like they remove the people we get used to seeing

[@snowcoalRC]

This really is a youtube decline that hits me personally. 10 years ago now, I used to watch all of Grants videos constantly. His channel was basically my favorite at one point. Some of my favorite videos that I remember are the rocket videos and the HHO generator. When he died it was probably the hardest hitting youtuber death Ive experienced, just because of how much I used to watch his channel as a kid. Ever since, the channel has just slowly become a shell of its former self. Part of me wishes they closed the channel when he passed, although I think Nate and Calli did a pretty good job after he was gone (and Im glad that Nates channel is doing pretty good now). But now TKOR is just another generic content farm. Its quite sad to see.

[@SpidaMez]

dude same, grants death was absolutely tragic

[@cyberwolf5787]

you described how it feels for me perfectly. most other youtubers that i had seen pass i was sad about, but when i heard of grant's passing, i felt it in my soul. i grew up watching the king of random and grant helped develop my love for science/engineering/learning. RIP Grant, you will forever be missed.

[@inthem-a-king]

Used to watch during some seriously hard times. Then read on TMZ about his accident. I still watched Nate & Callie. Then the new girl Grace came in and the subjects got boring.. I only remembered TKOR just now popped in my head and found this video. The world is a different place. Innocence has been lost. Rest in Peace Grant TKOR Thompson 👑

[@InfiniteSkiegh]

I'm not religious...but amen...

[@sithlordbilly4206]

R.I.P. Grant & TKOR Channel. 😢

[@anicekid]

Grant was great, nate and callie were amazing the new two I don't even bother to remember their names

[@jaydoe3707]

I loved learning from Grant. TKOR now has no real information and has nothing to do with science... Grant's love for learning and sharing what he learned was the success of TKOR.

[@notamanstudios4408]

I binge watched tkor when it was just grant and forgot about the channel for a couple years I came back and found out that grant had died. Seeing the newer videos put a bad taste in my mouth, they just didn't feel respectful to the original spirit of the channel. It felt like the target demo was children, with the bright thumbnails, uncreative "experiment" type content that didn't push the same envelope, like a more kid friendly backyard scientists clone that felt a bit key-jingling. the current state of the channel really doesn't feel like a tribute to grant but I understand that the revenue was going toward his family so they kinda had to try to game the algorithm

[@xynonners]

the original format really just felt like a guy doing cool things and teach people about them then it went more high-energy but that was fine, then it turned into 5-minute crafts...

[@turtleneck1515]

the king of random was my childhood. I watched it every day for years. It's so depressing to see what happened to that channel, i miss you grant im sorry about what happened to your channel. rest in peace.

[@josh-kh8pl]

same, i used to try out the science experiments myself and it was such a big part of my life as a kid, now seeing the channel's current state, it makes me really sad.

[@turtleneck1515]

@josh-kh8pl idk man its just depressing bc this is smth me and my brother bonded over and also just a big part of my life then now its just glorified 5 min crafts

[@sirmrdylan]

Thanks for making this video, it's very well done. Really made me think exactly what the final nail in the coffin was for the channel. Personally, I stopped watching TKOR when they let go of Nate and Calli... That has to be the worst decision they could have made for the channel at that point. For me it was the two of them that kept the spirit of TKOR going after Grant's unfortunate passing. As you said they did the best they could to keep it up. Sadly now it seems like nothing more than a shell of its former self trying to clickbait to get more views and it's clearly not working with at this point views averaging around 30-80k per video it seems. I do thoroughly enjoy Nate's channel and it warms my heart to see him doing collabs with Calli from time to time, the two of them have a great dynamic and I wish them all the best.

[@notthomasjoel]

Thanks for the compliments. I have been thinking about making more videos like this for the last few months but the problem is I have no idea what to talk about.

[@eateat2316]

@@notthomasjoel definitely think you should check out nerdcubed he isn't necessarily gone just kinda forgotten

[@notthomasjoel]

@@eateat2316 Thank you, I will definitely check him out.

[@Mis73rRand0m]

I've had this screen name since the beginning of KZbin and always felt early TKOR was close to my heart.

[@maxwagner1341]

it was sad today when I looked at the channel to see the view count so low on the videos, so I wanted to see if their was documentation of the downfall and I found your video your video is great! On my old channel I had 85 subs making low quality unedited videos but you make this and have only 30?! Under appreciated talent, well edited good choice of music!

[@notthomasjoel]

Thank you for the kind words!

[@RoshFragger]

The worst thing they have recently done is getting rid if Nate and Callie, the original legacy-keepers after Grant's passing...

[@aadibasal3922]

Dude I actually completely forgot about him. Its actually insane how much I used to watch his DIY's and try them and fail. Wild.

[@ironcastlive]

My dad is a pilot and got to fly with grant a few times, such a sad decline

[@shinomustdie]

That's so fucking cool

[@Jack_Arbor]

May Grant rest in peace. A husband, father, and teacher. His legacy deserves better.

[@TheRicoRodriguez_]

He used to build almost weapons and now they are just filling up stretch armstrong for the 500th time with water to see what happens 😭

[@notthomasjoel]

Yeah man, I remember Grant teaching me how to make homemade explosives. The channel didn't age well

[@AZREDFERN]

I remember stumbling upon the channel when I saw Grant nearly suffocating himself with open containers of LIN in his car with the windows up. LIN expands to almost 700x as it evaporates. You don’t feel yourself suffocating in a pure nitrogen environment, especially when you’re concentrating on something else like driving. I commented on every video until he started to at least roll the windows down and eventually got a real cryotainer.

[@trstmeimadctr]

You should change the title to 'The Slow and Painful Decline of TKOR Channel' because Grant is THE King of Random, and he never declined

[@jessycruz2465]

Grant was like the heart, mind, and soul of tkor. The last time I saw a tkor video with the new hosts it just feels like another video that you'll see everyday on facebook or tiktok.

[@Ms.GoddessAJ]

It’s a visible effect seen in the views the channel is getting, just scrolling through the channel for 2 minutes I see the channel is averaging around 200k, and the last they hit a million views was a year ago, while when Nate and cali were the focus, they averaged around 600-700k views with often gathering well over a million every other video. I see the change in myself too. I haven’t watched a TKOR video since about mid 2022. And since I’ve gotten interested again into it, I’m only interested in the videos where it’s only Nate and cali.

[@rorysvr7237]

Something that kinda hits hard is I’m still using the original gummy Lego recipe to make my own gummy candies at home every once in a while

[@nannesoar]

Even as someone who didn't watch his videos I remember being absolutely f****** shocked when he died to be honest that really says something about a person

[@Codylun92]

Jarom, the new guy seems to be getting back to the roots.

[@nick-team-kinetic-energy]

Wow dude! This is really well made for such a small KZbinr. You earned a sub and are very underrated.

[@MrSpecialjonny]

I still remember a video grant did years back when he was showing off dry ice and how dangerous it can be, he used a plastic bottle and shoved dry ice into it and closed the lid, it exploded and little me had to try it. I asked my mom over and over again if we can buy some. I miss grant, thank you for making everyones' childhoods on youtube better

[@StormCrusher94]

Honestly, people complaining about Nate and Callie leaving, but for me the decline happened already a bit after the death. Both of them were still on, but it wasn't random anymore.

[@mumblety]

I grew up watching the og TKOR. He inspired me to learn to create and learn to solve problems. He taught me to improvise with what I had. He sparked the flame of curiosity in me that is still burning brightly to this very day! Rest in Peace Grant. You will forever be missed.

[@zlette]

I found out about Grant's passing on accident since I hadn't kept up on the channel in a while. It was about a month or two after he passed when I found out, and when I did, I grieved over the loss of a childhood content creator, knowing that the unique content he created wouldn't ever be the same without him. I cherish my childhood memories, and when one of them gets destroyed, it tears me apart inside. I knew about TKOR for years, easily before I was even 13, and those videos were fascinating. And now that he's gone... life just feels, different. I honestly think this loss had damaged me emotionally, losing someone I cherished was devastating to me, even though I wasn't that caught up on the channel, knowing that I could go back and see so much new and unique content would be really nice to binge for a while. But... I just can't. It doesn't feel the same, it's not The King of Random I truly know... it's not *him.*

[@ChrisRollins]

I got to meet Grant, we chatted for about 10 minutes. Then I ran into him over a year later, and he remembered me and my name! It blew my mind, not only was he brilliant, but humble and down to earth! His impact on the younger generation of scientist and engineers does not get the credit he deserves.

[@TheGeneral75746]

Grant put so much work and effort into turning The Kind of Random into something that could survive without him. And when it came time for it to do that, his wife just threw everything away.

[@Moostery]

Back in his early days his channel was great. The HHO generator video was my favorite. He had such a good design for it. The spot welder, rocket fuel, so many good science projects. Then he lost his ways and became obsessed with farming clicks and views and didn't really care about teaching science any more.

[@Mr_Wam123]

It’s crazy how Grant chose Nate and they let him go

[@liamthomas4644]

I started watching TKOR a short while before Grant passed. It felt like losing a mentor and close friend. His passing, all these years later, still feels the same for the millions he impacted with his spectacular ideas and videos. Rest in Peace, Grant Thompson.

[@nathanciminelli5900]

After the main character died it just wasn't the same

[@ChristianPyro777]

Grant by far was my favorite KZbinr I cried when he died Rest In Peace Grant Tombson

[@boshi_coyo]

really good content, watched through the whole thing and now i miss Grant again.. the channel really isn't the same without him

[@williamlittle9956]

It’s now 2023 November 1st. Been so long without him. Rest in Peace to a legend, teacher, loving father, and science enthusiast ❤🕊️🌅

[@CloudShys]

I just checked their channel and the viewership fucking tanked like HOLY

[@grahamokeefe9406]

Firing Nate and Callie is what did it for me.

[@Ie_Froggy]

The video is suprisingly good. Good luck in the algorythm

[@notthomasjoel]

Thanks dude, I have few more different ideas on the way, I will see how they do.

[@Akotski-ys9rr]

TKOR was the first ever youtuber I watched when I learned how to use KZbin at the age of around 10. He didn’t have many videos at that time because he would post fairly rarely but I watched them over and over

[@sa_ad]

you are very underrated channel

[@EpicManaphyDude]

I made the popsicle crossbow in elementary school with my dad. fondest memory I have from that era of youtube.

[@archer5722]

Same, just with my grand dad

[@myt763]

Such a well made video for such a small youtuber! Earned my sub and a like!

[@notthomasjoel]

Thank You!

[@cloud86]

TKOR used to be my favorite KZbinr growing up, Grant taught me how to make so much fun stuff like pocket slingshots and tmnt ooze. He was the first KZbinr death I dealt with and I still miss him to this day

[@joking_oregon1]

it stopped being TKOR when they decided to get rid of Nate and Calli and just turn into 5 second crafts. Nate's channel still keeps up the spirit of what Grant envisioned for the channel, and im really glad he's still occasionally making stuff with Calli.

[@AK_Ray]

And now Nate has was more views, on average. Ironic

[@rizzgamer]

This guy walked so that the Hacksmith could run!

[@TheOriginalJphyper]

The last TKOR video I watched was their collab with The Lockpicking Lawyer, which came closer to Grant-era TKOR than most post-Grant vids. Now, the only reason I'm still subscribed is because I care so little that I can't even be bothered to unsubscribe.

[@aname1795]

This is the best small channel. Thank you for the effort.

[@joe_3006]

I can say graduating high school and seeing his videos lead me in to the career and job I have today as a CNC machinist and still influence my hobbies to this day 10years latter.

[@danwilson4402]

It's those new people they hired that destroy the channel

[@allthewrightthings9212]

Love the video but some of the blurred footage made it hard to watch cause it messed with my eyes, your review was 100 precent correct tough. Long live the old TKOR

[@OofKitty]

Great video! Surprised you don't have more subs. The audio and editing kinda unbalanced but other than that props. I feel like TKOR is going downhill the same route as Buzzfeed..

[@notthomasjoel]

I really appreciate constructive criticism, thank you!

[@JG-hi6by]

Me and my dad both made the mini metal foundry… it’s still a hobby me and my dad do till this day!

[@george1francoeur]

TKOR died when it became about the content, not the process. end of story. as soon as grant stopped making stuff for himself and his own interested the channel was already doomed. rest in peace Grant, your legacy lives on in our hearts, not on YT.

[@jeffreytibesar5517]

I still remember the summers i spent doing the random weekend projects and all the shenanigans I got into. I loved every second of it and was deeply saddened by grants passing. Seeing what tkor became i was just disappointed my how something so quality and fun could devolve into what it is today.

[@Sharnami_EN]

I honestly stopped watching TKOR after learning that Nate had been let go; what it is now is just a complete joke compared to what it use to be; the channel is basically dead when you compare the view count today to what they use to get

[@KacyyJannaMSP]

This video made me tear up, I used to watch TKOR back in 2016 to keep my mind busy during school, it’s so sad to see a channel I watched every day just die like that

[@I.____.....__...__]

14:30 Quit the opposite, it's _all_ of those factors. Everything eventually fades, whether they change or not, novelty wears off and things stop being interesting even if they're exactly the same. Also, KZbin has become saturated with lots of similar content, but new channels are novel, so they're more exciting. That's just how it is. Look at _Simpsons,_ it was king of the world for a while, but eventually dropped. Nothing lasts forever and there's nothing anyone can do about that. 🤷 (Even Pewdiepie is old news, even Mr. Beast eventually will be.) They added a couple of other guys but they couldn't work because of the pandemic and had to remote in a few times before just giving up. Now, it's just Grace by herself (and Josh the camerman), but she recently left and moved to New York, and now the channel is just her doing whatever she wants, it's basically her own personal channel at this point. There is a podcast "Random Theory", but that's just Grace vamping about different topics. I think it's safe to say the original channel is officially finished. Personally, I definitely stopped enjoyingg it when Grant left because the nature of the videos changed dramatically. Originally, it was Grant showing how to make stuff that you could do yourself, it was instructional, like how to make your own spot-welder or IronMan arc-reactor simulant. Later, it was just "hey, watch us do stuff" which for me, is uninteresting. The channel became like _MythBusters_ which original started out, well, busting myths, but later devolved into just making fires and explosions; it stopped being interesting and intellectual and started catering more to children. 😒

[@MmeHyraelle]

I'm glad i found out TKOR before grant died and experienced the OG content.

[@ToastyClone]

Im going to be honest i preferred nate a callie over grant because having 2 people made it less here is how to make something and a showcase and more like a few freinds joking and messing about while still having enough information packed bits for it to always be interesting

[@stale8053]

RIP Grant. and thank you for making this, the new guys tore this channel down to shreds, i still watched it till Callie and Nate were on the channel.

[@cadenswain158]

Man.... That man built his channel and had a unique set of followers. Including myself. Kept up with that dude for years. Then I seen the video of him passing away. Nate and Callie took over and kept his legacy and original idea of the channel alive somewhat. I followed until they booted them both. after over a year I recently checked out a new video and was horrified to see how bland, click bait and basic the channel is now. It resembles ZERO of the original channel. If you were to bring my past self when grant started the channel and showed me a modern tkor video, id have no idea this was even remotely close to tkor. I'd have thought it was a crappy pbs kids science show. Grant is probably rolling in his grave right now. What they've done is border line disrespectful to grant. They lost me and many other OG viewers.

[@randyjohnson1960]

For me, it was when Grant passed. I couldn't watch it anymore it just didn't feel the same.

[@UK.RoadsCyclingandTransport]

Used to watch the channel back in 2019, now I can't watch the channel anymore cause it's no longer what It was, Grant wouldn't be happy in the direction of the channel now, it's dead, no more views no subscriber growth, it's now a glorified troom troom and 5 minute crafts channel

[@basicflower8611]

Its the sad truth (⁠╥⁠﹏⁠╥⁠)

[@cwkooper4954]

I always enjoy his teaching... I hope the videos stay online long enough for me to do everything with my son...im a single dad and when we lost Grant I lost a friend I never met...I hope someday to play all his videos with my son and do everything I can with him...thank you Grant you are missed more than I could ever express in a text like this!!!!RIP someday my son and I will talk a lot about you and make everything you showed me how to do.... THANK YOU!!!!

[@brandonfrancey5592]

TKOR started to decline well before it's peak. What started as a channel where Grant just posted cool shit turned into a algorithm hunting mission. Grant didn't want the algorithm to forget his channel so he pumped out videos to stay relevant. Unfortunately they were just preview videos. Coming soon, this cool thing, which in of it self isn't a bad thing, but when he posted 3 or 4 teaser videos because the main video wasn't ready yet, it started to turn off viewers. Grant should have just posted once a month. The format works, some of the best channels only post a few times a year. Think Mark Rober or CGP Grey. Then Grant tried to boost older video views with contests such as, I've hidden clues in these videos, solve the puzzle and win a prize or what colour shirt was I wearing in this old video? It was a blatant and indirect way to get people to watch his old videos over again to boost views. But the underlying problem was Grant was out of ideas. Because Grant had no new ideas but still had to upload videos, new topics were poorly research. He started messing with electricity and began presenting it as an expert and ended up showing people how to do some very unsafe things like splicing in a 3 amp switch into a 15 amp extension cord. That is a fire waiting to happen. It came to no surprise that when you keep doing stupid and unsafe things that both people will complain and eventually something will happen. That's when Grants legal troubles started with the fireworks incident and then Grant did the worst thing you could do, he never addressed it. Speculation about what happened ran wild but no one would clarify what really happened. After that production focused more and more on doing safer fuck around videos. They stopped doing build videos because they weren't bringing in the views but failed to recognize that if you don't build any new things, you have no new tools to play with. The channel turned into a "watch me build the cool new thing" to "watch me fuck around with this old thing" Videos became, lets put "X" in the vacuum chamber and see what happens. Lets put "y" in the furnace and try to melt it. There is a place for that stuff but it's not what the original viewers signed up for. The learning portion died long before Grant did, The original videos inspired ideas and inspired people to try things. The current videos don't do any of that. It might be mildly interesting to watch slime in a vacuum chamber but no one thinks to them self that they need to try it too. Some people might not be able to put their finger on it, but TKOR is what happens when you take a passion and turn it into a business chasing profit and viewership where you cater to the bottom common denominator.

[@KrakenCasting]

Grant had such a big impact on me. I started my own KZbin channel based on one of his projects. It's really sad to see his legacy tarnished so quickly.

[@Snakue]

Grant callie and nate is my favorite but the newer people made me not watch tkor anymore

[@ToastedTater420]

I actually met grant at the 2014 SLC comic con and was a huge fan of the channel. After his tragic passing the channel changed and didn’t feel the same.

[@Sixitboy]

I think the nail might have been drilled right into the coffin after Grace started trying to force people to believe the changes to the channel were “good”

[@shame2189]

I keep getting old TKOR videos recommended to me, the anguish i feel when i see their recent activity is indescribable.

[@spammerscammer]

Nothing against Nate but the channel started declining as soon as Grant started bringing other people on. The viral content grant had created is what had the subs and views coming in. The people they have now are terrible.

[@branpod]

Agreed. Nate's content on his own channel is actually interesting, but once TKOR began to be run as a business rather than a creative venture, it fell downhill. Now with a host who IIRC never worked with Grant, the entire identity of the channel has been lost. While I hope Grant's family still receives money from the channel, it is disappointing to see its legacy tarnished

[@Jj.leenard]

He was honestly one of the people who had me wanting to create stuff as a kid and had me so into science and engineering things. I was super sad when he passed:( RIP Grant.

[@thometheiousvladizar7044]

Because they abandoned what Grant was all about. End of story. And the sad part is, they have his entire catalog to reference for ideas and they don't do it. It's the definition of insanity that they are doing and they are paying for it.

[@Floridaman9115]

Seeing the video of his passing, hurt my heart back in 2019

[@Verified_777]

Just went over there and it is some chick that doesn't do real research on the video topics and more focused on shaking for the thirsty simps. It sucks.. 12.5M subs and only 40k views.. TKOR is dead.. 😭

[@noahmontgomery9902]

One of my favourite videos of his was his solar scorcher build. I remember 12y/o me getting so excited finding one of those old school tvs in a scrap yard Yanked that thing off and built myself my very own solar scorcher

[@legitleoog9621]

Grant gave me the interest to learn all of the random things I know now. Im so glad I had the king to show me the way. Thank you for opening my eyes grant. I miss you.

[@braefarquhar]

As a kid who subscribed to TKOR in 2012, I loved the style of the videos that Grant created. The channel as it sits now is a complete joke of what Grant wanted for his channel to be. I just recently looked back to the TKOR channel and its ONLY the one chick who ultimately replaced all of the "new" people after Nate and Cali. Even then all of them were soulless and non energetic vibes and would react forcefully to the things that most people already knew (because of Grant). That made me un-subscribe as much as it hurt to do so. It was like telling a good old friend to walk out of your life. Its just an empty shell of what it used to be. Its all "click-bait-vlog-style-read-your-questions". I wish they would redo all of the weekend projects, but alas that won't happen because that's not "trendy" anymore. I enjoyed the memories and your video. Thanks. cheers!

[@willdymond9816]

I remember he used to upload almost every day or so, and each time he uploladed my sister and I would watch the new video before leaving for school. That was when i was in grade 5, im going in to engineering in uni next year, def inspired me to pursue engineering and design.

[@SilverWolfGaming0527]

After grants passing they were forced to go a more 5 minute hacks kinda path, that was the beginning, and then getting rid of Nate and Callie was the final nail........ but Nate has his own channel and brings Callie on often. R.I.P Grant, you were the man, teaching us all kinds of awesome things we could do with less than 10 bucks of materials

[@stopmotionking241]

I never realized that he was born and grew up in the city right next to mine. Wish I could’ve met him. I remember watching every single video after school and work.

[@bonghittaz1502]

Broke my heart when i heard about grant dying. He is literally the reason why i found my passion and hobby which is fireworks. He made a video about making rocket fuel from sugar and KNO3 (potassium nitrate) and after that i was hooked to making pyrotechnics. Will always miss the dude and i never could watch another new video after he passed.