Giving / Taking Advice on the forums

Burl Source

Burl Source

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Keep seeing people giving wrong advice when people ask questions here on the forum.
My suggestion would be before taking advice from another forum member ask if their advice is based on opinion, or if they have actual repeated hands on experience.
A lot of wrong information gets repeated over and over and eventually some people actually believe it.
Maybe we should refrain from giving advice unless we have actually done (more than just once) what people are asking about.

OK.......I am rambling here.
But I thought this was better than arguing in another thread.
 
It'll never happen , as there are always those who feel they must post on a thread even though they know Nothing about the subject. Human nature is bizarre !
 
if you think this is bad, you should see the advice given on some of the facebook knife pages ! :grumpy:
 
woodster said:
if you think this is bad, you should see the advice given on some of the facebook knife pages ! :grumpy:
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It's a shit show. I can't even stand the reddit knifemakers sub anymore.

And I feel this forum has a lot more halve truths than straight out lies. A lot of people will respond to a question that they do that fully grasp, but do understand some aspectsort of.
 
Just let me start by saying all knives should be at least 8 inches in the blade. Carry a big gun at all times, because that big bullet will instantly kill bad guys.

Baseball bat is the best offensive weapon. Much better than a big knife. And no one can even tell you have one, and it is completely normal to walk around with one at all times.

All steel is inferior to my steel......
 
Just today, there is a post in answer to a serious question about a specific technique where the responder states that he knows nothing about the subject ... and then offers his opinion ( which is misleading at best and wrong at worst).
 
So just because I've only cut about 20 knife guards, not all of which fit, I shouldn't tell someone that asks about milling problems, to make sure they are using a center cutting end mill?

I want to participate less and less around here. Why don't you just tell someone when they are wrong and move on?
 
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Those of us who know a lot less (me) might appreciate some of the very knowledgable folks correcting us or others when they can. There are people on these forums who are literally at the top of the game and a lot of us newbies are here to learn.
 
Ron,
I think you are taking it wrong. If you have made 20 guards, or are a proficient machinist who can advise on milling slots with authority, then you are the exact right person to post an answer. If someone has only done on guard, or has just read about guards, those are to folks we are suggesting should sit back and learn.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Ron,
I think you are taking it wrong. If you have made 20 guards, or are a proficient machinist who can advise on milling slots with authority, then you are the exact right person to post an answer. If someone has only done on guard, or has just read about guards, those are to folks we are suggesting should sit back and learn.
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Usually it is 'I saw a video on YouTube about that and the guy on it said_____' I agree with Stacy. @Ron_m80, if more people had actually done 20 guards before giving advice on guards, this would still be an enlightening subforum.

I basically quit bothering to even visit this subforum anymore because I got tired of wading through the same crap... And the ever-constant failure to read the stickies, or even down two or three posts before asking a question.

Cheers,
Eric
 
I hear ya....folks that think they know everything really make it rough on those of us that actually do. :D
 
It'd be refreshing to see the WORK of people who are offering advice, as well, putting their money where there mouth is, per se. WAAAAAYYYYYY too many folks on here with thousands of posts to their name, yet I haven't seen a single image of one of their knives. Why should they expect credibility? Granted, there are instances where "book learning" is truly invaluable, and I don't begrudge anyone trying to share that. However, it would he refreshing to see these same people display their technical prowess through their work, and not just through their verbosity.
 
Bigfattyt said:
Just let me start by saying all knives should be at least 8 inches in the blade. Carry a big gun at all times, because that big bullet will instantly kill bad guys.

Baseball bat is the best offensive weapon. Much better than a big knife. And no one can even tell you have one, and it is completely normal to walk around with one at all times.

All steel is inferior to my steel......
Click to expand...

This is an example of bad advice.
As a former seal, sas operative, and gestapo thug, i have used
many edged weapons. All my large knives will easily sheer a baseball bat. I carry a SAK Cadet
in my " stankhole" just in case. I know a guy who puts a mean double convex grind on my tac ops
knives which allows them to get sharper with use. Just my 2c. I understand if you want a refund.
 
severtecher said:
This is an example of bad advice.
As a former seal, sas operative, and gestapo thug, i have used
many edged weapons. All my large knives will easily sheer a baseball bat. I carry a SAK Cadet
in my " stankhole" just in case. I know a guy who puts a mean double convex grind on my tac ops
knives which allows them to get sharper with use. Just my 2c. I understand if you want a refund.
Click to expand...

But the double convex grind only works for self defense if it is forged, so there is edge packing. That is why Katanas cut so well, because of all the edge packing. Now, I've never forged, let alone packed an edge.......but I do know that the SAK has to have lots of jimping and grip tape.......



I was reading some advice on facebook about knife making. I just had to move on, and include that maker on my list of don't purchase from. (it was post about there not being a single stainless or modern steel worth a darn, and that he can prove it because he can get some old carbon steel knives sharp). So no one should ever accept garbage stainless for anything. The only reason that it is ever used is that modern manufacturers have lost the secrets to making top notch carbon steel, and it is too expensive to make, and all the modern stainless and modern tool steels are inferior. That is why he makes all of his knives out of old files and sawblades. Nothing can hold an edge better. But only if you quench it in the pee of a pregnant horse. The horse has to be pregnant because the horse estrogen hormones tighten up the steel.


Does your SAK have estrogen pee quenched steel?


Oh, and I carry an aluminum bat everywhere (with a glove and ball, in case there are any questions about why I had a metal bat at my brother's sister's cousin's wedding.....










As to the OP. I really feel as if some of our really knowledgeable and helpful makers have been chased away by rude, ungrateful, contentious, know it all's.
 
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It is a shame if helpful, experienced makers are chased away, or get tired of helping ungrateful people or those unwilling to learn. I hope there is a way to express to those what a service to some of us that they provide. And how grateful I am, I am sure others are... The trend in society towards rudeness, impatience, and selfishness definitely has a cost. And unfortunately the good people pay the price a lot of times...
 
As Abraham Lincoln once said, don't believe everything you read on the internet. ;) But seriously, you don't see nearly as much "bad" advice on say the Shop Talk subforum here on Badle Forums. The General Knife Discussion? Well, that's another matter altogether. :D
 
Hell, i have made more that 20 guards, a lot more, and that is one area where I am STILL not going to give much advice other than maybe "check out a Bruce Bump or Karl Anderson tutorial" or something like that. :p
LucyCustomKnives said:
Usually it is 'I saw a video on YouTube about that and the guy on it said_____' I agree with Stacy. @Ron_m80, if more people had actually done 20 guards before giving advice on guards, this would still be an enlightening subforum.

I basically quit bothering to even visit this subforum anymore because I got tired of wading through the same crap... And the ever-constant failure to read the stickies, or even down two or three posts before asking a question.

Cheers,
Eric
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That is kind of like the Hollywood Expert Syndrome where people somehow think that they are qualified to speak on any topic of their choosing the first time they get a bit part in a sitcom. ;)
mete said:
It'll never happen , as there are always those who feel they must post on a thread even though they know Nothing about the subject. Human nature is bizarre !
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jdm61 said:
Hell, i have made more that 20 guards, a lot more, and that is one area where I am STILL not going to give much advice other than maybe "check out a Bruce Bump or Karl Anderson tutorial" or something like that. :p
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That's good advice though, and appreciated IMHO. There is so much material on knife making and the related arts it is hard for a beginner to wade through it all. So much of it is complete crap, it is nice when someone with practical experience and example work to display endorses a certain book, video or article.

Many times, people who've been doing this for a few years knows where source material is located. And that is the REALLY good stuff. Not watered down, third hand versions, but the source of a method or practice... Love finding those little nuggets... [emoji3]

-Eric
 
I don't know.. I'll be honest I ask questions in shop talk and feel I get very little sound advice in general. If there are those of you that read a legitimate question, and it's been answered incorrectly,. you're definitely not piping up. It is sometimes hard to search out a specific question, and if you do find a thread on the topic, you cant resurrect it anyway if you have more. For me the need to gain technical knowledge and learn the insane amount of things you realize you dont know after you start knife making as a beginner was, and still is overwhelming. Knife making for me was quite similar to the titanic clipping that tiny iceburg. I had no idea. So when I read posts from an absolute beginner I put myself back in those shoes. So hey, maybe someone posts a question that sounds ridiculous, or has been asked a million times.. but if you dont answer because you've seen it all before, well someones going to answer for you and maybe answer wrong.
 
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