Rant - Beginner / Registered User Questions

Burl Source

Burl Source

Joined
Dec 7, 2008
Messages
7,187
I have been kind of grumpy the last few days so I am a bit annoyed at something that would not normally bother me.

With that said;
I am finding myself annoyed with beginner / registered users who:
Ask a question and then want to argue about the answer.
Ask a question, log off 10 minutes later and never return to read the answers.

OK, I am done with my complaining.
I feel better now.
 
It gets a little frustrating at times Mark. I think some of these folks have had a fire set under them along the way and want to be a knife maker "instantly". After all, we are living in an "Instant Gratification" world these days.

I once tried responding to a lot of these questions, but not so much any more. I found out that the sincere, knowledge seeking folks will take the (freely given) advice to heart, do some research, and return here with a good attitude.

I have tired of responding to questions then having the original poster either ignore or want to argue with me.

Don't look for it to get any better. Its just a fact of life on the "Inter-webz".

Robert
 
Hi Mark,
I once PM'd a Mastersmith about a process. He told me his method. I than tried it and told him how it worked out.
His response was that normally people do not take the suggestions he gives. Because of this he usually does not respond to question on the internet. Also I was one of the few that actually responded after I tried his method.
I hope people with knowledge do not give up helping out.. Not all people are inconsiderate or ungrateful.
Sincerely,
Dave
PS: if somebody proves to be inconsiderate in his behaver he would not get a 2nd answer out of me.
Sincerely,
Dave
 
Last edited:
Burl Source said:
I have been kind of grumpy the last few days so I am a bit annoyed at something that would not normally bother me.

With that said;
I am finding myself annoyed with beginner / registered users who:
Ask a question and then want to argue about the answer.
Ask a question, log off 10 minutes later and never return to read the answers.

OK, I am done with my complaining.
I feel better now.
Click to expand...

My favorite is after they get the answer, they go to another forum and spew it out as if they've done it that way for years and are experts...
 
Thanks for your comments Robert, Dave and Steve.
I think there are enough good people who make use of the information shared to make the effort worthwhile.
 
I was a beginner here not long ago (and still am really) but I also kind of find it annoying. I understand where they are coming from, but I think they could try harder to find a answer to simple question they are going to ask (steel, ht.) You can only advise someone to read the stickies so many times. :D
 
Robert Dark said:
It gets a little frustrating at times Mark. I think some of these folks have had a fire set under them along the way and want to be a knife maker "instantly". Robert
Click to expand...

I for one grew up loving knives, but never considered making one until I started watching the late Ron Hood's woodsmaster videos.. randomly came across a torrent after watching Survivorman for a while. Anyway one of his videos featured Tai Goo and Tim Lively, and specifically on turning any old junk metal into very good knives, with very simple methods. Little did I know at the time that these were very experienced men and had a very good idea what steel they were using, what temps to work it at etc.

Point being it seemed like a very easy thing to do, and like anyone could "instantly" do it with a tiny bit of knowledge. Most anyone can do it I suppose with proper training and materials, but what was shown was deceptively simplified, and while I am grateful for having seen them and inspiring me, it was almost a disservice to a total newb thinking that's all there was to it. At the time I also thought there were 2 kinds of steel only.. stainless and carbon.

Those videos lead me to my first forged leaf spring knife, which I wondered how brittle it was and snapped the handle finding out. I salvaged it and I learned from it. But my next knife was 1095 known steel, which I ignorantly thought I could just heat up and dunk in ATF and have good results. Well I keep this blade around, mostly because it was my first ground blade.. but I have no intentions of trying to save it. Not long after I found this forum and learned how wrong I had been, and a whole world of new knowledge to absorb.

I am sure I've annoyed some people with my questions etc over the last couple years, but I sincerely appreciate everyone who has taken the time to help out, share advice and criticisms. Nothing worth doing is easy, and this learning process is highly enjoyable to me. Even though I don't consider myself a 'maker' yet, in a small way I wanted to contribute so this resource is always here, which is why I upgraded my membership. I'm still very much a beginner, but I really plan and hope to stick with it and become as good as I can be at this.

Mark it seems like this grief is a bit of a cycle, and the veterans get very annoyed and in some cases leave entirely. It's unfortunate, and I hope never to contribute to any of that.
 
I get annoyed by the same things. I answer those who seem to want to listen, and compliment those who take advise. On the chaps who just want to tell what they know and not listen to those who know it better....I hit the back arrow.



Rock - "My favorite is after they get the answer, they go to another forum and spew it out as if they've done it that way for years and are experts... "

As a moderator, I get accused of being mean or hard on some new members. What many may not know is that reading all the threads and seeing the persons other posts and history often gives us a deeper view than a casual reader would have. I have seen exactly what Rock is referring to. A new member who was talking about how to get started and telling about all the equipment he was going to build posted an answer to a question on forging. His answer was, "I always heat the ....." exactly what he was told a day earlier on a question he asked in anther forum where he requested info on how to forge a knife.
 
That's why with the most recent fellow, I offered to help with some free steel - but only after he's stuck with it a couple weeks.
Darrin stepped up and offered to do a free HT for him as well. If the person really gives it a shot, he'll have a nice start. If not, no one's out anything.
 
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