Good bye for now.

[smorgana]

I want to thank everyone here. By and large everyone here has been most welcoming and positive.

I approach every new endeavor with enthusiasm, I jump in with both feet and self teach to get to a level of accomplishment that frankly makes me feel good.

I enjoyed posting pics of my razors, asking a few questions and making general comments about where I am with straight razoring.

It was all fun here till today.

Today I posted a picture of one of the latest razors I acquired and said it's my second best shaver --. And I don't know why but I got challenged in a strange way about that.

I had no learning curve at all learning to shave and I was told while I am learning I should not hone myself, but I already learned. what can I say, I'm a shaving prodigy I see no where I need to improve the actual shaving process.

Then I got comments about how that razor is not shave ready -- which is incongruous , since it shaves so well, and having said that it must have not been satisfying since things then started going down a rabbit hole about honing.

Well I blame this all upon myself that things took a decidedly un-enjoyable turn for me.

If I could give feedback, people should keep up with the positive feedback to enthusiastic new members, and sharply limit messages saying ... it's all wrong.

I'm going into lurking mode on these forums, and will pick up what I can passively, I can't imagine posting another picture of one of my razors considering they are not perfect.

I frankly don't have a thick enough skin for another exchange like today's, except on my face which must be very thick or else I would have cut myself to bits with my self honed blades.

And again -- this is on me for my reaction to the type of feedback I received.
Bye

 

[COdiak]

It says more about there character than anything. Some people may never be happy or always have a snooty attitude and feel the need to belittle or comment down. I for one really enjoyed your post and pictures for what its worth. I think it takes balls to post pics and share your thoughts, questions and progress. It does not however take balls to be and asshat behind a keyboard unfortunately. I say stick it out and ignore said members (literally, ignore them in settings) and enjoy B&B as there are some good folks here who have enjoyed what you have brought the table.

 

[ctr]

There are always a few people who make life more difficult than it has to be if for no other reason than creating drama. I too experienced similar challenges and choose to walk away for a while. Some sub forums tend to have a high concentration of attitude. That is the negative.

There are many more great people, kind people, and encouraging people on B&B. They far outweigh the drama. Consider exploring other sub forums. There are many great people who are positive and a joy to be around.

There is also an Ignore feature which is useful to filter. Hope you continue to interact.

 

[silverlifter]

Your decision, of course.

But after reading the full thread, I don't think any of the interactions were hostile, or patronising. You said you were willing to learn early in the thread and so people, understandably, took that as an invitation to share their knowledge, not as far as I can tell to belittle you or your efforts which were met with encouragement.

Take a break and come back when you feel you are ready, but please don't form a view that the community here is in any way elitist or exclusionary, I really see no evidence of that either in your thread or any of the countless others I read here.

Another straight shaver in the world is a great thing. We are a small band, and we should support each other. This place facilitates that, and I would hate to see that change.

Have great shaves, and enjoy your ongoing exploration of the gentlemanly art!

 

[Slash McCoy]

Nobody was trashing you or your razor, only pointing out defects that you should be aware of, which all razors have. Perfection is rare. We work with what we get, and if we are just starting out, it is good to know where and how we should direct our remedial efforts on the razor.

FWIW, I am one of the more vocal proponents of the Gold Dollar razors. I have a LOT of them, and I frequently shave with a GD. They do almost all benefit from reprofiling the heel. Actually that goes for most razors, it is just that the defect is strongest in entry level Dovo razors, and Gold Dollars. And over-loved heel-hooked vintage razors.

But lurking is fine, if you just want to lurk for a while. Enjoy, and Happy Shaves!

 

[macintoshBR]

Oh another victim of the dogmatic folks in the Straight Razor boards. All threads dominated by the same dozen people who own all the world knowledge about straight razor shaving, and honing, and stropping

OP, you do yourself a favor taking a break from there, as I did a while ago and never returned.

 

[buserror]

Every forum, for every topic will have the same kind of people, just ignore it. Read it, take whatever from it, but don't take anything as gospel, and don't 'feed' them. I've already been patronised a few times here, but I'm a very experienced forum-dweller and I perfectly happy just ignoring it.

Or, if you feel naughty, bait them a bit and see them rise to it, that's a way to turn the table on them

 

[Kyle89]

If it works for you, then it’s fine.
Every medium I participate on has people who want to point things out. Take it as you will, but a lot of the time it’s a good learning opportunity. It’s not always obvious.

But hey, that’s just how it is on the straight razor boards. Love to see ya come back man!

 

[luvmysuper]

OP, you do yourself a favor taking a break from there, as I did a while ago and never returned.

irony
iro·ny | \ ˈī-rə-nē also ˈī(-ə)r-nē \

1a: the use of words to express something other than and especially the opposite of the literal meaning

 

[luvmysuper]

I want to thank everyone here. By and large everyone here has been most welcoming and positive.

I approach every new endeavor with enthusiasm, I jump in with both feet and self teach to get to a level of accomplishment that frankly makes me feel good.

I enjoyed posting pics of my razors, asking a few questions and making general comments about where I am with straight razoring.

It was all fun here till today.

Today I posted a picture of one of the latest razors I acquired and said it's my second best shaver --. And I don't know why but I got challenged in a strange way about that.

I had no learning curve at all learning to shave and I was told while I am learning I should not hone myself, but I already learned. what can I say, I'm a shaving prodigy I see no where I need to improve the actual shaving process.

Then I got comments about how that razor is not shave ready -- which is incongruous , since it shaves so well, and having said that it must have not been satisfying since things then started going down a rabbit hole about honing.

Well I blame this all upon myself that things took a decidedly un-enjoyable turn for me.

If I could give feedback, people should keep up with the positive feedback to enthusiastic new members, and sharply limit messages saying ... it's all wrong.

I'm going into lurking mode on these forums, and will pick up what I can passively, I can't imagine posting another picture of one of my razors considering they are not perfect.

I frankly don't have a thick enough skin for another exchange like today's, except on my face which must be very thick or else I would have cut myself to bits with my self honed blades.

And again -- this is on me for my reaction to the type of feedback I received.
Bye

In every walk of life, there will always be those who think that their way is best, and you can't possibly succeed unless you do what they say, the way they say to do it.
It's true in wine forums, knife forums, fine scotch forums, razor forums, and most certainly in straight razor forums.
MOST CERTAINLY IN HONING FORUMS.
If what you are doing works for you, and you are getting good results, then the choice is yours to either take any advice on board or to disregard it.
Nothing succeeds like success.
The opinion of another only holds weight if one believes that the opinion is from someone whose opinion you respect, and believe to be correct.
Otherwise it's just so much jaw wagging.
Undoubtedly, practice makes perfect and continued experience will improve your skills.
Perhaps it might at some point lead you to believe that you were correct all along and the "you must do this" folks are stuck in their own mindset.
Perhaps at some point you will come to believe that some of what was suggested was correct, though it may have been presented in a different manner.
To the "experts" here - I'd suggest that you couch your advice in terms of what works for you.
Go back and read how many times "you must" appeared in the replies to this individual.
There are a lot of ways to get to where one wishes to be in terms of skills.
Some people perpetually chase the perfect, while others are completely satisfied with good enough.
There's nothing wrong with good enough if it satisfies the person doing it.
In some form or another, every "expert" here is happy with his results because it is good enough for them, though somewhere there is someone who would think your expert results are not good enough.

 

[smorgana]

Your decision, of course.

But after reading the full thread, I don't think any of the interactions were hostile, or patronising. You said you were willing to learn early in the thread and so people, understandably, took that as an invitation to share their knowledge, not as far as I can tell to belittle you or your efforts which were met with encouragement.

Take a break and come back when you feel you are ready, but please don't form a view that the community here is in any way elitist or exclusionary, I really see no evidence of that either in your thread or any of the countless others I read here.

Another straight shaver in the world is a great thing. We are a small band, and we should support each other. This place facilitates that, and I would hate to see that change.

Have great shaves, and enjoy your ongoing exploration of the gentlemanly art!

No. No hostility, no malice. Just if I can gently say-- completely ignoring and disbelieving what I said.
At the same time there were plenty of positive comments on the thread. Thanks.

"Hi I'm a newbie and I'm getting the best shaves of my life with razors I honed myself!"
"No you are not -- you're doing it completely wrong, that razor can't shave-- your razors are not hone-able, you dont even know how to flatten a stone."

This is all my fault.

 

[smorgana]

What I've learned from the responses on this thread is there is an ignore feature. after a period of time I'll be back and using it judiciously

 

[Eastcoast30]

Everyone is different. I had a coworker (he is gone now) that did the same exact thing to me in company emails. I considered it his problem and not mine. Feel free to lurk; it is a great way to learn. And if you come back that will be great. I would like to see your razors.

 

[kjbarth]

There are many ways to skin a cat. The methods that work for you are the methods that work for you. And, you are the best judge of what is shave ready for you and what methods work for you. Things will get better and easier with practice. As you indicate, you are a beginner/novice but have picked things up quickly and your shaving and honing will only improve as you continue to practice. I, for one, hope you decide to stick around and continue to post your progress.

 

[smorgana]

Everyone is different. I had a coworker (he is gone now) that did the same exact thing to me in company emails. I considered it his problem and not mine. Feel free to lurk; it is a great way to learn. And if you come back that will be great. I would like to see your razors.

What I mean when I say this is on me or all my fault -I'm meaning my reaction. If you think about it. In a negative interaction that causes you stress -- it is your own reaction that makes the stress, not what the other side said.

 

[emwolf]

There are a couple of fellows on the forum in the past who have told me that my opinion was wrong in no uncertain terms. Those people I block right away. I don't need them in my life. That leaves me with a bunch of folks on this forum who might give me a good ribbing from time to time, but always are kind and supportive. I have to say, I found the OP very well thought out and well written.

 

[Steve56]

This state of affairs seems to be an issue with ‘bedside manner’ or effective communication.

B&B is for the most part, and enthusiast’s forum and one should expect enthusiast’s responses, which can get rather ‘enthusiastic’. If someone is too enthusiastic, the ignore button works, although I’ve often thought that it’s backwards, if you ‘ignore’ someone, they shouldn’t be able to see YOUR posts, lol.

I think that it is also good to remember that some of these enthusiastic posts are intended to help, and took a lot of someone’s time and effort to compose in an attempt to help someone else. This effort to help shouldn’t be overlooked.

 

[smorgana]

This state of affairs seems to be an issue with ‘bedside manner’ or effective communication.

I think that's it..

B&B is for the most part, and enthusiast’s forum and one should expect enthusiast’s responses, which can get rather ‘enthusiastic’. If someone is too enthusiastic, the ignore button works, although I’ve often thought that it’s backwards, if you ‘ignore’ someone, they shouldn’t be able to see YOUR posts, lol.

I think that it is also good to remember that some of these enthusiastic posts are intended to help, and took a lot of someone’s time and effort to compose in an attempt to help someone else. This effort to help shouldn’t be overlooked.

 

[smorgana]

"Hi I'm a newbie and I'm getting the best shaves of my life with razors I honed myself!"
"No you are not -- you're doing it completely wrong, that razor can't shave-- your razors are not hone-able, you dont even know how to flatten a stone."

This is all my fault.

I'm going to be brutally honest here and say that's how it felt at the time. Though re-reading the thread it was not harsh at all. I don't know what more to say so I'll say no more.

 

[Darth Scandalous]

I'm going to be brutally honest here and say that's how it felt at the time. Though re-reading the thread it was not harsh at all. I don't know what more to say so I'll say no more.

I hope you stick around.