The BEST thread

[Whiskey Badger]

It seems that every forum has a thread looking for the BESTof something with a very general question attached. What is the best tallow soap? What is the best aftershave? What is the best razor? Best watch, belt orshoe…
Sometimes they are vaguely more specific to the intent… butultimately, how many answers are you going to get to the “best” ofsomething.
Synonyms for the word best: top, preeminent, finest, greatest,unsurpassed, paramount, superlative, most excellent, incomparable, unrivaled…to name a few.

Perhaps “best” is not the best word for these musings?

 

[JaxJim]

Yep, currently I'm in search of the best space bar.

 

[August West]

The word best in that context is far too prone to subjectivity and relativity.

 

[Rockminer]

Since every answer to any of the above words is subjective, it just comes down to vocabulary. You're going to get the same answers no matter what word you use.

 

[August West]

Since every answer to any of the above words is subjective, it just comes down to vocabulary. You're going to get the same answers no matter what word you use.

Great point. Merely using a synonym won't change the dynamic of responses.

 

[Whiskey Badger]

Yep, currently I'm in search of the best space bar.

For some reason that happens when I paste from MS word.

 

[JaxJim]

For some reason that happens when I paste from MS word.

Same thing happens to me-- I was just jerking your chain.

 

[Doc4]

Synonyms for the word best: top, preeminent, finest, greatest,unsurpassed, paramount, superlative, most excellent, incomparable, unrivaled…to name a few.

Perhaps “best” is not the best word for these musings?

Well, whether you ask "what is the best tallow soap?" or "what is the greatest tallow soap?" or whatever, you run into the same problems ...

First, personal opinion on the actual items. (Beatles fans and Rolling Stones fans will give you different answers about "the greatest rock band ever", and ditto with tallow soap.) And do you like the silky perfection of a Rolls-Royce or the muscular aggression of a Lamborghini? On and on it goes.

Then there is the "bang for buck" question that seep in ... if an $80 soap gives you a "99" out of 100, and a $30 soap gives you a "97" an a $15 soap gives you a ""95" ... and assuming that most people can't tell the difference during a shave between a "95" and a "99" ... now what?

Or shoes ... I could spend $300 or $1300 for a pair of great shoes ... obviously the $1300 are going to be a bit better ... but enough to justify the extra grand? Or what about the $600 pair that is twice as good as the $300 and almost as good as the $1300 ... you get the idea.

Maybe it's time to put away the search for "the best" and search for "greatness". Everyone knows that Mt. Everest is the highest peak in the world, but there are lots of other mountains out there worth climbing, and some that are a harder climb than Everest. Instead of mountaineers getting out their measuring sticks to find "the highest in the world", and letting that be the deciding factor as to which mountain they will climb, they ought to look at the mountains themselves and try a few of those that most tickle their fancy based on their technical challenges rather than "highest" or "best" ... ditto for wetshavers.

 

[oc_in_fw]

(Beatles fans and Rolling Stones fans will give you different answers about "the greatest rock band ever"

And Zeppelin fans will gladly tell both that they are wrong.

 

[Doc4]

And Zeppelin fans will gladly tell both that they are wrong.

See? That's the other problem. No matter what debate you have, some clever spark who need directions to the Shinola will come along and tell you that The Veg is the best aftershave or Williams is the best soap or ... lord knows, something about Led Zeppelin.

 

[August West]

See? That's the other problem. No matter what debate you have, some clever spark who need directions to the Shinola will come along and tell you that The Veg is the best aftershave or Williams is the best soap or ... lord knows, something about Led Zeppelin.

Touche'.

 

[jrp316]

The best thread? Coats and Clark.

 

[T.Orso]

That store bought junk cannot compare with the thread my girlfriend spins out of organic Tibetan yak wool and spider silk harvested from our own basement.

 

[mretzloff]

All I know is that springs1 probably started the best thread

 

[Whiskey Badger]

Springs1 is is getting a lot of attention lately!

I am not sure hers compares to the dead badger thread.

In case people were wondering, I am aware that best is completely based on oppinion and aware that the verbiage use will not change anything... It was a joke...

And for the record the best thread is clearly that made from the finest spider goat silk.... it's a real thing...

 

[Hunter]

Last thread I used was dental floss for putting patches on my vest, worked out pretty good so far.

 

[Larry C in Texas]

Yep, currently I'm in search of the best space bar.

I think the one in the original Star Wars was pretty hard to beat.

 

[Doc4]

Last thread I used was dental floss for putting patches on my vest, worked out pretty good so far.

Well, Alberta IS just north of Montana, after all.

 

[Shaving_CHENG]

See? That's the other problem. No matter what debate you have, some clever spark who need directions to the Shinola will come along and tell you that The Veg is the best aftershave or Williams is the best soap or ... lord knows, something about Led Zeppelin.

That's the funniest thing I've read all day, and true!

I think it important that when answering the broad question of "Best, etc." we qualify or at least attempt to quantify. My 9.9/10 soap might, for reasons beyond any of our control, be a 7.6/10 for someone else. Ultimately though, it is my 9.9, and I should be able to defend it, so as to give the most objective summary possible.

And it's the Stones

 

[Hunter]

Well, Alberta IS just north of Montana, after all.

When people joke and call it North Texas... you would be amazed at how close that is.