Got banned from a gardening sub for saying you don't need expensive tools

I posted on a big gardening forum that my $15 hand trowel from the hardware store has lasted me 8 years through 3 different gardens. Some folks got really upset and said I was promoting cheap junk that would break. I tried to explain that I just clean it after each use and store it inside, not out in the shed. They called me a troll and banned me within an hour. But honestly, isn't the whole point of gardening to work with what you've got and not buy into all the marketing hype? Has anyone else gotten pushback for recommending budget solutions in hobby communities?

2 comments

2 Comments

samk771d ago

My buddy Mike got banned from a woodworking forum for saying you can build a decent bookshelf with a circular saw and a straight edge. He wasn't being rude or anything, he just posted photos of a shelf he made in his driveway with like a $60 saw from a pawn shop. Pretty soon some guys with thousand dollar table saws were jumping all over him saying his joints would fail and he was gonna get someone hurt. Mike tried to explain he'd been building furniture that way for a decade and never had problems, but they just kept piling on. I guess some communities really need people to spend money to feel like they belong.

sagecooper1d ago

Why do people get so weird about how others choose to build things? I've seen guys on car forums lose their minds because someone used a wrench instead of a socket. It's like the expensive tool crowd can't handle the idea that skill and patience beat gear every time. Mike's bookshelf wouldn't spontaneously explode just because he didn't drop a grand on a saw. Half the furniture in my house was built with a circular saw and a speed square, and nothing's collapsed yet. Sometimes less money just means more creativity.