Dennis Young posted in response to Joe Starck's post-
> Brazing goobers not OK, but I can't quite figure why it is that sensible
> turns to dogmatic when it comes to file marks. You are talking about a
> different era of bicycle making when those Masis had the remnants of file
> work on them. People had a different mind about what they were doing
then,
> and the expectations of the customers were different as well. Not that I
> would suggest it, but thinking otherwise suggests a lack of understanding
of
> bicycle history, and aesthetics evolution
My response-
As per usual, a well written posting from Dennis. I can only answer for myself as a framebuilder so I'm by no means trying to speak for other builders. I think you're right about the whole different times thing but I don't think it excuses sloppy file work. Let's take the beloved Masis. If sloppy file work was a sign of the times then all or most of these bikes would bear the battle scars of a bastard file. As most know, some certainly do but plenty don't. As matter of fact some are quite well done. I'd conclude that sloppy file work wasn't considered an acceptable practice and attempts were made to prevent or hide it. It's certainly true that today the American builders, myself included, are more concerned with this and other aspects of building techiques. We probably are driving ourselves nuts doing it but I like to constantly try to move the bar up if for no other reason than personal satisfaction. I'm sure that I'm not the only person that feels that way about whatever they do. So with all that said, here's my personal take on the whole file mark thang. As a framebuilder, I see file marks as a blemish that shouldn't be there. When the frame was built isn't relevant. Why make excuses? This of course needs to be kept in perspective of production numbers and cost but when looking a top or near top shelf frames I see no reason to make excuses for sloppy work. We certainly don't do this for good work. We don't look at a nicely crafted Masi and say "Sure it's nice but times were different then."
Curt Goodrich
Minneapolis, MN