but in the grey areas I thought this was the place to ask questions or get additional information or opinions
I was agreeing with your statement that I responded to and hoping to bolster your reasoning.
You are correct here as well. Ask questions in the grey areas. Get the spectrum of answers and boil them down. Consider the sources of info and where they got the information they are providing. Is it speculation or based off of something tangible?
As for "do your own research."
I see two types of this statement. The 1st, to which I believe you refer seems to me less common than some years ago, comes with an attitude of "I spent money on expensive hard to get books so that I can know stuff, but not share what I know,,,,,, and I'll belittle you for not knowing." These A__ Hats are still around, but not as many as I recall there being even just 10 years ago.
There is also, "do your own research," that is said as a warning. As in, don't trust what vendors say is historically correct. Don't trust what someone surmises, or reasons to be, correct.
Maybe this is better put as "trust but verify." Ask more questions, read articles, look at artwork that was painted of the period during the period. Read old posts on the subject and over time get a feel for who really knows what they are talking about.
When in doubt, keep it simple,,,, but that doesn't mean rough and "homespun" looking all the time. I.e. knives, a simple, clean, well made trade knife is almost always right. As you read answers to questions and opinions, as you look at pictures, remember that Colonial America was very much a consumer society, we consumed a lot of trade goods. Many things were cheaper to buy than make, especially when your time, material, and labor could be spent making things that weren't available for purchase. This would also tie into the British laws forbidding "value added" industry in the colonies.
