The Long Hair Community

Deborah · June 27th, 2003, 10:42 PM

Hi All,

I really, truly don't want to rain on anyone's parade. However, just before you started putting together a group order for Argus, I ordered two of the wooden hair forks, the Diamond topped curved one, and the Crimped wider curved one, in the darker color. They came today.

Please, don't throw rocks at me, but I am disappointed in both of them.

All the outer edges are nice and rounded and smooth, but the inner edges seem unfinished almost, they're straight-edged and have some rough snaggy sections, especially the diamond head. The crimped one is not quite as rough, but the tips appear to have been simply whittled to sharp points, no shaping at all.

The stick parts are too thick for my use; I can barely get them into my bun, even with lots of wriggling (and worrying about sawing off hair with the rough edges). I do twist my hair pretty snugly, but all my other toys slide in OK but these.

The forks could be fixed, I think, but it would take some work. I'm not a woodworker, and I have no tools, so I'll probably just send them back.

I hate to bring bad news, but I thought I had better pass on my own experience. Maybe I just got two lemons, and the rest may be just great. As I said this is a 'heads up'. Perhaps you might have better experiences than I am having with Argus.

Sadly yours,

Deborah

PS - They are pretty.

MissKim · June 27th, 2003, 11:07 PM

Deborah, I'm sorry you weren't happy with your purchase. I have never ordered from them, but seeing how excited everyone was about it, I was seriously contemplating it!!!!

Does anyone have any information on their return policy?

Pixna · June 28th, 2003, 02:48 AM

Here's a link to the page where they explain their return policy (just scroll down to that section):

http://www.argusdesigns.com/Order/Order.html

It's pretty standard and reasonable. I've decided to change my order based on Deborah's comments and get something they make themselves (one of the titanium hair prongs) rather than the wooden items that they import. Bethany has their stainless steel hair spikes and seems satisfied with them except they are too long for her (she's going to exchange them for the shorter ones).

Bethany · June 28th, 2003, 02:55 AM

According to their website, they'll accept returns on all items within 30 days except sterling silver (10 days). So far my email conversations with them have gone well and I think that's what others have reported, so I don't imagine it would be a problem.

At the NY Renn Faire my housemate and I bought decorated hair accessories from a vendor who clearly used forks and sticks from Argus (or from the same source as Argus) for the base. My sticks look like the 6" wooden sticks in rosewood and are quite nice. My housemate's fork looks like one of the (non-diamond) bayong curved forks, and when I tried it myself, I recall thinking that it was pretty decent -- not as nice as a fancy $30 handmade fork, but about what you'd except for $8. :-) I'll ask here where she stowed it when she wakes up (and recovers from the shock of seeing I woke up before her :-) ) and ask to play with it again. The vendor may have done additional finishing work on them, though, I would have no way of knowing that.

For those ordering metal accessories: I have a pair of 7" crimped hair spikes and they're lovely -- I'm quite pleased with them except for the length, which is why I want to end up with 5" spikes instead out of this group order one way or another.

My $0.02 worth.

Completely OT: I think my housemate's cat broke into the coffee this morning: once she recovered from the shock of seeing me up so early, she's been racing around the apartment chasing imaginary creatures ever since...

Hollie · June 28th, 2003, 05:17 AM

That is a real bummer, Deborah! I had thought about the wooden forks only because they're the right length, but for the very reason you described, I didn't order any. I didn't want to take a chance. Plus, I wear my hair up wet/damp a lot - no good for wood! I really want the metal forks, but those are just too, too short for my taste.

That's okay - I'll take the spikes & quills!!!!

I hope you can return your items without any problems.

Heidi · June 28th, 2003, 06:57 AM

Thanks for that review Deborah! That's good to know; you're not raining on any parades here!

I think I'm going to keep my order the same, though. The forks from Argus are relatively inexpensive, so I'll be able to play with mine (even if I have to sand them down a bit) before spending more on a better-made one.

Bethany--thanks for your review as well. Oh, and the scary creatures in my house sneak out between 4:30 and 5:00 every morning and must be chased around the house by both cats.

snippet · June 28th, 2003, 08:09 AM

Thanks so much Deborah for letting us know! This is exactly the type of info we need before we buy. Don't worry a bit about any raining on parades here.

I can handle some sanding but I've had troubles with getting thick sticks in my hair and don't want that. So I'm changing my mind too.

((( hugs )))

Bethany · June 28th, 2003, 08:28 AM

OK, I've looked at my housemate's curved hairfork:

Looking at it, I think I would give it a good sanding before I used it if it were my stick. However, the prongs seems plenty thin enough to get into buns: my hair is wet so I didn't try it just now, but IIRC I've played with it in the past and not had problems.

Note that from the website it looks like the diamond-topped and crimped wooden forks may have thicker teeth than the curved forks, so that may explain the difference.

I looked at my 6" wooden hairsticks again, the ones from the same vendor. They are pretty and very smooth.

Always nice to know that the apartment is safe from incursion by small imaginary creatures. Real insects are a different story: judging by her behavior, they're facinating but hard to catch and a little scary. :-)