Stanza 126

Original Old Norse:	Auden & Taylor:	Bellows:	Bray:
Ráðumk þér Loddfáfnir en þú ráð nemir njóta mundu ef þú nemr þér munu góð ef þú getr skósmiðr þú verir né skeptismiðr nema þú sjálfum þér sér skór er skapaðr illa eða skapt sé rangt þá er þér böls beðit	Be not a cobbler nor a carver of shafts, Except it be for yourself: If a shoe fit ill or a shaft be crooked"; The maker gets curses and kicks.	I rede thee, Loddfafnir! | and hear thou my rede,- Profit thou hast if thou hearest, Great thy gain if thou learnest: A shoemaker be, | or a maker of shafts, For only thy single self; If the shoe is ill made, | or the shaft prove false, Then evil of thee men think.	125. I counsel thee, Stray-Singer, accept my counsels, they will be thy boon if thou obey'st them, they will work thy weal if thou win'st them: be not a shoemaker nor yet a shaft maker save for thyself alone: let the shoe be misshapen, or crooked the shaft, and a curse on thy head will be called.
Chisholm:	Hollander:	Terry:	Thorpe:
I give you rede Loddfafnir, heed it well, You will use it, if you learn it, it will get you good if you understand it. Be not a maker of shoes or a shaper of shafts, unless they are for yourself. If the shoe is ill shaped, or the shaft is not straight, they will wish you ill.	Hear thou, Loddfafnir, and heed it well, learn it, 'twill lend thee strength, follow it, 'twill further thee: neither shoemaker be nor shaftmaker, either, but it be for thyself: let the shoe be ill shaped or the shaft not true, and they will wish thee woe.	Heed my words, Loddfafnir, listen to my counsel; you'll be better off if you believe me, follow my advice, and you'll fare well: don't make shoes and don't make spear-shafts except the ones you use yourself; a badly-fitted shoe or a crooked shaft leads to bad luck.	128. I counsel thee, etc. Be not a shoemaker, nor a shaftmaker, unless for thyself it be; for a shoe if ill made, or a shaft if crooked, will call down evil on thee.
Being a business owner myself, crafting items for the public, I have felt the backlash of unhappy customers myself. I strive for perfection in all my products, but the old saying “you can't please all the people all the time” is an apt one. If your vision isn't the same as their vision, you suffer the backlash yourself.