The only source of imported seeds I was able to find back in the very early 80's were the original I believe SK1, and NL and an Afghani hash plant. They came from "The Super Sativa Seed Club" which to my recollection was the only game in town that I was aware of. They advertised in the fondly remembered old black and white "Sensimilla Tips magazine which I've thought became High Times some time layer. My recollection was 1982 but it certainly could have been 1983 but then again I left a lot of my memories in the 70's so bear with me. I had those genetics for a couple of decades. I always preserved the pure genetics of the SK and NL's but crossed and backcrossed them as well. My real focus was on doing fresh crosses on the SK/NL as the hybrid vigor sure helped produce some beauties. I lost it all do to life, wife and jail but would sure like to have them today.
So No I don't still have them AND I may be off my a year or so. There was one small paperback back then that offered growing advice and I've always thought it was written by Jorge Cervantes although I could be wrong.
Im not trying to cause any trouble I'm just curious on whether or not people are breeding with an ultimate goal in mind or just making crosses. Not that making crosses doesn't have its value because you can come up with some beauties. Those beauties are just not repeatable on a consistent basis so then that would mean a great variety in the Phenos. Like I said I was just curious. What year did sensimilla tips magazine reach the shelves?
So I can't speak for Useful obviously but to answer your question of why people get excited about crosses without knowing if they will produce consistent results there's a variety of reasons but they mostly revolve around changing goals in cultivation culture.
These days there are far more hobby growers trying to find “their own thing", so personal phenohunting has become far more prevalent. But there's no point in phenohunting through a well established strain. It's like buying a lottery ticket where the best you could do is win your money back. When a breeder takes a pair of rare or elite strains and crosses them it creates this idea that the grower could find something "special".
Obviously not everyone is interested in this approach. Some people want consistency from the seeds they purchase... others will accept inconsistency if they think they have a chance of winning that lottery.
Add in good marketing and the internet fueled hype machine and you have the world of smashing strains named after desserts together to sell $200 packs of seeds.
Personally I like that we have the option to choose our own paths. If I'm growing for my head stash I want consistency, but if I want to start a new chucking project it's nice to have a variety of phenotypes to choose from.
What I will say about Useful is he tends to use his favorite cuts and males over and over again for a reason. His lines have been very consistent for me. Combined with most of them being fems his gear has been a go too to keep the stash filled when I'm messing around with less stable gear on the side. I know even if I drop just one bean from Useful I'm going to get a high quality result.