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Forschner Victorinox Chef’s Knife
A really great chef’s knife is insanely sharp, yet retains its edge easily and feels well-balanced and welcoming in your hand. These days, a decent high-grade chef’s knife can cost $100-$200. Several...
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Quikrete Mortar Repair
I live in a 112-year-old brick house. Brick lasts a long time. Mortar does not. Most of my house’s tuck pointing is in great condition, but a few isolated spots are almost completely devoid of mortar....
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Klean Kanteen
Klean Kanteen offers a range of stainless steel water bottles ($18+) that are well made, relatively lightweight, and come with a variety of interchangeable tops. They seal tightly (I pack them in my...
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Jeri Ellsworth, CEO at Tilt Five
Our guest this week is Jeri Ellsworth. Jeri is an inventor, entrepreneur and amateur scientist. Her career started when she dropped out of high school and formed a business building, selling and racing...
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Lenspen
One way to keep fingerprints off of a quality lens is to keep a filter on the lens at all times. If you prefer not to, or get a print on a lens while changing filters, this small tool ($9) will come in...
View ArticleSpider And Web/Cheap new tools/Better Reddit browsing
Mysterious text adventure I used to love the old Infocom text adventure games. They were interactive stories where you affected the outcome by making decisions and doing things as you moved around a...
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Moby Wrap
There are so many baby carriers on the market right now, and I’ve tried a good deal of them: various slings, the Ergo Baby (previously reviewed), Baby Bjorn, and the like all tend to put the bulk of...
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Knirps X1 Umbrella
I live in London, which is pretty rainy, and so the Knirps X1 ($40) I’ve had for many years has seen plenty of use. It’s both highly durable and extremely compact: it folds down to the size of a two...
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Storus Smart Money Clip
I’ve been using Storus’ simple wallet/money clip ($20) for four years now, and highly recommend it. It’s just enough wallet to qualify as one, but no more: light, simple, minimalist. The money clip is...
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Kinco Ski Gloves
Look on the hands of the person wrangling chairs or patrolling at your local ski hill. You’ll probably see an old-school insulated leather glove made by workwear supplier Kinco. Now, there are slightly...
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Contigo Autoseal Mug
Far and away the best travel mug I’ve used is the Contigo Autoseal Stainless Steel Mug ($17). The Autoseal mechanism is the most leak-proof design I’ve found; it seals automatically when you’re not...
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Artful Sentences
Artful Sentences has increased my understanding as to how syntax creates and conveys meaning. Virginia Tufte guides the reader through more than a thousand sentences she’s culled from some of the best...
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Cool Tools 2018 Holiday Gift Guide: Best Tools $10 or less
The editors of Cool Tools have curated a number of gift suggestions selected from the pages of Cool Tools: A Catalog of Possibilities (which itself makes a great gift), and from the website. This week:...
View ArticleAlexa Blueprint/Photopea/Forever
Alexa houseguest guide You can program your Alexa with new skills. I just trained our Alexa to serve as a home guide for houseguests, babysitters, and petsitters. I used an Alexa Blueprint to create an...
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Frieling French Press
After breaking two glass carafes while living in the middle of nowhere, I knew there had to be a better answer to the standard French press. The Frieling ($86) is; made of all stainless steel parts,...
View ArticleSubmit a review for a chance get a $50 Amazon Card
We are going to award a $50 Amazon gift card to the writer of our favorite review between now and Friday, November 23, Noon PT. Here’s the form to submit your review. Here are some guidelines for...
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Trey Ratcliff, Photographer
Our guest this week is Trey Ratcliff. Trey is a photographer, artist, writer and adventurer. Each day, Trey posts a new photo to his website, StuckInCustoms.com, the #1 Travel Photography blog. His...
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Behringer USB Audio Interface
This digital audio converter is marketed as a high-quality and inexpensive way to digitize old cassettes and LPs. I’m sure it’s excellent for those tasks, too, but I’ve found it particularly useful for...
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Invisible Glove
Latex gloves and the better purple nitrile gloves can be irritating to the skin, reduce the ability to feel what you’re doing and are easy to drag, pinch, and tear when working on mechanical things. If...
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MugMate
Bought the MugMate coffee/tea filter ($10) for my grandmother-in-law after she saw me using mine. Great for brewing single cups of coffee or tea. Easy to clean. Mine’s in excellent condition after 6...
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