I have a blue 600 pen. Such nice heft to it, and it always feels special when I pull it out.

I like my Jim Green African Rangers. Quite airy and cool, great for the summer... Maybe the more regular Vellie style if he really wants shoes, but I like a bit of ankle support...

I somehow prefer the peelers with a blade fixed to the handle. The swivel is kind of awkward.

Carbide tipped utility blades also exist. I don't think any other blade on any knife is as sharp as those, and they hold an edge in really extreme conditions.

Instead get better utility knife blades. Like, you can get carbide tipped ones. They're not cheap but they really hold an edge. No - and really no - normal knife will hold an edge as well. Carbide is crazy hard but brittle. Any regular knife with non-replaceable blades will have a carbide edge - because it can occasionally shatter and you can't really sharpen it.

So if you want a crazy sharp knife that holds an edge and is used for industrial tasks, that's the only route I'd look at, anything else will require way more maintenance and will never perform as well.

That's awesome, but probably depends on where you're located - I doubt they offer anything remotely like that here in Europe.

Heard Blundstones aren't what they used to be. Redback boots are still made in Australia and supposedly much better quality.

However, I love my Jim Greens! The Stockman is in the same style but is actually also resoleable.

I'd probably opt for some kind of professional-line crocks. Cheap and simple, they have decent support and are the easiest to clean. Not sure about being slip resistant, maybe some models?

Yw... I know such decisions are hard :s

I'm sure most hobby users would be totally fine with either Stihl saw, even a 250...

I have a 039 from the 90's, and for some 10 years an MS361. They one "class" larger than the 2XX series. MS361 (or the new 362 - a bit more eco friendly though I think they made it a little heavier) is the most versatile chainsaw on the market, it'll really do everything, you can fell down really large trees or cut off small branches.

Now, I'd not use the 2xx series for large trees but overall they're still very versatile (compared to the 1xx series) nontheless, and a lot lighter.

I can compare my experience with the 039 and the 361. 039 is the farmer model (just like an MS390/391, or the smaller MS290/291), and the 361 is a pro saw. The 361 is more fuel efficient and just a tad lighter. But the ol' 039 is notably more torquey. I think it has some 5cc more. I assume that's even more notable between the smaller chainsaws (261 and 291). At full throttle the 361 is a better saw, but the 039 is really close in performance and I like how it won't stall even at less throttle.

Never had any serious problem with either. The 039 needed a new fuel lines every decade - time makes them rot, but that's to be expected. Never fully rebuilt the 039, but did inspect it ~ 5 years ago and cleaned up the carburetor. It was used a lot, especially in the past. Not daily, but when it was in use, it was a lot of use for 8-10 hours at a time.

If I bought again, I'd probably go for the 391. It's cheaper and totally fine for me. I have 15 hectares of forest. The 361 is really made to cut at least 8 hours, day after day, and be rebuilt countless times. I'd run out of forest in a month.

So, in your case I'd go with the 291. But if you've got some money to spare and want the best, the 261 is lighter and more powerful when you give it the nuts! :)

For home use, the 260 or 261 is overkill. I think it comes down to the MS251 or MS291 (or MS250 and 290). 45cc or 55cc, 40cm bar or 45cm bar... Should hold both and decide. If you want to fell any serious trees, the MS291 is a far better choice. If you'll cut branches, the 250 is lighter and some 100$ cheaper.

BTW the last number is 0, 1 or 2. It just tells the generation, but in general you can expect about the same performance out of a stihl with the same first two numbers (like, the difference between an MS360 or MS361 or MS362 is negligible, and the 90's predecessor was the Stihl 036 which is also kind of the same). Today, I think the MS171 is a bit more powerful than the 170 but if you can get a better deal for the older version, it's still a great saw...

> That’s the second version of the model. The previous one had a fuel and oil cap that needed to be opened with a tool.

I have a 039 and have only had to use a tool handful of times. Since the 90's maybe 5 or 6 times. TBH I prefer the old style (which practically all other brands still use), the caps are the only things that mildly annoy me with my MS361. Sometimes they just don't seal correctly and the holes are recessed so sawdust can fall in the tank when you open it.

That's if the company stays afloat, and at some point if you replace everything, it's not even the same computer anymore and to me it seems you may even end up dumping way more money into it.

It would be an entirely different thing if such modular construction was standardized and used by everyone, but that is extremely unlikely to happen.

Check their catalogue, they have tons of bit drivers too... Precision screwdrivers are usually fixed so they aren't wobbly, and typically such bit driver kits are 70% full of stuff you'll never need. Ultimately, if you do need it, I can understand it is annoying if you have to wait and order extra bits. In your case I'd get a set (or even order individually) of fixed precision screwdrivers in shapes I know I'd use a lot (Phillips, slotted, maybe torx and allen) and some dirt cheap bit driver set for the stuff I might need once in a lifetime.

Or get a full vessel bit driver set, they're still not a lot more than a chinese brand but have top quality...

Yeah I swappes the one in my MBP at some point.

Still, I considered it a wear item and ot was really easy to replace. Not something I'd fault the PC for, at some point a battery just needs to be replaced...

I own an IBM Thinkpad that'll probably outlive the Framework :)

That said, I had a mid-2012 MBP that was awesome, never had any issues. Swapped to SSD at some point and it was still fine a decade after it was made. That's as BIFL as it can be for tech in my opinion. People saying "this is the last laptop I'll buy" are probably exaggerating. If a laptop lasts you 10 years, you need 5 or 6 in your lifetime - and that's fine by me.

At some point, "upgrades" don't cut it and the Framework (if it stays afloat) will have to be redesigned from scratch to benefit from the latest tech.

I'm sure it will last for a long time and will be easy to repair. But it certainly won't last forever.

For example, in 2018 I bought an ipad Pro and 5 years later it's still terrific. No stutters or anything... It fully replaced my MBP last year when I sold the laptop (and still got 300€ for it!). I'm sure it'll be totally fine for the next 5 years, possibly even 10...

Hmm, not sure which you need. Something like this...

Vessel is the screwdriver manufacturer, their catalogue is around 60 pages full of countless types of screwdriver handles and shapes...

> but make sure the cruciform ones are Phillips and not JIS (unless you want JIS)

Vessel does not make JIS screwdrivers for about 20 years now. JIS standard was replaced by the DIN/ISO standard which is fully compatible with JIS fasteners as well as ANSI/SAE Phillips fasteners and all Japanese manufacturers make screwdrivers according to the DIN/ISO standard for PH heads. This also means practically all screwdrivers sold in Europe by reputable brands are fine to use on old JIS phillips fasteners as well.

The only screwdrivers that only fit in phillips, are the ones for the US market that follow old ANSI/SAE standards. Interestingly, a good ISO/DIN screwdriver fits in those just as well. The tapers are compatible, I think the main difference is how far in the fillets in the inner edges go - with the ansi/sae standard, they use larger radiuses which prevent them from fitting in old JIS screws, but the DIN/ISO use a very small radius so it fits into all of them equally...\

Sorry for nerding out a bit about this :) Vessel is the best brand for screwdrivers for sure. The only one I'd put above them is PB Swiss, but they're a lot more pricey and while maybe a bit better - not much. Vessel has a lot more variety too.

Nepros is cool but... you pay a lot for the finishing. I'd say they're as good as Vessel on the limited selection they have, but you pay more than even for pb swiss. Similarly, nepros sockets are really nice and beautiful but not really better than koken and nepros again has a limited selection.

If you want good dressy boots on a budget, they're worth it. Good work boots on a similar budget are Thorogoods...

Jim Green is a very good brand to consider too. Simpler and goofy compared to the Thursdays, but cheaper and very comfortable and meant as real work boots (like, no fake toe caps on Jim Greens, while on Thursdays they're just for the style...)

Check out Jim Green AR8 :)

I assume it was downvoted because out of most computers, old Macbooks seem to stay in use for the longest and also tend to get updates for a long time. Sure old PCs can run many lightweight linux distros (and so can old Macs), but OEM support from Apple for old Macs is something you hardly even see with other computers (maybe some business computers...).

I think that if you don't get locked out, they stay in use for a relatively long time and are also always sought after in the used market.

15-20$ gets you a decent Pferd file for steel which are among the best on the market. Yeah 40$ for a nail file is overpriced by about 35$ because it does not require any real hardening for that, it's just finely grooved sheet metal that can fly out of a production machine and hardly requires any workers to operate it...

Sure enough you can find a bunch on aliexpress for 2-3$.

Also, the same Japanese one is 14.5$ on Japanese Amazon, it's just terribly overpriced when exported.

Don't. It's a 14-15$ file. I think you'll be disappointed at 40$...

Japanese stuff is way cheaper on Japanese Amazon. Sadly the shipping is pricey but if you bundle it up with other stuff it gets really cheap (like, I sometimes buy Japanese tools, they're often quite affordable - Vessel screwdrivers are 3-6€ for top notch quality, Engineer pliers, Olfa, Tsunoda pliers, KTC tools etc... Koken and Nepros are also cheaper than elsewhere, but they're sill not cheap - though best quality stuff on the market for sure).

I'd clean the rubber parts with regular detergent, and the leather with saddle soap. Then apply mink oil or neatsfoot oil to the leather to condition it and they should be like new.

Modern craftsman wrenches are probably worse quality too (though sometimes, despite the quality, if they're really old they might be a bit bulky/unwieldy....).