An extention cord thingy.
I got it in some cheap chinese goods place so i thik it was like 15€.
It was an impulsive purchase (i am the type to get tools impulsivly)
But for a long time it was a useless dust catcher.
After i moved there finally where oppertunities for it.
So at that point it got unexpectedly useful.For summer i reccommend buying a hand fan + a spray bottle (spray water on skin & use fan, its really nice)
I bought a Rada Quick Edge at a thrift store for $2.
Was always taught my my metal-smith grandfather how to properly care for and sharpen knives, but when I tried it out on a knife I cared little for, I found it was such a shocking difference in efficiency I couldn’t help but notice.
It completely changed my relationship with knives and knife care, which was so helpful for me because I cook everything from scratch and whole ingredients. Everything, so having good knives is not kids-play for me.
It made me discover that for me, using a quick sharpening wheel and a hone gets my knives beard-shaving sharp in less than 30 seconds. I could never go back to the “right way” and I firmly joined the “dark side” of knife ownership.
Yes they destroy knives with some aggression, far more than traditional methods, but in the forensic audit it has saved me hundreds in a literal way, and hundreds of hours laboring over sharpening stones.
I no longer need to pamper knives, I buy cheap German steel chef knives on sale for $5-$20 and I throw them out in 3 or 4 years. I’ll never go back. All the hysterics from knife “gurus” on YT be damned - in my personal cooking world where I have 10,000 Km on my knives and cutting board, I could give two shits what they think. Nobody better ever give me a $300 knife for a present because it’s going back in the box.
Dual-wheel sharpener and 14" hone is all I’ll ever use from now on.
Great recommendation and knife user therapy in one post. Thanks!
What’s the point of the hone?, I thought knife sharpeners like the Rada did the same thing as a hone?
Honing doesn’t remove material. If you sharpen too often your knives wear down real fast
Honing does remove material. It shears off the ragged edge grains, and presses the other grains into alignment.
Anytime you use a hone, you can run your fingertips along the knife edge and gather the removed grains of material.
It’s a very small detail but to say that a hone does not damage a knife or remove material isn’t 100% right.
Oh I thought it just aligns the edge. I guess it does remove an amount of material. But I think it should be a lot less than sharpening
The edge is just a little rough after the removal of material with the wheel, the hone grooms the metal so the grains align roughly in the same direction. It also “peels away” ragged and folded edge grains.
The hone takes it from a sharp but rough edge, to a razor sharp edge.
The hone is also the best tool for quickly refreshing the knife edge without having to sharpen it on the wheel. Just 10 seconds before any major cutting.
I see, maybe I’ll get one as well then, got any recommendation
Victorinox 14 inch honing steel
I am begging you not to get 12 in or smaller - too small to use efficiently.
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Very wholesome! How do you keep yours and his from getting mixed in the laundry?
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For some reason it makes me happy you’re on here, I thought it was all tech neckbeards. Wish your family luck in bargain hunting!
There are dozens of us! I’m a mom who works in publishing and don’t know a linux distro from a pokemon (other than Pikachu.)
I’m an old lady but I also happen to use linux! You don’t have to be a tech neckbeard for that, just dislike Windows.
I bet you there is a distro called Pikachu, just to fuck with people like us.
Excuse you. Some of us have a well kempt full beard thank you very much.
Not to mention the broke single mum tech neckbeards!
Go mombeards!
As a fellow non tech person… There are dozens of us!!
Raises hand tentatively…
Although I do feel I’m learning stuff from being on here.
Same.
I’m no programmer by any means, but I’ve always been more tech-savvy than the average bear. I finally took the plunge and added a Linux partition to my computer because I read enough posts here that piqued my curiosity.
I became a full-on programmer after joining Lemmy. Coincidence?
Nope not a coincidence at all
Small drafting table I got at Goodwill for $4. I’ve used it for actual drawing, and it has an adjustable tilt so it can be flat to use as a plain table.
An ezel. You know, the kind that artists use to put their cavvas on.
I’m a digital artist, so I have a display drawing tablet. Eventually having the tablet completely horizontally flat got annoying to draw on. I ended up sitting cross-legged and awkwardly perching the table on the edge of my desk on my lap to get some sort of comfortable angle on it. However that was annoying too.
I went and looked what a tablet stand costed for my tablet model and… It damn near costed the same as my tablet! The. I had an idea. There’s this cheap ass hardware store called Harald Nyborg in Denmark, maybe they have cheap ezel?
Lo and behold they do. Made from the crappiest cheap wood available, it serves its purpose perfectly! I’ve had it for a few years now and never needed to think about getting that dedicated stand for my tablet.
Easel. But we understood. 😀
I have a friend who does digital art as a side gig, always complaining about his back. Maybe I’ll suggest he get an easel.
Metal Chopsticks $9 https://www.amazon.com/BamLue-Stainless-Chopsticks-Dishwasher-Restaurant/dp/B07RTNWLM1 These are no longer for sale. They are not just for eating. Great for deseeding jalapenos, tomatos. Mixing small sauces. Too many uses to list. They are super durable. Very ‘buy it for life’ vibes. The tip texture is the most helpful. Not to be used as Ninja weapons.
Chopsticks are also nice to mix fluids in a bottle because for some they are long enough
I also started eating potato chips with them, can reach deeper in + clean handsI do those things as well. I have some metal deep frying ones, they are about 14" long. I use them a lot when stirring deep soup pots. And when they are dirty, I use the fat end to swish the dish sponge around in deep containers that my had can’t fit in.
I’m gonna leave this right here…
SNACTIV LITE Finger Chopsticks… https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BXG8ZTNG?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Ooh, I’ll try to remember this next time I’m having chips!
eating chips with chopsticks also slows me down and some times prevent me from overeating chips
You’ll get better over time, so it’s a time limited benefit.
I always have metal chopsticks on me.
I dont understand how people eat with metal or plastic chopsticks. Wood? Sure, it practically holds itself
Yeah rice is impossible for me with anything but wooden chopsticks
Electric screwdriver from Lidl (well, it was less than £20) - as a DIY novice/flat pack builder, it changed my life
Lidl’s tools are surprisingly good.
And don't just take my word for it.
In the same vein: one of those little magnetic parts tray/bowl things.
I’ve gotten a few of them for free from harbor freight, and they’re perfect for when you have the giant bag of screws and nee to pick out 6 “E’s” and 6 “H’s” for step 7.
A back scratcher. Got a pack of 4 for a few bucks after one I was gifted broke. I’m old and have one quite arthritic shoulder, so half of my own back is unreachable. It’s especially shitful getting an itchy back at night, but now I don’t need to get up to relieve it. I use it every day, and every day I bless the person who first gifted me one.
My grandfather had this thing called the bear claw! It was basically a strip of pointy plastic tines and it fit over an out-facing wall corner.
I found myself with a back scratcher in every room as I got older until I learned that the reason my back is constantly itchy is because my fine back hair.
I bought this thing called The Man Groomer which is basically an extendable back shaver, and now I don’t use back scratchers anymore… Honestly a humongous relief from needing to scratch my back like 75 times a day. Now I need to scratch it zero times.
What do you use to wash your back? I have a brush but it keeps slipping out of my hand.
These are my solution, I have bad shoulders… I get them at the dollar store.
Decent size cloth so I can hold two corners and basically use it as if I was towelling dry.
A large magnet. I bought it on a whim ~20 years ago for $20 (still online for same price). I got it on a whim while buying gifts from an educational toy website. It comes in handy whenever I drop something small that ferrous or just need it to hold onto things.
Pair of hook earbuds. Cheap no-name presumably Chinese brand, but they sound great and don’t fall out of my earholes.
A package of blue-tack - it is basically sticky play-dough that is completely opaque and you can use wads of it to blunt the pain of stupid LEDs on on your tech shit. I am currently sitting in my living room looking at my TV and various components including router and stuff…easily 20 gobs of blue-tack masking 20 blinking LEDs.
Ooh, good idea! I hate all those lights.
Blue tack is very handy stuff. But you know, they make blackout stickers for exactly this application. They look a lot nicer. Though personally, I just cut little pieces of black electrical tape.
I’ve tried (electrical tape) that but found it is gummy and leaves a sticky mess.
That’s true. It hasn’t mattered for me, as I have never removed any from the lights I blocked with it. I would assume the purpose made stickers would be better about residue if they need to be removed.
It’s also great for holding electronic components in place while you solder them into circuit boards - even LEDs lol.
Really good nailclippers:
https://www.victorinox.com/en-US/Products/Swiss-Army-Knives/Personal-Care/Nail-Clipper/p/8.2050.B1
If you’re willing to go over the $20 barrier, you get more functionality:
I liked it enough, I bought two more.
Smallest MagLite:
https://maglite.com/products/solitaire-led-key-chain-flashlight-with-gift-card-gift-box
It’s hilarious that they say
Swiss made nail clipper with two functions
Followed by not mentioning what the other function is…
And in the product details they list it has 3 features, also not mentioning what they are
You’ve never used the three sea shells?
Lanyard hole. Victorinox always considers keyring attachments as features.
Obligatory Japanese nail clipper mention: https://www.feather.co.jp/en/g_Products/general03.html
I have a pair of these safety 1st nail clippers:
https://safety1st.com/en-ca/products/fold-up-nail-clippers-10435
They’re meant for babies, and I think my parents got them when I was a baby, but to this day they are still sharper and easier to use than any other pair I’ve bought or used.
One way window heat shield. Reflects 85‰ of the UV back out. Sticks to the window using only water.
Noticeable difference in temperature for any sun-facing windows
Window film is so glorious. I have my bedroom windows blacked out with it, easier to sleep, and yes, always cool temperatures in there.
How easy are they to cut to size, or if you need to use multiple to cover a window how does the gap/seam look? Have been thinking of getting them, but we also want to replace our windows at some point. I assume you can’t just reuse them?
At least in home depot, some of them come with a specific blade tool, or one that’s not too much more expensive. It’s hard/sharp enough to seamlessly cut through the tints, but not scratch your window.
Pretty easy to cut, but of course it’ll never be perfect, and it’s better to cut smaller than larger since it sticks to the window using water, and needs a complete seal, so any corners that overlap a frame will just slowly force the whole thing to peel off.
Very easy to re-use, it sticks using water and requires a flat piece of card (e.g. an old credit card) to spread it out over the window
Is that the static type then that are reused and just need water, with adhesive backed ones being single application only?
Huh, never heard of the adhesive type. I’ve used the static/water ones for ~4 years without any issues
I added these last summer too. Roughly a hundred bucks to cover three patio sliding doors. Huge difference.
I did this at my last House and it was fantastic.
Just need to remember that once it’s dark outside the reflective side “switches” and everyone can see clearly into the house.
That’s just how a normal window works
Yes but the film has a one-way mirror effect and most people don’t put 2 and 2 together and think the window is opaque when is not.
wait really? and isn’t that always the case with any window?
Are you using these on double glazed windows? I’ve read this film could get them to crack under the heat.
Yeah double glazed, and no hasn’t been an issue by my reckoning
Thanks that’s good to know!
Somewhere i worked had that. (Edit: but more for privacy)
It was so funny seeing passerbys using it as a mirror.
Absolutly funny 10/10
A screwdriver kit with multiple head tips, can repair almost anything as long as I am given some schematics
An Aeropress. I bought it when work removed the free coffee and was super surprised at how good it tasted vs what they were serving. Later, I found a bean hand grinder that fits right inside the Aeropress plunger and now I take it on work trips, vacation and camping.
It’s not fully inclusive for $20 because you need a cup, some way to procure and heat water and beans but still, it’s served me well.
I didn’t buy an aeropress for years as I had a coffee machine and was like, surely that’s better.
But finally got one, and my god. The simplicity. The ease of cleaning. The nice coffee.
It’s basically my sole way of making coffee now, despite more pricey alternatives at my disposal.
+1 for the Aeropress!
I find a good pour over cone makes better tasting coffee with a little less fuss, but the aeropress is irreplaceable for iced coffee.
The clever dripper is pretty nice pour over cone with a shut off valve.
When I’m making just one cup of coffee I use an aero press, for 2+ cups I use the clever dripper.
I’ve found that it tastes kinda plasticky compared to my glass French press. Am I aeropressing wrong?
I have an old one, maybe they were manufactured differently. The main part is a hard plastic. I never noticed a plastic taste, but it could also be the rubber/silicone plunger stopper that imparts a taste. They do now sell a glass one, but I’ve heard that it’s overpriced.
I know people who also swear by their French press. From what I know, regardless of the brew method, the grind is the most important factor, followed by the water quality and temperature.
If its made before 2009 its likely not BPA free and you should consider upgrading to a modern one. I think the plastic was changed again around 2014. Mine is from that time period and doesnt have an after taste either.
As well as the glass one you can get one made of tritan, which would be my pick over the glass as its mostly the same look, a lot cheaper, and pretty much unbreakable.
Is it an authentic aeropress, not a cheap knockoff? There are a bunch that sell under the same name but aren’t in fact manufactured by aeropress ltd., and those can taste off since the cheap plastic is not certified for use with boiling water, and might not even be bpa free.
It’s Aeropress™ and purchased from a reputable roaster. I suppose it’s unknowable to me if some shenanigans were pulled further up the supply chain.
I’ll add that the thing I noticed is that it tastes plasticky if I use water at 205°F but not 185°. I prefer the hotter temp because I think it gives a better extraction, and I need the caffeines.
Very strange, I’m using water straight from the kettle just after bringing it to a full boil, and don’t taste anything plastic.
