I used a brandless, cheapest one that i found and honestly the shaving experience is comparable with those Gillette 3 blade fancy mancy shaver, but with a fraction of the cost. Definite recommend the swap.
FYI there's a whole Lemmy instance for wetshaving. If you don't get enough answers here, swing by !wetshaving
Edit for some more info:
We have a wiki with a hardware section, and you should also check out the beginners section. https://wiki.wetshaving.social
Since this is a BIFL community, you're probably interested in a razor that will last you a long time. In that case, you'll want something made of stainless steel, brass, titanium, or aluminum.
Most of those options are expensive, with aluminum being the most affordable option for new, modern razors.
Vintage razors are an EXCELLENT way to get a great, BIFL razor that will last generations. Search on eBay for Gillette Tech. They are very affordable, and if you're picky you can just keep an eye out for one that looks nice. Even if the plating is worn off, they are made of brass and will last forever.
Gillette Tech has another advantage, in that it's widely regarded as being relatively mild (good for just starting out), but also good at shaving. Mild razors can sometimes come with the downside of not providing a very close shave. Trading comfort for efficiency. With a Tech, that's not much of a problem.
If you'd prefer a new razor, I'd actually recommend starting with one of the many Zamak razors available, figuring out what you like, then getting something more expensive. The starter kits in the wiki have decent razors to get you started. I also like to recommend this Baili on Amazon. It won't last more than a few years, probably, but it's a great starter razor (I still enjoy using it even as an "experienced" person).
You gotta decide if you want a fixed blade or adjustable, adjustable will cost more and have a higher learning curve but can give a closer shave.
I like Merkur, but I'm sure there are other good brands. I started with a cheap fixed and then replaced it with an adjustable a few years later.
It looks like even if I set it once and stick with it, it's worth it to go adjustable, they're all reasonably priced and it gives me options later, thanks
Thanks, I'll check that community out. On vintage razors, there's a good chance I've got a Grandad's razor somewhere that works just fine with current blades, looks like they've not changed design. Should look into that first
if you’re in an old apartment or old building, look for a little slot in the back of the medicine cabinet – that’s where everyone before you has been dumping used razor blades
I got a handle on amazon and it came with blades. You don't need anything special, I literally just bought the cheapest ones, but I have found it helpful to change disposable blades just about every time I shave. Maybe there expensive ones that I could use for longer, but at this point I already have enough blades to last me about 5 years.
I actually now use a cheap straight razor that takes disposable blades, and the shave is noticeably the best I've ever had. It is time consumung, though.
Do you care about exposure to potentially toxic/carcinogenic materials? Asian (especially Japanese) rice cookers such as Zoujirushi do an excellent job, but AFAIK they all utilize non-stick pots (Teflon).
Yeah, I’m not super into teflon. This is the only piece of teflon cookware that I have left. Makes me think that I might want to try something like a ceramic or stainless rice cooker.
I've had a stainless steel rice cooker for about a year now. Works well with the two types of rice I tend to cook and is easy to clean. Would recommend
It looks like you can buy aftermarket inner pots that don't have teflon. I tried poking around the website here in Japan and it looks like the new ones use a different coating (there was something in the news about teflon a couple years ago so this is entirely possible), but I can't be sure without downloading and pouring through manuals. You could probably do the same on Zojirushi's US website.
Background? What the hell are you doing with your rice cooker?!
I have a Japanese zojirushi I bought about 8 years ago. Fuzzy logic, induction, etc. Still going strong and I don't find it hard to clean. Every one I used (such as my first year in Japan at a sharehouse) worked well and lasted.
Married into an Asian family so rice cookers are used all day. We tried a few of the 50 dollar ones. They were OK but the rice tended to overcook and sometimes even burn on the bottom. Then I got my wife a zojirushi neuro fuzzy. I don't recall any household item that has pleased her more than this cooker in our 22 years together. Perfect rice every time, easy to clean. The only issue we had was the inner lid gasket wore out. But we really do abuse this cooker. It is used so much. Zojirushi customer service shipped us a new inner lid for a reasonable price.
I have the exact same pencil and I love it too, I'm just feeling so bad after it's first fall and the paint that subsequently went off. It's a great pencil but damn it's fragile.
Is the way it writes. It glides across the paper smoothly, consistently.
I don't see how it could differ from other mechanical pencils in this regard. The thing that determines that is going to be the paper and the leads, and neither are specific to the pencil. The pencil is just a big grip attached to the lead, which is what interacts with the paper.
There are different hardnessess of leads, but even if you particularly like Pentel leads, you can just buy them independently of any pencil, and any mechanical pencil should interact with the paper the same way.
EDIT: I'd add that it looks like Pentel still uses the same refill case design that they were using last time I was using mechanical pencils much, some 20 years or so back, when they were normally the ones I used as refills.
EDIT2: My guess is that you'll have the least variation in resistance (the "smoothest") with a large-diameter, soft lead. It looks like the largest and softest that Pentel sells is a 0.9mm diameter in hardness 2B.
EDIT3: No, 0.9mm 2B is just the largest and softest refill that Pentel sells on their own online store. They apparently manufacture larger sizes, but just don't sell them on their own online store, for whatever reason; these guys sell 1.3mm Pentel refills. I dunno.
I’ve noticed with my Lamy Safari that the lead isn’t as loose in the pencil. I’m positive that the lead is doing the heavy lifting but there’s something to be said for good tolerances.
It’s like a car. If I take marshmallow suspension to the racetrack it’s not gunna be a good time no matter how grippy my tires are.
They also may enjoy the body of it. Expensive pencils often have chunkier bodies and that can help with getting a better grip. Ergonomics are pretty important, especially for detail work like writing.
If you get it off Amazon, you can use Calibre to download the ebook. Then convert to ebook .epub and now it's yours forever. I don't like this but some books are not possible to get it legally without Amazon.
Or use baen to buy. Or if your really lucky off the authors official website.
Head's up - since Jan this year, this route is ONLY available if you have registered a Kindle with them. The new format used by amazon cannot be "unencrypted", even by calibre, without a Kindle "unencrypting" it for you or providing it's key or whatever the dark magic required is.
A lot of (bigger) bookstores also sell ebooks on their websites. There it usually depends on the publisher if they have DRM or not, so just look around.
Surprised nobody's mentioned Weightless ebooks or Smashwords yet. You didn't mention region, so I can't assure these will work for you, but worth checking out regardless to see if they may.
You need a registered Kindle, but you don't need to actually use the Kindle to make it work. Just download the ebook from the Amazon website "for Kindle XYZ" and then import and convert the ebook in calibre.
This is unfortunately the closest answer to what the OP is asking.
To the best of my knowledge, outside of independent authors like Cory Doctorow selling drm-free from their own sites, I'm not aware of any place to shop for ebooks that are not tied to some online DRM scheme.
Humble Bundle books are another option, but it's highly dependent upon if you want what they're selling.
Also works on kobo books which use adobe digital editions. I think the plugin is called obok (I've only just realised that kobo is an anagram of book haha)
OP wants to avoid Amazon. This is still giving Amazon money and therefore encouraging Amazon's greed, walled garden and dark patterns.
A better alternative would be using almost any other digital book seller. There's plenty. And if the author chose or was forced to only sell through Amazon, then you can try library sources (like Overdrive) so the author at least gets something. And if you still can't get what you're looking for, then it's time to sail the high seas.
Buy it for Life
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