It all started with a Facebook ad.
I had a Vulkanus pullthrough sharpener for at least 5 years. But then I saw an ad for a strange rolling knife sharpener called Tumbler, or something like that.
After a short investigation, I discovered that it’s a cheap Chinese knockoff of HORL knife sharpener: https://www.horl.com/gb/en/
And unlike Tumbler, HORL is actually considered a good sharpener. Then I started digging deeper. And turns out there isn’t as much choice among knife sharpeners, as one would expect. There’s unimaginatively named Chef’s Choice electric knife sharpener line, and then there’s WorkSharp, that produces both manual and electric sharpeners.
A lot of sharpening enthusiasts were swearing by the WorkSharp Field Sharpener. But since I didn’t need something too compact, I decided to get the benchtop version.
After sharpening half of my knifes, I can confirm, that it’s good, very good. Not something for people in a hurry.
Category: *.BAK
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Stigbergets Cacao
It’s astonishing that at 12.5%, this is not even the strongest beer from Swedish Stigbergets.
It’s a fantastic Imperial Stout throught and throught, though. Surprisingly sour, which means that it tastes like 90% chocolate, and very smooth. Makes you light, not heavy. Something I definitely would buy if I ever find it again.
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Dalmore 12 Year Old
8th whiskey from the Advent Calendar.
Nothing to write home about, as would be expected from a whiskey that is sold in the supermarkets and has a stag on it.
It is the most tart whiskey I can remember, though. And it has some interesting spicy aftertaste.
But defintely wouldn’t buy it for myself.
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Nc’nean Huntress 2022
7th bottle from the Advent Calendar, and so far probably the best yet.
It has almost no smell, pleasant or otherwise, but hits you with a warmth, quiets the head, and is quite sweet.
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Mad Squirrel Dusk Porter
I think I got this from the random crate, but I’m not sure. Been meaning to taste Mad Squirrel just for the sake of the name.
It’s a nice porter. Not much gas, which is good. Has some sweetness, some smokiness, doesn’t leave you with a headache. For 3GBP or so, not bad at all.
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Fourpure Nightbus
Got it from the same Beer52 random crate I’m still struggling to finish. It’s a nice surprise, pretty sweet and tasty for a cheap 5% stout. Not sold on their site directly at the moment, so I couldn’t get it even if I wanted to, but all their other beers are ridiculously cheap:
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Old Pulteney 15 Year Old
5th in the Advent Calendar was Glenfiddich 18. Once I had a whole bottle of it. I don’t consider it a good whiskey. My opinion didn’t change after this taster.
To the Old Pulteney 15 Year Old now. It’s excellent. Surprisingly sweet, a bit sharp for my taste, but leaves with an excellent warmth. At 73GBP per bottle, it’s a bargain.
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Gordon Xmas beer
Finally tried it (it’s March, I bought it before Christmas). And it’s exactly what I’d wish from Christmas beer. Chocolate or coffee notes, some spiciness, sweet, but not too heavy.
If I could get it next year, I would.
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Glengoyne 12 Year Old
4th taster from the Advent Calendar.
Some people describe it as easy, and I’d agree. It is not overpowering, just slightly malty, you don’t feel the 43%, but it numbs the mouth nicely. For 45GBP, you can’t wish for much more.
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Glen Moray 2014 Oloroso Matured
3rd bottle from the advent calendar. This one is down my lane, so to speak: sweet and warm. Something I would definitely buy for myself:
https://www.masterofmalt.com/whiskies/glen-moray/glen-moray-2014-oloroso-matured-warehouse-1-whisky/
78GBP for what is basically 10 years old whiskey is a bit steep, but is definitely a nice discovery.
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Samsonite Ecodiver Travel S backpack
I’ve been using North Face backpacks for many years now. And grew slightly disillusioned by them with time. So after trying out a couple of Samsonite backpacks at the airport, I decided to give them a chance.
Ecodiver line is the water resisting one. That’s easy. Considering the fact that my North Face Surge got soaked quite a few times, I view it as a considerable benefit. The more complicated part is that inside the lineup, there’s Travel Backpack and Laptop Backpack. And smallest Travel Backpack (38L) is larger than the largest Laptop Backpack (26L). Since my surge is 32L and I don’t consider it to be too large for my needs, I went with Travel S model.
Things I like:
- Two pairs of compression straps, top and bottom
- Vertical organizers in the large compartment. This is useful for storing a water bottle, for example.
- The external side compartment also has a zip pocket. On Surge, those were open, and stuff would fall out of it unless you secure them
Things I’m neutral about:
- The glasses compartment is a mesh inside the large compartment. Don’t see why, could be made a small compartment accessible from the outside and still be waterproof
Things I don’t like that much:
- Hip belt can be tucked away, but you can’t remove it. I never used hip belt, and don’t expect to, so I’d prefer it to be removable
- I’d prefer two side pockets instead of one.
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St.Bernardus Christmas Ale
I was looking forward to try this beer, but it turned out into a slight disappointment. It’s not particularly bad, and didn’t leave me with a headache or anything like that, but it just didn’t taste anything special. Not too sweet, not too spicy. Just… alright, I guess.
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MtG memories
When I was a kid, our local game store had a poster of Magic the Gathering on its door. I’m not even sure if it sold any, or it was just there. But for some reason, two cards in particular scared me for some reason. Just found them:
Both from the Arabian Nights expansion.
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Eureka Mignon Libra coffee grinder
I wanted a grind-by-weight coffee grinder since I bought my first coffee grinder, Compak K3 some 7 years ago. At the time, there was only Baratza Sette 270Wi. Strangely, seven years later, there aren’t many choices either: either same 270Wi or Eureka Mignon Libra. There are mixed opinions regarding Baratza’s connical burrs design and it’s ability to grind for espresso. So, I decided to give Eureka a chance.
First few impressions:
Tiny. With the hopper, it is as tall as K3 without one, and much shorter. The feel if very compact.
Sharp edges. Compak is all round. The machine is round cone, the hopper is a round “hat”. Eureka is all angles, so sharp I almost cut myself getting it out of the box.
Smooth and clean. Eureka is known for making very quiet coffee grinders. While not very important for me, it is noticeably quieter. What was far more important for me, and one of the reasons I finally decided to get a new grinder, is the clumps and distribution. In the meantime, the coffee is clumpless, and comes out as in the videos, in an even stream. That also means that despite me not getting my funnel yet, it doesn’t leave as much mess as Compak does.
Now, I still haven’t dialed the grind, simply because I didn’t want to waste coffee. So maybe it will get clumps once I grind finer. We’ll see soon enough.
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Loch Lomond Spearhead Whiskey,
2nd taster from the Advent Calendar.
https://www.masterofmalt.com/whiskies/spearhead/spearhead-whisky/
I guessed right that it’s 30GBP whiskey. It doesn’t smell of anything but alcohol to me, and doesn’t taste like much. If I was told it’s an Irish whiskey, I would probably believe it.
I didn’t expect it, but the dive into the economics behind picking the right headphone driver was fascinating.
The smaller companies don’t produce planar drivers because they’re hip. They produce them because those are cheaper to prototype, and cheaper to produce in small quantities.
The larger companies don’t produce dynamic drivers because History. They produce them because it’s cheaper at scale.
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Johnnie Walker Green Label 15 years
This Christmas I got myself the Drinks by the Drum Advent Calendar, once it got a discount.
Finally got to opening it. The first one is Johnnie Walker Green Label 15 years, 49GBP per bottle.
I’m not a fan of blends, because you never know what goes into them. This one is slightly peaty, but still quite smooth and sweet, leaves nice numbness in the mouth. Certainly quite nice.
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Ninja Perfect Temperature Kettle
We had a Sage Smart Kettle for about 3 years and were very happy with it. But for the past couple of months it started to act out, loosing contact with its based, beeping when regaining it, sometimes not turning on at all.
The requirements were simple:
- Temperature control to be able to prepare green tea at 80C
- Visible water level
- Attached lid
Turned out that the choice isn’t that large. For example Haier I-Master Series 5 doesn’t have a visible water level, something I’d consider a basic feature.
So, we settled for Ninja.
What can I say:
- It boils 1L of water at exactly 2 minutes, which is pretty amazing.
- There’s a real time display of temperature.
- And there’s a led highlighting the water level when the kettle is on.
I especially like the real time display, as it gives a rough indication on how long until the kettle boils, or if it’s too hot to touch.
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Precision screwdriver
Yesterday I was fiddling with spotlights, and dropped the precission driver case. Not sure if it was just the gravity, or I left it open last time I used it. But all the 48 bits flew away.
Spend good 30 minutes putting them all back in places.
But now I can distinguish between TORX T7H and PZ00 bits.
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Vibram adventures
My KSO Evo FiveFingers broke down, with sole at the thumb cracking. So I decided to explore other Vibram options. Tried Furoshiki Icon and Furoshiki High Knit. Icon is basically a strapped sole. High Knit at least feels like a sock with a sole. They provide excellent grip, at least on parquet, but I don’t like that they stick my toes together even more than a regular shoe, not to mention a FiveFinger shoe.
Then I got V-Run Retro. Those feel great, right amount of padding, quick lace, back loop, everything I need, basically.