A couple weeks ago I showed you one of those boxing reflex trainers, but I did not mention the boxing hand wraps that came with them.
Hand wraps are an essential tool to prevent injury while boxing.
What they do is support the bones of the hand and keep them tightly contained so that when you hit something the bones won’t spread apart and slam back together causing breakage.
I am not fond of these particular hand wraps, as they are too short for my use and a tad bit too long for WT.
If you fit somewhere between a large man and a small child then they will probably work for you
I have been thinking about buying one of these boxing reflex ball headbands for a few months. When I was WT’s age I did not do a lot of sports and never built up my hand eye coordination when it was easy to do.
I have even plotted to make my own with a tennis ball, cord, and a hat, similar to my camera hat setup.
So when Cicloop offered to let me try out their Boxing Ball on String I could not resist.
I must say, WR has had a hard time with this ball. He is getting better. But more importantly he enjoys it, and his mother thinks it is hilarious.
This set comes with a lot for the $12 price:
Silicone headband
2 Boxing balls (different skill levels)
Spare elastic cords (2)
Boxing handwraps (2)
Carry bag to keep them altogether.
The goal is to improve hand-eye coordination with this boxing ball set. The elastic band is supposed to be set at the length of the user’s arem and tied with a bowline. I should have cut the cord after I set it to WT’s size. However, I wanted to try it myself so I just wrapped it aroound the strap. It looks funny in the video, but that is because I choose not to follow instructions.
Apparently I should have read the instructions as the balls were weighted differently to give two levels of difficulty.
I used the heavy ball, when I probably should have used the lighter one.
In this article I will do a Sharpening Stone Kit Review from a nice $25 kit from Home Pro Shop. Lately I have reviewed a glass bottle cutter and a bottle of glass cutting oil. All of their products so far have been good quality and an inexpensive price. In my experience they are not the cheapest items available in their categories, but they are not the most expensive either. I find Home Pro Shops to sell items that constitute value.
Dull Knives Are Dangerous!
Dull knives don’t do any good in the kitchen. They slip and cutting your fingers ruins a good day.
Why I Like This Kit
I have a bunch of different labor saving knife sharpeners, and I fing that gadgets tend to be more trouble than they are worth. Typically I stick to a whetstone. This kit comes with two. One portable two sided stone, and a larger and higher quality stone with a a medium grit #1000 side. This stone is stone is suitable for every day sharpening and will create a perfect cutting edge. After getting an edge use the #6000-grit side to end the process and get a razor-sharp blade.
I use this kit on my kitchen knives and it works well for removing the dings and damage caused by my wife putting my good knives in the dishwasher.
Bonus Items Included
Whetstone
Portable sharpening stone
Fix stone
Knife holder
Cleaning cloth
Pair of cut resistant gloves
Instructions
Audiobook and eBook of the bestseller book “Whetstone” (usually $30)
This is the only sharpening stone sold with an audiobook.
Today’s post is about glass cutting oil. What is it? Why should you use it? Frankly before I did the review of the glass bottle cutter I had no idea glass cutting oil was a thing.
Craftsmen that work with glass have been using cutting oil for more than a hundred years. I will tell you more about why in a later part of this article. Traditionally, Kerosene was the oil used for lubricating class cutters. I don’t actually know why that was. However, since glaziers would use a kerosene torch to heat their soldering irons, it makes since as kerosene was near at hand.
I have used kerosene as a cutting oil before (while drilling). It is true that it both evaporate cleanly and does not gum up a glass cutter. I find that I don’t really like the odor.
In the video above I talk about this and give a basic review of the cutting oil sold on Amazon by the Home Pro Shop.
Two Types of Commercial Glass Cutting Oil
Commercially available cutting oil comes in two basic forms. It is generally either a mineral oil or a water-soluble formulation.
Typical glass cutting oil from a stained glass suppler is probably nothing more than white mineral oil according. The term “white mineral oil” is deliberately vague and is synonymous with both “light petroleum distillates” and “heavy petroleum distillates”. White mineral oil is somewhere between paraffin wax and kerosene. While I am not a chemist, I assume that this describes the “natural fatty acid derivatives and additives” that describes the Professional Glass Cutting Oil I am reviewing.
Many that use kerosene as a cutting oil like it because some mineral oils, like 3-n-1 oil is too thick so it does not wick properly in oil filled cutters like the one I show in my bottle cutter bundle.
Synthetic lubricant is supposed to be water soluble and “environmentally friendly”. It is supposed to wash away so that copper foil will stick better when making stained glass.
I never new about cutting oil before I received the product above. I would imagine that I am not alone and that many glass workers use glass cutters without any lubricant. Since getting into bottle cutting I found that it is often easiest to buy a bottle cutting bundle that already contains oil.
Why Use Glass Cutting Oil
It is very important to use cutting fluid, particularly when cutting thick glass. Cutting oil is created to lubricate glass cutters, The oil helps breaking and longevity of your cutting blade.
Use either in an oil filled glass cutter or by dipping your cutting wheel in oil prior to scoring. Glass cutter oil fills the score that your cutter has made, which since glass is a semi-liquid material to an extent stops the score closing.
Using Oil Will Extend Cutter Life
This glass cutting oil is especially made to keep the cutter blade from getting destroyed as it is scratching across glass. It does this by washing away glass particles. It also keeps the blades of the cutter turning evenly and smoothly. What that means is that is will increase the wheel’s cutting life, its precision and its performance;
Cutting Oil Lubricates Your Cutter Wheel
This glass cutting oil has the exact viscosity you need to avoid the “leakiness” of the cutter head and ensure the ultimate lubrication for your glass cutting tools. Lubricating the cutting wheel keeps it spinning freely and smoothly and also frees up any shards of glass that could get stuck in the cutting head assembly. Lubrication protects the metal parts against wear, friction and corrosion.
Home Pro Shop Glass Cutting Oil is Non-Toxic
This glass cutting oil is created by using a non-hazardous OSHA approved formula that is prepared only with natural fatty acid derivatives and additives; Removing it is no problem as the oil cleans up easily;
As I sit writing this, my wife finally noticed these Beeagle Slip On Loafers. She asked me about them – said “huh” and “I like them”. I am a easy going guy, so that would probably be enough for me to like these shoes.
Before my wife commented on them though, I liked them. They are comfortable, light, and inexpensive. These driving shoes are great around the house – especially after a long day wearing “combat” boots around the prison.
Amazon says they are “perfect for beach, swimming, surf, pool, sailing, boating, kayaking, windsurfing, yoga and other any activity, especially suitable for Hiking, Walking, Especially Driving in Hot summer and autumn” I thought they were more like boat shoes. With the leather I don’t think I will take them canoeing and I don’t think they are suitable for hiking. However, as a shoe to wear AFTER hiking or canoeing; when your feet are sweaty and tired or wrinkled and soaked, they are perfect.
The have a rubber sole and are made with a fabric mesh accented and strengthened with leather (or maybe pleather).
When buying I was told the shoes run large, and in my experience that is true. They have a size guide on the Amazon page, and its pretty simple to use. I also was warned about a smell with the new shoes.
It did have a bit of a formaldehyde smell (possibly from the plastic “leather”) but it was nothing I was put off by. The manufacturer says that if the smell bothers your you can rinse with water and place it in the ventilation for 2-3 days, and the smell will disappear. I just put them on and went about my business.