Really, I can’t be bothered to get out the weighing scale every time I want to make a cup of tea.  I can’t be bothered to add water to the precise temperature to the leaves (green tea does best steeped in water at below boiling point don’t you know).  And I certainly am not going to faff about “awakening the leaves” before each brew.  No, I just want to add water to leaves and enjoy some nice tea.

Enter the tea stick.

It’s the best of both worlds.  Tea making becomes simple again and not at the expense of any flavor.

I just love it.  Mine is made from stainless steep.  It’s basically a large covered draw.  All you do is scoop up some loose leaf tea, draw this into the hollow infuser riddled with holes to allow the how water in, and place this in a cup of hot water.  Once it’s brewed to your taste take out the tea stick and enjoy your tea.

The tea stick works great with all types of tea; green, white, black and oolong.  By the way if you live in Australia you should check out my favorite white teas available here.

It’s also very easy to get the used tea out of the stick and place it in the trash (or in your compost bin as I do). Then a quick rinse and you’re all set to go.  Some tea sticks make this process a little fiddly, so be careful to choose a good design.  I also prefer models that are completely made from stainless steel over those that have plastic parts.

Oh and mine looks great too!

The main problem with metal nail files is that they are too harsh for the nail.  Rather than gliding over the nail tip a metal file can easily tear the nail, roughening it up and causing it to splinter and crack.

Ugly yellow toenails

The only time I can imagine wanting a metal nail file is if I was undergoing nail fungus treatment for my nasty looking, thick yellow toenails with a topical nail treatment such as Funginix. In this situation I would want to open up the nail layers as much as possible by passing the file back and forth over the horizontal nail surface to allow the antifungal treatment to soak in and eliminate the fungus.  But that process has nothing to do with having beautifully shaped nails.

For normal nail shaping, most nail health professional will advise you to steer well clear of metal nail files.

I am not suggesting replacing the metal file with an emery board.  These are simply a strip of cardboard covered with emery powder and simply don’t last long enough.  What I’d like is a crystal glass nail file.  They have a fine abrasive surface made from toughened safety glass.  Experts are raving about glass nail files saying that they:

• leave nails incredibly smooth (this I can vouch for)
• seal nail edges to improve nail health and avoid invasion by pathogenic organisms (like that pesky nail fungus that causes thickened ugly looking yellow toenails that I described earlier)
• reduce the risk of splitting and peeling (no splintering over here)
• don’t snag or result in rough edges (glass nail files do just glide smoothly over the nail edge)
• help promote stronger nails (hopefully soon)
• can help remove hard skin
• will not rust (unlike a metal nail file)

I still wont use it for every day nail use despite the manufacture’s claim they are everlasting as I can’t see how they wont eventually wear out.  (For the same reason I only use my army knife pen if there really is no other pen nearby).

But for occasional nail shaping a glass nail file on my army knife gets my vote.

I have a smallish swimming pool that I love. But what I don’t like is the weekly cleaning routine that goes along with owning a pool. I followed some of the guidance over at poolshock.net but still found it a pain every Sunday night to vacuum the pool using my pressure-side cleaner.

But everything changed when I bought my Blue Pearl Robotic Cleaner.

All I do now is plug it in, switch it on, drop it into the water and return a few hours later to a sparkling pool. It’s completely hands free and I don’t have to mess about with long hoses or ambiguous attachments. I also don’t have to worry that I’m overloading my pool filter which is nice as that’s an expensive piece of equipment right there.

I find it unbelievable that manufactures refer to their suction side and pressure side vacuum cleaners as “automatic.” They need far more supervision than my pool robot and the installation is convoluted. I strongly believe that as soon as a pool owner tries a pool robot, there is no going back to other types of cleaner. Really, they are that good.

Pool Robots: There is no turning back once you’ve tried one

The Blue Pearl is pretty good at climbing and cleaning the pool walls, using thick scrubbing brushes (other models are better) and its also got a switch off mechanism if it manages to crawl out of the pool. That’s not that important with my pool as I’ve got a lip at the top of the vertical walls but I can see it can be useful for pools with sloping walls.

I do have a ladder and was worried that the robot would get caught up behind that but it seems to avoid this. The same goes for nooks and crannies, it just doesn’t seem to get stuck but keeps going back and forward, back and forward in nice smooth arcs cleaning, vacuuming and filtering as it goes.

Did I say that I love my new pool robot? Yes, yes, I know they are generally more expensive than other cleaners, but with prices coming down each year (my robot cost me less than $800) there will be one less excuse to make the move. Now if they can just shrink it down to fit on my army knife…

But before we get started if there is one feature to look for in a folding pocket knife, it’s a good quality locking mechanisms.  Using a pocket knife without one is dangerous, even for the experienced knife handler.  Locking mechanisms normally fall into two categories: (1) locking-liner (linerlocks) which have a spring loaded locking bar behind the rear tang of the blade when opened and (2) the functional lock-back which positions a stop bar parallel to the blade.

While we are on the subject of features, if you are in the market for a pocket knife look out for the following:

• a non-slip handle with some sort of guard to prevent your hand from slipping forward.
• a design that allows for single hand opening.  This is normally passive via a thumb stud, flipper or hole on the blade.
• a lanyard so that you can tie the knife to your body for easy access and to prevent loss.

Main types of “pocket” knife

Simple Pocket Knife

The simplest pocket knives have a pivoted folding blade that is held in place either by a spring, a tensioning screw.  Note: these should not be considered locking knives and should be avoided for all but the lightest tasks. Most have one blade.

Multitool knives (the Swiss army pocket knife)

A category first made famous by the Swiss Army Knife manufactured by Victronix that has grown rapidly in popularity.  Each year it seems that more tools are added.  On some models the knife blade is held in place by a locking mechanism, but in others it is not.

Tactical Folder

Although these have been marketed as alternatives to a fixed blade combat, hunting or survival knife, in reality they will not be as strong.  Some tactical folding knives have blades that are well over 4 inches in length so these models can’t really be classified as “pocket” knives.

So as with all things the answer to the question “what is the best pocket knife” depends on what you are looking for.  Do you need to use it for heavy duty tasks? How big are your pockets?  Do you want additional tools such as a screwdriver, file, scissors etc?  Once you’ve got those questions squared away, the best (and safest) pocket knife will practically always be one with a good quality locking mechanism.

We asked wilderness survival experts for the top 7 things they look for in a survival knife.  We advised them that they should assume that they only had a single knife that needed to be used for all purposes.  The following is what they came back with.

1. A full tang where the blade runs along the entire handle.  While the tang may be smaller than the blade, the key is that both are made from a single piece of steel that runs from tip to tip.  This is essential for strength and durability.
2. A fixed blade made from either stainless steel or carbon steel between 4-6 inches in length and around 3-4/16 of an inch thick.  There was some disagreement about the length, but most agreed that the less experienced user should stick to a smaller blade.
3. A flat, thick spine (the back of the blade) is a sought after feature.  Some knife designs combine this with a chisel section on the blade (normally near the handle) for hammering through wire for example.
4. A serrated section to help saw through harder materials (including metal and thick brush).  This is normally located on the underside of the blade near the handle ( although some designs have a top serrations along the blade spine.)  But bear in mind that sharpening a knife blade with serrations is far harder than a smooth blade.
5. A strong, good quality protective sheath that allows for a variety of mounting positions on either side of the body.  The strap should go around the handle to reduce the risk of the knife slipping out, particularly if worn upside down.
6. A perfect fit around a contoured handle.  If the knife hilt has large quillons (or crossguards), the hand should fit comfortably between them when clenched.  The knife will be used in all conditions, even when wet so a contoured non-slip handle is important together with crossguard sections to stop the hand from slipping forward.
7. Balance is key, but it is not always easy to define.  It’s more a matter of feel.  Avoid obviously handle heavy designs as well as those with an over-sized blade either, but bear in mind that some knifes are better biased towards the blade.

In order to round things out, here are three things to avoid.  As you read the bullets, you’ll notice that the key aim is to maximize strength and durability – features that are vital in a lifesaving situation.

• Most survivalists do not recommend double edged knives as these tend to be weaker and more dangerous to use.
• While knives with hollow handles may seem to offer a practical option for holding survival items, they are far less durable as the tang will be short.  Also if you lose your knife you also lose whatever you were storing in the handle.
• For a true survival knife that may need to be used in a lifesaving situation, most experts suggest avoiding folding or multipurpose designs. The pivot section means you will be sacrificing strength and reliability.

What is the best survival pocket knife?

Most survival experts would recommend that you treat a folding pocket knife as a back up to your primary survival knife and not as your only knife.  The key drawback is strength.  A pocket knife will simply not be as strong as a fixed blade survival knife.  But we realize that many people don’t travel with a fixed blade knife strapped to their body so here are some tips for selecting the best folding survival knife:

• Ensure the knife has a good quality locking mechanism.  This is crucial and will make the knife far safer to use.  Some locking mechanisms will not only improve safety but also help improve the strength of the knife – always a good thing
• If you can, choose a design that you are able to open with one hand.
• As it’s a pocket knife the blade cant be much larger than 4 inches, but try to ensure that it is at least 3 inches.
• A ring or lanyard hole is important.  you what to be able to tie the knife onto a belt loop when you are not using it – even when it is in your pocket.
• How about the best Swiss army knife for survival?  The same points hold true.  Make sure you choose a model with a locking knife blade.

Check out the talk about blades at this Australian whipper snipper reviews site.