What qualifies as a thin watch?
It's winter, so it's time for a thin watch that slides under the cuff easily. What's a good thin? The answer to this question is a range.
What I consider to be the standard for what a good thin watch is the Casio A158. Not just because it's thin, but the right thin.
I'll explain.
Where thin watches are concerned you have thin, thin-ish and too thin.
Generally speaking, the range you're looking for when it comes to a thin watch is something between 8mm and 10mm thick.
The reason the A158 works so well is because it's 8.2mm thick with rounded edges. True, its shape has angles, but the edges are all rounded over. Absolutely nothing about the A158 is sharp, which for a thin watch is exactly what you want.
A thin-ish watch is a Seiko Recraft, which is 12mm thick, but does have the nice rounded edges with nothing sharp going on. The compact lug-to-lug of about 45.6mm is also quite nice. Also bear in mind the Recraft does have a mechanical automatic movement, so to get something not quartz in a case under 13mm thick is really good.
Too thin would be the Casio A700W, which is just 6mm thick. I actually own one of these, and can confirm that is an accurate figure. It's more angular than the A158 is but there's still nothing sharp going on to the touch. The problem with a watch this thin is that it never really fits correctly even if you get the bracelet sized just right. There's just not enough watch there for it to ever feel truly comfortable.
To put this in perspective, Casio AQ230 (I own two) is a small watch, but the 8.1mm thickness makes it wear so much nicer compared to the A700W.
Or, take the Casio CA53W calculator watch. We in the 8 territory again at 8.2mm thick. Feels fantastic for a thin watch.
Going a little thicker is the Casio A500WA at 9.6mm thick. Once again, wears very nicely for a thin watch.
HOWEVER...
Even when a watch is within the range of 8mm to 10mm thickness, there is such a thing as thin and truly bad. Fossil Minimalist is like this. Too thin and too big at the same time, resulting in a "pie plate" on your wrist that can result in lug overhang very easily. Even large-wristed guys would have a problem making this watch look decent. This piece desperately needs to be a 38mm, but it's unfortunately much larger than that. If you look at the customer photos on that link, you'll see what I mean. In every single wrist photo, the watch looks way too large and the thinness absolutely doesn't save it.
When thin is done right, you get something like the small (and gold) quartz analog Citizen BH1673. That one is 9mm thick, and when you look at the customer photos for that one, we're doing much better.
Thin is good for watch, but the case shape also must be good for it to truly be comfortable and look decent.
Adventures in Shaving: The Safety Razor
Am I the last guy in the world to find out about this?
No, because most people are barely aware these things even exist.
First there was the open blade, as in the straight edge razor. Yes, you can still buy one new. Many are listed as a barber razor, because professional barbers are the people who use them most.
After that came the safety razor. It's called as such because it has a guard on it. This is a shaving technology that is literally centuries old. The first safety razors required the blade to be stropped (you cleaned and sharpened the blade yourself).
It's the second incarnation of the safety razor popularized in the early 1900s that most are familiar with.
When you search for a safety razor, what you're going to find is the type that uses disposable double-edged blades...
...and that's the one I'll be talking about. But before I do that, I have to talk about the dominant razor people use now, the cartridge razor.
Several attempts were made at making a cartridge razor that people would actually like, and the one that worked was the Gillette Trac II, introduced 1971. There was never a Trac I. The whole point of Trac II was to promote the fact it had twin blades.
Things got even better later in the '70s with the Gillette Atra introduced in 1977, the first to feature a pivoting head. The Atra also had a lubrication strip. You can still get replacement cartridges to this day for the Atra.
Obviously, the cartridge razor was wildly successful and still is.
Schick has the flexible blades.
Gillette has the Fusion ProGlide with the "Flexball" technology (the ball is on the handle and not the blades themselves, you'll see it in plain sight).
Gillette also has a very thoughtful product, the Gillette Treo that's specifically made for caregivers that shave other people.
But then there's the old school safety razor, so let's get into that.
Why did I get a safety razor?
At this stage of my life (middle age) I wanted to "class up" my shaving experience.
All the Gillette Fusion stuff looks modern and futuristic as you'd expect. The handle is dark and menacing with curves and swooping lines, and the head has shiny blades flanked by the bright colors of the lubrication strip and microfins...
...which kind of looks video game-ish.
This is totally my age talking here, but seeing that when I go to shave makes me think yeah, that's a razor for a younger guy.
Gillette isn't the only one doing this. BiC Flex 5 more or less has the same appearance.
There are other cartridge razors out there, including the ridiculous 7 blade, but nah, I needed something different.
What about the electric shaver?
I know some are going to ask about this, so here are a few notes on the electric options just to get it out of the way.
There are many electric shavers available, but the two main types are rotating head (Norelco is the go-to brand for that) and foil. Some are dry shave only, some are wet-or-dry.
In the past I have tried both the rotating head and foil electric shavers and even owned a Panasonic cordless wet-or-dry one once (which they still make)...
...and nope, my face does not like the electric. Even with a light touch, my skin burns after using an electric shaver regardless of what type it is. Wet or dry, doesn't matter, I still get the burn.
And yeah, I know, some guys swear by the electric. Heck, my dad used a 3-head Norelco forever. But my face just doesn't agree with that kind of shaver.
Okay, not true. There is one exception that would work. Norelco OneBlade. However, that shaver is specifically designed not to shave as close as a razor and says so in its instruction booklet. For guys with sensitive faces that prefer electric, that's as good as it gets because it's very highly unlikely any skin irritation would happen from using it.
Why don't I use it? I like a shave that gets my face totally smooth, and OneBlade by its own admission doesn't do that. Yes, it absolutely works and you will look properly shaven (which is the whole point), but I know if I used it I'd always feel that I didn't finish the shave properly. That would drive me nuts.
Enter the safety razor - how does it even work?
Generally speaking, you're either going to have a safety razor handle that has a screw top or a butterfly top.
The screw top requires holding the shaving head at either side and then unscrewing the handle from it to get to the blade.
The butterfly top has its turning mechanism at the bottom of the handle. Turn that, and the head opens up in a way that looks like wings ("butterfly"-like), and you get to the blade from there.
Some safety razors are adjustable. The adjustment is just below the head where you can turn the top of the handle to set the blade exposure level.
What I have is just a plain, non-adjustable screw top safety razor. Very old school.
Blades, blades, blades
The great thing about the safety razor is the many blades to choose from. Some are sharper, some smoother, some made in Japan, some made in Germany, some are coated, some have platinum, and so on.
What's even better is that sampler packs of blades are available. If you don't know which blade you like best, no problem. Buy a sampler pack of blades for cheap and find out. Most sampler packs have sixteen different types to choose from. Not bad, eh?
Did I have to relearn how to shave when I switched to a safety razor?
Yes, I did have to relearn shaving with the safety razor. And I know I'm far from the only man who has had to admit that.
I was absolutely and totally used to lightweight multi-blade cartridge razors with lubrication strip and pivoting head.
A safety razor is heavy, has one blade, no strip and the head doesn't move. No pivoting, no side-to-side motion, none of that.
The first thing I had to learn: Angling the blade.
Cartridge razor blades are already angled within the cartridge while a safety razor blade isn't. I had to learn both the proper angle to hold the blade and accommodate for the angles of my face just to get the razor to work. It did take a few tries before I got the hang of it.
The second thing I had to learn: "Let the blade do the work".
A safety razor has real weight to it, meaning only minimal pressure needs to be applied for the blade to do its job. This is the polar opposite of the cartridge razor where some decent pressure needs to be applied since the handle has almost no weight to it.
What I really had to get used to is feeling less razor pressure and trusting the blade. I was completely used to pressing a cartridge razor to my face. You don't do that with a safety razor. Use minimal pressure, get the correct angle and the blade will glide across the face and work like it's supposed to.
The third thing I had to learn: Shave slower.
The single biggest advantage of the cartridge razor is that you can get your face shaven clean fast.
Not so with the safety razor.
The best way I can describe a safety razor shave is that it has to be done much more deliberately. Short strokes, minimal pressure, don't rush.
This doesn't mean I shave at crawl speed. But it does mean I spend more time with the whole process.
It is possible to shave the face quick with a safety razor if not going for closeness. You can one-pass it and that's good enough for most situations. But when going for the super smooth feel, yes that will take time.
So will I stick with the safety razor?
This may be the way I shave for the rest of my life
I'm not a master at using the safety razor yet. Far from it. But I'm liking the experience. It's new to me, interesting, I like the old world appearance of it, so yeah, I'm sticking with it.
This does mean I will most likely be buying more safety razors, with the next being an adjustable type with a butterfly head.
Believe me, you can go totally nuts with safety razor stuff. There are many handles, many blades, and you can even go all-vintage if you want. One such example is the Gillette "Executive" gold safety razor from the late 1950s and early '60s. It's a safety razor like any other, so yeah, you can still use it today with a fresh blade if it's in good working order.
I have to admit it's cool you can buy something made over 60 years ago that still works now.
(Note to Gillette: Bring back the gold "Executive", even if just as a limited edition special run. Definitely one of the swankiest things you ever made.)
Lastly, I'll say it feels much more correct to shave with a heavy steel handle when compared to plastic. Remember the Gillette Atra I mentioned a moment ago? A heavyweight solid steel handle version of that exists. It's not made by Gillette, but is compatible with Atra replacement heads that are made new now. People care enough about the heavy steel handles to where there is a legitimate market for it.
Fender "Anniversary" Jazzmasters are surprisingly cheap
The reason for this is probably something you didn't consider.
Actually, there are a few reasons. Let's get into that.
You see the Fender 60th Anniversary '58 Jazzmaster (made in 2018) and think, "Wow, all that must be at least 4 grand."
Nope. Way below that.
Then you take a look at other "Anniversary" Jazzmasters and say, "Wow (again)! The prices on these things are so low! Why...?"
Here are the reasons why:
Reason 1: It's a traditional Jazzmaster.
Traditional Jazzmaster guitars usually have everything that make a Jazzmaster a Jazzmaster. This means you get both the rhythm and lead circuit, the 1K linear taper potentiometer for lead circuit volume control and 1K audio taper potentiometer for tone control, true Jazzmaster pickups (meaning not a P90 in a Jazzmaster case) and neck with some actual shoulder to it.
In other words, the "complicated" original style Jazzmaster. Super-bright pickups, a vibrato system that takes getting used to if you don't know the Jazzmaster, and the guitar has an offset waist (meaning the neck sticks slightly further other because of the "lean" in the body).
Reason 2: Not a Stratocaster, not a Telecaster.
Strats and Teles always outsell the Jazzmaster and it's always been that way. Sellers have a more difficult time selling them, and for owners, custom parts for the Jazzmaster aren't anywhere near as plentiful.
Yes, there are custom parts available. Pickups, bridges, different vibrato system and so on. But the selection available is obviously greater for the Strat/Tele guitar.
Reason 3: "Anniversary"
It's typically true that any Fender (or Squier) guitar labeled as an "Anniversary" is priced high out of the gate, then the price drops off a cliff shortly thereafter. The guitar is worth its most only when new and the model was introduced fewer than 6 months ago.
After that 6 months, however... yeah, that's when the price dives and stays down. Very rarely does an Anniversary guitar gain real collector value. The guitars are released to make a quick buck, and the ones that didn't sell initially get their prices slashed just to get rid of them.
There's actually nothing wrong with an Anniversary guitar at all, and in fact should be better built than the standard production run of the same instrument.
And where the Jazzmaster is concerned, oh yeah, it's easy to find one that has had $500 or more slashed off the price.
The only real negative of a Jazzmaster Anniversary model is that color choice is limited. This is by design because an Anniversary guitar is supposed to have a color not available on any standard production run of the same guitar. Usually, the color given to an Anniversary is a good one, but you'll have to look at the listings yourself to see if there's anything that really catches your eye.
However, in all honesty, most Jazzmaster fans would be perfectly happy with a J Mascis model Jazzmaster. Not an anniversary model, but obviously has a much nicer price and is genuinely built well.
KidiZoom DX3 smartwatch tutorial and setup
I'm going to start this one with the most valuable piece of information to know concerning this smartwatch.
Quoting directly from the manual:
When the Master Power Switch is set to the Off position, the unit will not function, and the battery will not charge.
What this means is for the battery to charge, that switch must be set to ON. If that little switch on the back isn't ON, it won't charge when connected to power with the little micro USB cable it comes provided with.
Regular use of the vtech KidiZoom DX3 is to click that little power switch to ON (yes, this is shown in the video below), leave it on, charge the watch battery with the little micro USB cable, use watch normally until the battery dies, charge it up again, repeat. That's it.
This brings me to the second most valuable piece of information concerning the KidiZoom DX3: You're not supposed to turn it off unless you plan on putting it away for a long time. If for example the watch will be put away and not used for a few months, that is when you click off the power switch.
What happens when you set the power switch OFF? The date and time settings are lost when you do that, meaning they have to be reset once you click on that switch again and power up the watch.
The rest of the setup is fairly straightforward as you'll see in the video below.
My first acoustic bass, Glarry GMB102
Transparency notice: Glarry sent this instrument to me for free. Consider this a sponsored review.
It's my first acoustic bass.
Glarry emailed me and asked if I wanted to review one of their products. One of them was the GMB102 acoustic bass. Being I've never owned an acoustic bass before, I said yes.
I was sent this bass for free and do not have to return it, so you can consider this a sponsored review of sorts.
The video below goes into detail about what I received and you can hear how it sounds both acoustically and electrically, but here's the long and short of it:
The finish did have a few flaws, but they were minor and did not affect the playability of the instrument at all.
This is an easy player, although the roundwound strings it comes installed with don't do it any favors since you will hear a lot of finger moving noise while playing. I say this in the video but will say it here also: I strongly recommend switching over to D'Addario Half Rounds string set. I have used these before and they're great. It's the middle ground between flatwound and roundwound where you eliminate all of the finger noise while still getting that familiar roundwound feel. And they're not crazy-expensive either.
A feature that's usually only available on upper-end basses is both 1/4" input and XLR - but you get that on the Glarry GMB102. I've not looked around, but I think this is the absolute cheapest way to get a hi-z and lo-z electric bass. That XLR being there is a big deal. You can go direct-to-mixer with no problem at all and use the on-board EQ to shape the sound so it works with whatever setup you have.
Lastly, the piezo pickup. You have to understand that piezo has a specific sound to it, and it's nothing like what a pickup sounds in a regular solid-body bass. I'm not saying it's bad but rather different. You will have to spend some time shaping the sound to your liking.
Here's the best advice I can give concerning a piezo pickup: It will sound terrible through a guitar amplifier, but sound near-perfect through a PA speaker, especially if you connect using XLR. Output one of these the same as you would with a regular vocal microphone (like a Shure SM58), and the sound will be much more to your liking. Trust me on that one.
Full video review
I made sure to go through everything about this bass. What's in the box, how much it projects, how to get a battery in the battery box, and so on.