Search results

The difficulty is that many of those lecturing others on this topic (outside this forum) are wealthy hippocrites. When they give up their private jet use, when they downsize to one home and don't fly then maybe what they are saying would get more credibility. Also need practical solutions, the...

Yeah, Niwaki stuff is very nice. I don't have a pair of their secateurs but I do have some other tools: a hori-hori, hand hoe and nata. The cleaning/sharpening kit they do is great for garden tools and can bring a bog standard pair of secateurs up really well. GC

Get some combed wool. Spin a thread (turn the spindle clockwise), wind result onto a bobbin. Repeat. Then ply the two together by spinning on the spindle anticlockwise...... and you have a cord. Can also use Devere filament silk threads and spin one way, then ply back a pair or more, I have...

Clothing should be very costly due to the labour and resources that go into making it. The only reason it's not is that those who make are typically on slave wages, and the real cost of making fibre (e.g. requirements for growing cotton) are not built into the price. Fabric made from good...

"Van with windows" yes- but modified. Modification is the issue with insurance. Actually, I found it easier to get my "van with windows" on a policy which allowed work use than when it was classed as a motorhome..... the original owner had had it reclassified as a motorhome by DVLA back in the...

Update to say I picked up this kukri and the Indian Army kukri from @BrewkitAndBasha last week. Today I had an enjoyable afternoon cleaning and sharpening the Cold Steel kukri. The Indian Army kukri will be done next, that's more of a job. They will both be used to help with getting and keeping...

Known issue with Vivaro/Traffic and also Movano/Master. The design of the windscreen drains sends water onto the top of the engine, one particular position is not protected by the air inlet manifold so sooner or later the resulting corrosion makes is "extremely difficult" to remove injectors or...

I HAD a van which I converted, did all the work myself. It was an 07 plate Movano, long wheelbase, previously a crewbus. I also used it for work, in fact during COVID stayed in it on customer sites when hotels were closed. I insulated it and it had a big solar panel (250W, thin film so very...

Sounds like you made the right decision. There's a lot of folk are just plain hard work, and alcohol doesn't help such situations. It's been wet here today, miserable sort of weather for camping. Buy hey, you're back and without your kit being soggy. The gloves are down the place we're...

@Mhearadh.macleod: It's easy to live in a parallel world in one's head to escape a tough environment. Perhaps those of us on the autistic spectrum (as I also am) do it particularly well..... it's the same visualisation skills that are in another context a real talent. BUT- I am concerned that...

I bought a couple of axes from Wood Tools last week, a carving axe and a woodland axe. Yes, a luxury, but I have been working hard of late. I also paid for the sheaths- not cheap but seem to be good quality. I don't go away on holidays, so this was my little summer treat. The axes arrived...

Yeah, if you have anything "non-standard" you need to shop around, as the "standard" insurers just don't want to do it, so quote a silly price. You should try insuring company-owned vehicles in a fleet of less than 5....... only really 2 insurers in the market for that, although a specialist...

@Woody girl - let's know when you're back and I'll pop some protective gloves in the post. The fabric (kevlar) type are not 100% foolproof, but they shrug off most blade impact and even if a tip gets through it's a small nick not a deep cut. And they are reasonably comfortable to wear. GC

Don't forget the golden rules for going into the hills: tell someone where you are going, your planned route, when you will be back, and stick to your planned route. Don't hesitate to turn back (or use your planned escape route) if the weather turns. A personal locator beacon might be a good...

I cannot comment on truth of the issue, although those people I know with Landrovers have all had "issues" with them, of varying fixability. That said, it's not just Landrovers that are facing insurance hikes; big vans, some types of electric cars- they also have the same issues. I'm sure the...

Maybe just because it's Landrover and the theft level? I got a good deal from NFU Mutual on my (company owned so a commercial policy) Toyota Hilux. When I bought the Hilux (second hand) in April, the dealer was saying that some of his friends in the SE/London/Home Counties area who have...

I think it's not surprising to not have such an issue with other use of knives, as it's easier to consistently use technique to avoid injury. Whereas with carving you're working much closer to the hand holding the work-piece. That said, I do wear a protective left-hand glove when wielding a...

Enjoy your hols! I dug out my cut-resistant gloves after watching "Linker" on u-tube. Quite a few on-line carvers recommend protection of the hand holding the workpiece, as no matter how careful we are, it's easy to slip and carving knives are (should be) VERY sharp. They have been most...

Have you tried NFU Mutual? You will need to phone them, they don't quote over the Internet. GC

Cut resistant gloves are your friend when carving wood. I use one on the hand holding the wood. You can also get little thumb stalls for paring protection. Saved me from a deep cut recently, whilst a sharp blade can cut the knitted fabric (they are cut RESISTANT), they still turn a big...