Miyabi artisan is a great pick! You’ll thank yourself after getting your dad one bcus he’ll probably chef up more meals! It really does make a difference in how easy it is to cook

No, just $5 per knife per their site.

They just dont do damaged or ceramic knives or shears

A ton depends on the exact species and the way it’s processed, but bamboo / maple / ash are generally going to be the best three.

I’ve worn my Limmers for ten years. Two soles. Thousand(s?) of miles. Five continents. They’re about 60% broken in.

Is smartwool of any quality? I used to wear that backpacking

Do you have to have a sur la table knife for them to sharpen it?

If you want to get super technical, when you buy clothes, wherever they’re from, if you get a fabric loupe your can look up close at the yarn twist and weave. If it already looks “fuzzy” and a low yarn twist, that’s not going to last you. The more it’s washed, the more that fabric is going to lose fiber and cause holes or pilling.

Also look at stitch length. The smaller the stitch length, the better survival rate for seams not popping. If a seam is only overlocked together on a woven fabric it’s not as strong as something that’s machine stitched AND overlocked.

If it doesn’t meet expectations I’ll usually send it back.

It’s not really brand specific, but I think it’s important to keep in mind. I thrift all the time, and I’ll tell you things made even ten years ago are usually far superior in construction and textile than what we have now.

What happens is- the lower twist and shorter fiber in fabric, the cheaper and faster the textile production. Likewise, the longer stitch length, the shorter sewing time. These factors are what really make cheap clothing, regardless of what the label says.

And I do agree but don’t always practice it- wash less, on cold, and hang dry to keep your clothes lasting longer. Dryers are especially hard on the fabrics that make up our clothes

I have an Uplift bamboo desk that is now (digs up receipt) 15 years old. Constant daily use, and I use the rising mechanism 2-4 days/week. If you're just using it as a computer/light hobby desk, any of those will be fine. Just needs the occasional wipe down to deal with coffee mug rings. The mechanics work as well as the day it was delivered. 3 cross country moves. One chip when I dropped a chisel blade down on it. I tighten the bolts maybe once every year or two.

My intro to ethical and high quality came from r/goodyearwelt and r/rawdenim .

Unfortunately, and I'm sure you'll come to find out, that both of those key terms usually come at a trade off. Those being price to how ethical you want to be, quality and how much you want to spend. Etc. Etc.

In terms of ethics, I can buy a pair of Goodyear welt leather boots that are chrome tanned that will last me years and years. However, an animal still had to die, and chrome tanning is terrible for the environment. The other options mean footwear that will not hold up as well, meaning I will need to buy more often, leading to more waste. Or I can buy some veg tanned boots that will no doubt cost a lot more than chrome tanned, but will require more maintenance to keep them from drying and cracking. Well, maybe I can buy a cheaper version, but then the labor practices are questionable, and maybe the quality isn't there and means I will need to repurchase or resole sooner. A lot of the same points can be made for every type of garment. Cotton is notorious for using up a ton of water, and being sourced from non ethical, and potentially contributing to China's ongoing slavery/genocide in Xinjiang. Wool is harvested from sheep, which can be resource intensive, but not as bad as cotton. However, its still coming from an animal that may or may not have been treated ethically. Linen is an interesting fiber, I've yet to hear a lot of negatives about it in terms of resources and ethics, but in my experience, it doesn't hold up as well as cotton or wool. I've heard others disagree on that point tho. And tree fibers lead to deforestation, etc.

Anyway. Best thing you can do is buy used, thrifted, etc. Take thee money out of the big companies that exploit for profit. And mend your garments before purchasing new ones.

In terms of caring for them. Wash infrequently, preferably by hand or on gentle settings, using cold water and mild detergents. Hang dry. That alone will prolong any garment. And mend mend mend. Cheers!

Ashley’s

Comfy but not terribly durable.

Made in the US does not always equal ethical or quality. Just look up garment working conditions in places like LA. Also, a ton of miUSA garments use the same cheap-projectile loom- synthetic trash fabric as any other fast fashion brand. They just stamp the "Made in the USA" sticker on it and make a sucker of you.

On the other hand, there are a ton of awesome miUSA brands making the best quality stuff. Check out Carl Murawski's YouTube channel/website for a list of brands. He mostly reviews USA made stuff, and is a good intro/deep dive to solid brands: https://carlmurawski.com/

I would also say both oak and ash are the best options and also very light in color. Ash will probably have a tighter grain than oak. Oak will probably look nicer if some wear/tear does occur. But both are often used for utilitarian needs. ash: tool handles, baseball bats, etc. oak: ships, etc.

My Girlfriend disagrees on the latter.

Lighter colored woods show the least amount of scratches in my opinion. Hardness isn't really a factor if that's your main consideration, as all these woods will more or less take the same level of scratches/dings, etc. But they will be more noticeable in darker woods or woods with stains and certain high gloss finishes.

Interesting, a had a pair of Cload Foam shoes and the comfort did not last long. Used to wear them daily for work (indoors and sometimes out) and in less than one year the bottom of the show was dangerously slippery and had to be replaced

Pc

Orbital sander. 80 grit

Check and see if you can buy straight from the manufacturer. Third party retailers rarely sell it cheaper in my experience.

Bought 2m and 2l. We'll see what happens! Thanks for the rec!

Mine

I had a shave done at one of those Art of the Shave places. Amazing experience. Best shave I’ve ever had.

Get it done by a barber. It will be as smooth as a newborn’s bottom.

https://www.discoverytrekking.com/saleextreme

A good choice for pants, especially if you cycle a lot, is Outlier. They’re a New York based company and using extremely durable fabrics made for technical closing. I’ve got two of their pants and just switch between them for most of the year. After four years (!) of use, they still look like new.