chrisjpainter

You have license to post an extra awful joke! Thank you very much, that's what I needed. The knife's got to go back, so I'm going to send a strongly worded email with it! I spend my working days as a youth worker trying to keep knives out of unwise hands, so it's a slight bugbear of mine.

I think you do, but when's that ever stopped a teenager from getting into a parental account. And I've just remembered, I misled you. Paypal failed, so we had to use the same (debit) card but by entering the details. And no card reader was used, so I didn't even need to enter the pin. All I needed was the physical card in my hand! Yeah I read that, but that's a voluntary agreement and it doesn't cover any procedure Royal Mail might have as a company.I couldn't even find anything on their website. As it happens, the other two were bought on Amazon, but they've signed up to the voluntary agreement.

I've not been able to find a concrete answer online, so I thought I'd turn to the other almighty force for knowledge. Pigeonwatch What are the restrictions placed on retailers by Royal Mail for the sale of knives? The reason why I ask is that in the last few days I've ordered three knives from different stores. One of which at no point asked for any prof of age. I didn't have to put one in on the site, or at payment (paypal), or when I received it. I queried it with our postie who was shocked and rescanned it to check there wasn't any requirement for proof of age or a signature (there wasn't). Anyone know if the shop contravened any specific legislation or Royal Mail postage rules by failing to adequately check age? The knife in question has a 12cm blade, if that makes a difference!

2 x Daiwa Black Widow BR LT reels, 1x5000 size, 1x3000 size These are in top notch condition and are great reels that have had little use. Baitrunner design and can be loaded with 13lb Fox Exocet line 10kg drag ATD Drag Tough Digigear DS4 Body & Rotor Air Rotor Crosswrap Infinite Anti-Reverse £40 for 5000 £35 for 3000 £70 for Both All prices exclude postage if needed.

An abomination. The fact that this would have to be eaten cold as well...appalling.

I'm not even sure which section this belongs. Food? Jokes? Playpen? Or a new section entitled Basement of Horrors...

Perfect. It'd be nice to get it back to something usable, even if slightly different to its original shape.

A while ago this happened. No more tip. Oops. Since then, it's just been gathering dust, or doing stupid stuff like shaving congealed washing powder. It never got a heap of use anyway, but I was thinking what are my options to get it back to being a reasonably useful blade with a point? This will never be a ship-of-the-line type knife, but I like the weight of this one and it keeps a good enough and I like the weight for things where I wouldn't want to risk my hard Japanese steel on. It was a 20cm chef's knife. How tricky would it be and what would I need to reshape it back to a useful knife?

Moved to DIY/craft Mods can delete this

Is there anyone who has any of the Katana Saya knives? Any range or any info most welcome; there seem to be no reviews anywhere online! Some reasonable savings to be had and on paper they look good. VG-10 core steel with Damascus Cladding, HRC 60+, Japanese made nice range of blade types, but I know literally nothing about them except what's in the manufacturer's blurb. Anyone able to help a chap out?

How many fires do you think are caused by washing machines? I'll give you a clue...it's a LOT more than slow cookers!

You got a washing machine though, right? Yup I love slow cooker. It's only a small one, but with the two of us it's perfect. The small drifting through the hours for hours is both tantalising and frustrating though! Makes you want dinner right then. At four in the afternoon when it's not even ready!

Yeah I've been doing a bit of research about the blade and I think the translation's something like 'three uses' so meat, fish and veg. But the lack of a point seems hampering if you're looking to cut anything really bulky, a downside that you don't get with a chef's knife. And the downsides of the chef's blade (curved edge, for one) seem to be surmountable with the correct technique, so I don't really see the value in the santoku

I've not heard that about the new ones. What's happening with them?

I've not used one of these before and, given I'm about to replace a few reasonable but not exhilarating kitchen knives - my chef's knife included - I was looking at different options. Those of you who use Santoku knives, are they as utilitarian as suggested or more a case of the worst of all worlds all round into one - i.e. not quite this, not quite that etc! Any advice would be useful. I'm looking at Global knives, if that makes a difference! Many thanks Chris

Paracord activities are a big hit with our Cub Scouts group. Bracelets, zip pullers, little men keyrings, it's all good fun!

This is the generation I have, but in 8x32. I'd love to know the upgrade from Trinovid to Trinovid HD. Just to see where the biggest incremental improvement is. If it's a small improvement in glass to the HD's then I'd be tempted to skip them and go for the Ultravids, but if it's a big initial step, I'm not sure I'd benefit too much more going beyond the Trinovid HD's

Anyone out there using Leicas? I'm thinking of upgrading mine to either the Trinovid HD or the Ultravids. Has anyone got any experiences of either or preferably both that can help me decide if the Ultras are worth the extra? This is mostly for birding and are often used in conjunction with my scope. I'm 90% sure it'll be 8x32 and 99% sure I don't want to look at any other brand. I have some Trinovids now and have been so happy with them. They're comfortable in the hand and the weight suits me! Unfortunately trying out a pair of either down here isn't an option, so I want to get as much donkey work done first before I commit to takin a trip to try some out. Many thanks Chris

Birders. Famously poor at seeing the bigger picture...

You're not the only one with that experience. This seems to be nation wide and it ties in with my feeling birding in countryside. So either the birds are all having a quiet little picnic in one tiny corner of Britain where no one goes, or there are far fewer of them. We all know about bird flu's effect on seabird numbers, but their colonies are far more obvious and easy to analyse. Our small birds might be the unnoticed victims. Not a good sign and desperate timing for greenfinch; numbers were beginning to creep up after Trichonomosis crashed the population.

Happy new year, one and all! My birding year started off really poorly! I booked in half a day's birding before pub lunch with the family. I was hoping to get in 70 species across three sites of wetlands, farmland and coast. Ordinarily it'd be a good winter challenge. I managed 47. I was gazumped by all the wetland areas that produce good numbers of waders were completely flooded. A strong wind put the kibosh on lots of passerines and it was all a bit rubbish! Notable exceptions were things like little egrets, rooks and pheasants. HOW DOES ONE GO OUT BIRDING AND NOT SEE A PHEASANT?! I didn't even know that was even possible. But anyway. It was marvellous. Great Northern Divers in Portland harbour and more snipe at Lodmoor than could be shot by a medium sized army. Here's to a new year of seeing some excellent feathered friends.

Or DIY gender reassignment surgery...🥵

Ooh a matching pair! I think that means you win a food processor? Nice work.

SOLD

MSR Pocket Rocket 2 Duplicated Christmas present, so it's unused and hasn't even been taken out of its box. Great stove, but I don't need two of them. Great to have in a fishing bag or in a car glove box/emergency kit Manufacturer's blurb: Ultralight isobutene-propane backpacking stove weighs just 73G (2.6 oz) Flame easily adjusts from a simmer to a rolling boil. Easy-to-use design needs no priming, preheating or pressurizing Serrated pot supports accommodate a range of cooking pot sizes and fold exceptionally small Includes ultralight hard shell protective carry case £25+postage if needed