Shave #26: Food and Tools

Another Monday shave, another flawless performance by the Schick Quattro disposable.  I'm also getting used to the less-smooth shave afforded by an old can of Barbasol.

Throughout this experiment, I've challenged myself to think about what else I could go cheap on.  As in, when something I own wears out, or when I need something I don't have, what can I buy the Schick  Quattro version of and what should I shell out good money for?

I've learned by considerable trial-and-error that food, as a rule, has a distinct you-get-what-you-pay-for quality to it.  In particular, the less processing a food has, the more quality costs.

For instance, steak.  When I cooked for myself alone, I used to treat myself to a broiled steak on Sundays.  At first, I bought cheap bottom round from A&P and I generally liked the result.  Then, after I had made a little more money, I tried better cuts of meat.  Meat connoisseurs already know what happened; I couldn't go back to the cheaper cuts.

Same thing happened with coffee.  While I consider myself capable of drinking anything hot and black, I probably rank somewhere midway up the coffee snob scale.  With the exception of my beloved Zabar's, I can't find inexpensive coffee that's anywhere near good enough for me.  Of course, I live near Zabar's, so it's not an issue.

Food quickly descends into a chaos of warring attitudes.  Some would consider the cuts of meat I like to be middlebrow at best.  Others would turn their noses up at anything but organic meats.  And, of course, many would disagree with meat entirely.  However, I've found a pretty comfortable balance with price and quality with food.

I can't say the same for tools, unfortunately.

I use basic hand tools--screwdrivers, hammers, pliers and the like--frequently enough.  In a home with two very destructive kids, something needs reassembling, new batteries or some other minor repair at least once per week.  So I have the toolbox down all the time.

That said, I can't get too excited about really high-quality tools.  My basic toolset generally features American-made tools that cost more than the basic Chinese-made tools.  However, I have a second tool kit filled almost exclusively with Chinese tools.  My electric screwdriver has a Japanese name and a Made in China stamp on it.  My ratchets all come from China as well.

And you know what?  They work as well as they need to work.  These more specialized tools don't come out too often and I haven't had an issue yet.

Maybe I'll prove out "buy cheap, buy twice" yet.  However, when I do, I probably won't remember when I bought them in the first place.