Product review: Olfa Rotary Blade Refill, Ritate Blade resharpening

I had my Olfa rotary blade for over 10 years. I use it practically every week, so it gets a lot of work.  I use my rotary cutter for quilting fabric, cutting photographic paper, cutting regular paper. My blades do a lot of work!

I use a rotary blade sharpener to prolong the life of each blade for a long time. I have re-sharpened each blade at least 10 times each. I see improved cutting (for example, on fabric you stop getting a few threads that did not get cut on the first stroke).

These blades are very high quality, they take many re-sharpening and continue to work as new!

For most part of the 10 years I have re-sharpened my Olfa rotary blade, I used a rotary blade sharpener like this one Rotary Blade Sharpener For 45mm Blades on Amazon.
To sharpen the blade, you to disassemble the rotary cutter, which has a number of pieces including the blade. Then you place the the blade between two round circles the sharpener. Each side facing the blade has sand paper, that polishes out the nicks in the blade. You sharpen the blade by rotating the two pieces of the sharper against each other. After the sharpening you have to move the blade back to the rotary cutter, and then reassemble the rotary cutter correctly (one has to remember how pieces fit together exactly).

Recently I discovered a sharpener that works without having to remove the blade from the cutter. It works by using the same motion as you cut, by moving the cutter in the sharpener itself. Not having to remove the blade from the sharpener is a *huge* advantage. It is faster, less chance of cutting yourself, and no chance of assembling the rotary cutter the wrong way (been there, done that). It is called "TrueCut" TrueCut Rotary Blade Sharpener

Both rotary cutters work well and prolong the life your blades, and thus save you money.

So I highly recommend this blade refill and its usage with the blade sharpener.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Mobile App Review: TuneIn Radio, Free App (7.7 Samsung Galaxy, Android)

I like listening to the talk shows and news on the radio. Many of the shows I like are located on the AM band and not available on some devices. And if you listening in the car you may drive out of range for good reception. TuneIn Radio to the rescue!

This application is very well organized, easy to use, the sound is great, no buffering delays.

When the app comes up you get a list of choices:
- Local radio
- Recents
- Recommended
- Music
- News
- Sports
- Talk
- By location
- By language
- Podcasts

If you select Talk shows you get further refinements:
- Business
- Comedy
- Conservative
- Entertainment
- Ideas
- News
- Progressive
- Public
- Religious
- Specialty Talk

Then if you select, say, Public Radio then you get a list of NPR stations from  all over USA so you have more choices of times for the specific program you like.

This app works well on my Samsung Galaxy 7.7 Tablet (my Galaxy 7.7 review) running Android HoneyComb 3.2. I had no technical problems and the app scales to my screen size very nicely.

This is a terrific app: Huge amount of choices for radio shows, great reception, excellent interface.  I highly recommend.

This app is free from Amazon Android Store and
You can find it on Amazon by following this link.



Ali Julia review ★★★★★

You can find reviews of other mobile apps I use under Blog Label "Galaxy 7.7 Tablet" on the left navigation pane of the blog.

Product Review: Black & Decker NST2118 12-Inch 18-Volt Ni-Cd Cordless Electric GrassHog String Trimmer/Edger

I am very pleased with Black & Decker GrassHog.  I have a lot of back problems, but GrassHog trimmer is easy to use even for someone who gets pain in the back easily.

1. It cuts the grass easily and cleanly, I don't have to do the same area several times as I did with my old grass trimmer. It takes me about 10 minutes to do what I need, I am able to do it on one battery charge. In one month of use so far I never wished I had more power.
2. The guard on the trimmer really works. After cutting the grass with my old trimmer I would need to brush my jeans and shoes as they were covered with grass. After using GrassHog you can't tell I just cut the grass.
3. At 6.4 pounds it is not too heavy for me to operate. I had several back surgeries and many things make it hurt, but 10 minutes with GrassHog do not bother me.
4. The ergonomics of the GrassHog are very good. You can adjust the total height of the handle as well as the angle of the black support handle. GrassHog has good overall balance.
5. GrassHog comes with two batteries and I have not experienced a situation when I did not have enough power to finish the job.  It takes me about 10 minutes to cut all the grass I need to trim.
6. I usually keep one battery charging, and the other one in the trimmer. After I cut the grass I swap them. The charger shuts off automatically and provides trickle charge to keep the battery at full charge when the charger is plugged in.

The only problem I had with the trimmer is putting it together.  The instructions are missing some key steps.  I am attaching my comments along with a collage of 7 photos.

1. Photo#1 shows all the parts as they were taken out of the box.
The trimmer itself, the handle, the guard, the recharger and two batteries.

2. Photos#2, #3, #4 show the battery and the recharger. Each battery comes with an orange cover for contacts. The cover needs to be removed when you recharge it and when the battery is inserted into the trimmer.

3. Photo#5 shows the battery on the digital scale. Each battery is about 2 pounds (1 pound 15.1 oz to be exact).

4. The recharger cord is 5 feet.

5. To charge an empty battery takes 8 hours.

6. Assembling the trimmer tip #1:
   The first thing you need to do is to put the black handle on the trimmer by retracting and holding two button on the trimmer while pushing the handle onto the trimmer. The picture in the instructions shows the handle perpendicular to the trimmer.  I encountered two problems: (1) first, my hands are not large enough to get around the girth of the trimmer to push both buttons with one hand. (2) in perpendicular position the opening of the handle would not open wide enough to go over the buttons.
I was able to do it this way: I pushed one button against the kitchen counter, pushed the other one with my left hand, and pushed the handle over the buttons from the top with  my right hand. The top part of the trimmer is more narrow and it was much easier to get the handle on this way.

7. Assembling the trimmer tip #2:
The next step in assembly is to put the black guard around the trimmer head. The instruction do not mention that in order for the guard to go on, you need to remove the screw and then re-insert after the guard is in the right position.  There are two holes where the screw could be inserted, and the picture does not show clearly which hole should be used. Photo #6 shows a close of the screwdriver as I screw down the screw into the smaller hole.

8. Assembling the trimmer tip #3:
The guard was very difficult to slide on, I was afraid of breaking it as it was flexing. I would up using a mallet to tap it in. Photo #7 shows the correct position of the guard. The last 1/4 inch would not budge until I used the mallet for the final push.

9.  Assembling the trimmer tip #4:
There are no instructions on how to release the battery once it is inserted into the trimmer.  To release you need to push the round button on the battery end down, towards the black part of battery.

10. The angle of the black handle can be changed until you find a comfortable position. I found 45 angle felt best for me.

11. Trim mode puts the trimmer's head parallel to the ground. Edge mode puts the trimmer's head perpendicular to the ground.

Overall, I am very pleased with GrassHog Trimmer. I really like the freedom of not having a cord (my previous trimmer was electric trimmer with a cord).  The job gets done faster and easier with GrassHog.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Facial hair remover Panasonic ES2113PC Pivoting Head Facial Trimmer

This trimmer works very well. I have used it for one year and really like how it works. I recommend it.

What I liked:

1. It cuts well, both the "fuzz" and thicker hairs.
2. It is very discrete. It looks like a pen. I am attaching a couple of photos of the trimmer next to a pen, so you can see for yourself.
3. It is easy to control. By that I mean that that the profile of the tip is small, and you can treat very small areas, such as between your eyebrows.
4. I am using a single rechargeable AAA battery in it. I've been using it for a few weeks before writing this review, and the battery is still going strong.
5. The battery is very easy to replace, the battery door slides nicely.
6. The package includes an extra heads (which allow to trim eyebrows, i.e. they leave hair with a certain length)
7. The package includes a small brush for cleaning the head (you are supposed to clean it dry, not wet)
8. The product feels solid, well designed, and well made.

What I did not like (very minor, stating for completeness of the review)

1. The description mentioned a pouch, but it was not included in the package
I found a cute little bag from jewelry beads which fit the extra heads and the brush to keep them all together.

Ordering refill blades:
The fine hair blade (the long one that is installed when the trimmer arrives) has a part number WES2113P3708.
The cost of the replacement blade is $6.64 plus shipping if you buy it directly from Panasonic web site.
You can find them by searching on the part number. I noticed that other vendors sell the refill for the cost that is almost equal a whole new trimmer on Amazon, so in that case a new trimmer would be a better bet.

It now has been one year since I began using it, and though it still works well I decided it was time to change the blade, and it turned out to be a little tricky, so I am attaching a photo
which shows how the trimmer comes apart, and how the blade fits.

To change the blade you need to pull down on the tab on the base part of the trimmer's head (visible and marked on the photo). Then if you push on the head you can open the head. When it opens up the blade is attached to the half of the head that can be removed. To replace the blade you replace the entire half of the trimmer's head. The white stem visible in the photo need to line up with a hole on the blade, this is what holds the blade in the right position. Once two parts are lined up together you need to slide the tab back up.
It actually works very well, and it is nice that you don't need to touch the "naked" blade directly.

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Product review: Car charger for 7.7 Samsung Galaxy Tablet, Android

I bought this charger for Samsung Galaxy 7.7 tablet. ECA-P10CBEGSTA Samsung charger is a 2A charger and is specifically designed for Samsung tablets. Amazon description does not specify the amps, but I looked up the specs for the model number on the Samsung web site before purchasing this recharger.

Before I purchased this charger I tried using a non-Samsung generic USB charger which worked fine to charge my husband's Samsung Galaxy Nexus Phone. He was able to recharge the phone even while we used Google maps on the phone to navigate. However when I had my tablet plugged into that non-EOM charger and used Google maps on the tablet for navigation the charger could barely keep up with the use but could not re-charge at the same time. When I switched to this new Samsung charger, I was able to both use the tablet to navigate and recharge my tablet.

The charger comes with a detachable 30 Pin to USB data cable (the identical cable to the one that comes with the tablet for the AC charger) and the car plug. So when I travel I need to take just one cable and two plugs (AC and car). Anything that decreases the number of things I need to bring when I travel is a good thing!

The only small negative is that this cable is the same length as the original cable that came with the tablet - 38 inches. I wish it was a bit longer. This cable just barely reaches the power plug when the tablet is on the table right above it.

I am attaching two photos of the charger I received in this order: the genuine Samsung car adapter and charging cable, you can see the Samsung logo stamped on both pieces. Since there are so many different chargers sold with various claims I included a close-up of the genuine parts for comparison.

I am glad to have a charger that can keep up with my needs!
You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

Mobile App Review: Angry Birds, Free App (7.7 Samsung Galaxy, Android)

I only recently got my first mobile device capable of playing this game. I heard so much about Angry Birds that it was among the first dozen applications  I got on my tablet.

I have to say that I was rather disappointed.  The graphics are pretty, but the game itself could not keep me interested for more than a few minutes. It did not seem to require much skill or thought.  In general I do like games, so it surprised me that I did not like this one at all.

On the positive side this app works well on my Samsung Galaxy 7.7 Tablet (my Galaxy 7.7 review) running Android HoneyComb 3.2. I had no technical problems and the app scales to my screen size very nicely.

This app is free from Amazon Android Store and
You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★☆☆

You can find reviews of other mobile apps I use under Blog Label "Galaxy 7.7 Tablet" on the left navigation pane of the blog.

Mobile App Review: Wi-Fi Analyzer, Free App (7.7 Samsung Galaxy, Android)

I found several good uses for this application: at home and while traveling.

The application has several screens that provide different information. My favorite view is the third screen (left most in the image below), the one with the bar display. This is my default view, once you choose this view the next time you start an app it will come up displaying that view.

In this view the length of the bar indicates the strength of the signal. The icon on the left shows you whether the channel is open or secured. My tablet is WiFi only, so when I travel it is very handy to quickly see if there are any open WiFi networks and which one of them is the strongest.  In the image below the last network in the image has the strongest signal.

Another piece of information that is useful is the channel. This is the setting that is useful at home where you can control which channel you are using. If you see that you are sharing the same channel with several other people you can switch which channel your router is using to broadcast WiFi and get a stronger signal. To figure out what is the best option use View #4 (details below).

 The other views that I use less often are:

The first view is the graph chart that shows you the strength of all WiFi signals.  The second image on the photo above.
The second view shows you a meter that shows your the strength of your network.
The third one (my favorite) is described above in detail. The first image on the photo above.
The forth one shows the channel in your area with stars indicating the best reception. This view is useful if view 3 shows you that you are sharing the channel with many people and you decide to switch. This screen will help you to choose the best alternative.
View 5 shows color coded chart of activity for all local to you WiFi networks. At the top you see a legend for the color-coding. What you want to see that your WiFi line does not cross any other lines, as this would indicate no noise from your neighbor's networks. This graph is shown in the third photo above.  You see that green and red channels have some cross-chat.

This app works well on my Samsung Galaxy 7.7 Tablet (my Galaxy 7.7 review) running Android HoneyComb 3.2. I had no technical problems and the app scales to my screen size very nicely.


You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★

You can find reviews of other mobile apps I use under Blog Label "Galaxy 7.7 Tablet" on the left navigation pane of the blog.