Thursday, January 24, 2019

Manion M5 Matte Silver Adjustable DE Safety Razor

Manion M5 Adjustable DE Safety Razor

The Manion M5 is a Chinese manufactured double edge adjustable safety razor that is modeled closely to the Merkur Futur adjustable.

I purchased the Manion M5 razor from Amazon in December 2018. It arrived a four days later in my mailbox via USPS in a padded plastic envelope and was packaged neatly within a product box that also contained a 5-pack of Dorco ST-300 platinum double-edge blades and a small double-ended brush for cleaning, one side having short stiffer bristles, the other longer and softer bristles. The M5 arrived in new condition with no needed oil or grease applied to preserve razor.

All scores are rated 1 through 5.

Manion M5 Adj, 1965 Gillette Slim Adj, Weishi Butterfly
BUILD QUALITY (score 4):  The M5 that I received is well built. It razor has but two separate parts; the primary body with twist-to-adjust handle and the removable top-cap that both aligns and holds double-edge blades in place. The finish I would describe as smooth matte aluminum-tone. The adjustment numbers on the handle are slightly engraved into the metal, filled with an egg shell white filler paint. Manufacturing tolerance of my M5 is good to excellent. Both the cap and body fit together neatly and firmly with very little loose-play. The cap is held in-place with two cap-prongs that are then snapped into the two spring-retaining sockets on the handle's blade deck. Adjustment rotation works fluently and is tension-sustained by a spring seated within the handle itself. Upon one of my blade support members (the smooth edge just below and parallel to an inserted blade itself) is a very slight particle embedded under the razor's electroplated finish. It's barely noticeable and does not affect the M5's functionality whatsoever. The razor has a nice weight to it that is heavier than other safety razors pictured here, but not hefty or unwieldy in any way.

Manion M5 safety razor deck
FUNCTIONALITY (score 3): I've shaved with the Manion M5 many times since receiving it in the mail. As a man with average thickness hair who routinely shaves bald and maintains a smooth face (aside from a short-cropped Van Dyke beard), I spend a respectable amount of time with a razor in my hand. For me, the M5 shaves great on a setting of 3.5 to 4 on both my scalp and face with very little to no skin irritation. I do not use Dorco ST-300 blades (those that came with the M5) as I find them too mild and of lesser quality. I generally use Astra Superior Platinum DE blades as my everyday blade, occasionally switching to milder Derby Extra DE blades when my skin sensitivity may be higher on a given day, such as drier skin during winter weather.

Manion M5 safety razor cap
That being said, I do hold two minor exceptions with my M5's shave experience. One is that the handle can be feel a little slick when shower shaving with soapy hands. I'v heard some owners use Plasti Dip to increase handling properties. Second, when seating a blade into the razor, the cutting power sometimes favors one side of the blade more than the other, but only ever-so-slightly. I've found it helpful to first set the razor's adjustment to setting 6, remove the razor cap from the razor deck, safely dispose of the old blade, tilt the razor deck 45 degrees to one side, place the new blade onto the deck, give the handle a couple soft finger taps to align the blade on the deck evenly, and then snap the razor cap gently back onto the razor deck to secure the blade. I will then adjust the razor from setting 6 to 1, then back to my nominal setting of 2.5. This typical sets both blade edges with nearly equal cutting exposure. If one blade side is still favored ever-so-slightly, gently wiggly the razor cap ends side-to-side(in opposing directions) and re-adjust the razor settings from 6-to-1, or 1-to-6, and then back to your preferred setting. Overall, I think you'll find that the M5 performs well when you master placing new blades into the razor itself.

Manion M5 w/ blade, top view.
VALUE (score 5): The value of the M5 is excellent when considering it's build quality and cost of purchase. At the time of this review, the price was $17.99 with around $5.00 in shipping cost through Amazon. The Manion M5 is very nearly the same razor as the Merkur Futur razor, which at the time of this review was listed at $62.50. The Manion M5 seems to replicate performance nearly identically to the Futur. Though I mentioned earlier in this review a very slight electroplate finish blemish along a blade support member, it's not enough to diminish my opinion of the overall cost value of the Manion M5. For the price, it's an excellent addition to your every day shaving supplies and worthy of it's current online pricing.

OVERALL (score 4): The Manion M5 has become a large part of my weekly razor rotation. My favorite safety razor is my 1965 Gillette Slim adjustable, which performs incredibly well at settings 3 thru 4 using Astra Superior Platinums. But, the Manion M5 performs almost as adept and smoothly as my Gillette does, much to my surprise. And since the M5 is such a great value, and my Gillette is a vintage razor that I'm hoping to keep well-preserved, I tend to use the M5 safety razor much more often. I give the Manion M5 a solid thumbs-up and find it to be a fine shaving product overall.

73,
Patrick, K3NYJ

Disclaimer: All content presented on this site are subjective and solely representative of personal ownership experience and individual understanding of said products and related subject matter described herein. Any and all representations, descriptions and commentaries posted herein are offered from opinion and should not be regarded as expert affidavit or testimony, or as a manufacturer's statement in any way. Please consult with product manufacturers and their approved sources for complete details, specifications and applicable warranties of all products described herein. All photos presented herein are property of this site's moderator and are not public domain.

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Razor and shave

Left to right - Manion M5 adjustable, 1965 Gilette Slim adjustable, Weishi
butterfly TTO, Dovo 6/8" Flowing straight razor, assorted DE blade packs.
If you've read my About K3NYJ page, then you're aware of my fondness for the not-so-bygone days of old school shaving. It holds a special place in my heart. Some of my fondest childhood memories were of my grandfather's small basement barbershop, the good men who would patron there and the humor and skill with which my grandfather operated. His trade was part of an honest and well-respected professional tradition. Thanks, Pap, for being an inspiration to me, as your grandchild and as a man. You were a cut above the rest.

In recent years, straight and safety razor shaving has had a growing resurgence in popularity. Perhaps this is a desire to share in an experience of our ancestors. It could be an interest in learning the time-honored skill involved in the art of wet shaving itself. Maybe it's for financial reasons, as the expense of straight/safety razor shaving is quite cost-saving overall when compared to the price of modern cartridge razors. Or perhaps it's simply the want to step outside of mainstream practice and be bolder with our everyday appearance than some others.  Whatever your reasons may be, they are endearingly your own. You may now find yourself among many others who have, by hobby, profession or passion, found their way to the practice of single-blade-edge (SBE) wet shaving. Welcome! There is a entire community of people, just like yourself, to offer guidance, opinions and product reviews that will help you make the best of your everyday shaving experience. If you're new to single-edge shaving, I suggest starting small without rushing into it... read, research, explore tutorials, learn the skills and invest modestly in the basics to begin. Where you go from there is entirely up to you.

Left to right - Manion M5 adjst razor, 1965 Gilette Slim adjst 
razor, Weishi butterfly TTO, Dovo 6/8" Flowing straight razor.
In the photo above, I show a few of the tools I use routinely for shaving daily, though not all. I do quite a lot of shaving. I am shaved bald and, aside from a Van Dyke beard, I'm also clean shaven. I've been SBE wet shaving for about ten years now. Prior to this, I shaved with commercial cartridge razors. I found that I was spending about $15.00 a month on them, which is quite a lot when you look at the annual cost. Add to that the cost of shaving cream, and I was spending more than $200.00 annual. Plus, I was adding to the bulk of our landfills with items that pollute, are not recyclable and have a very long decay rate.

I first began SBE wet shaving with a 3/8" straight razor that I'd purchased at a local antiques shop for about $12.00. The blade was/is in remarkably excellent condition, with no blemishes or rust whatsoever given it's 1907 manufacturing date. The blade's edge and shoulders were equally well-preserved and only lightly worn, though the cutting edge was rather dull at the time of purchase. Even the black celluloid scales were in great shape. What a find for my first razor, and it would not be the last! I shortly after purchased a Norton 4000/8000 wet stone and new leather strop to re-edge this blade, and began to learn and develop my sharpening skills. From there, my fandom was solidified and has grown. I'm a wet shaver through and through now.

Given this passion, I feel compelled to share my experience with others, post reviews of SBE razors and related products that I own or have used and, perhaps, offer some insight along the way to those new to this art. In the weeks and months to come, I'll likely also add video reviews of many of the razors I own and perhaps look to the community to help place the history of some older razors that I've struggled to place, and other razors that I may add to my collection that I chance upon along my journeys. So, check back from time to time. I thank you for visiting today and I wish you all the best.

Best regards,
Patrick, K3NYJ

Disclaimer: All content presented on this site are subjective and solely representative of personal ownership experience and individual understanding of said products and related subject matter described herein. Any and all representations, descriptions and commentaries posted herein are offered from opinion and should not be regarded as expert affidavit or testimony, or as a manufacturer's statement in any way. Please consult with product manufacturers and their approved sources for complete details, specifications and applicable warranties of all products described herein. All photos presented herein are property of this site's moderator and are not public domain.

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

DMR Best Practices

If you are a licensed operator whom is new to DMR networks (or perhaps new to amateur radio in general), here are some simple guidelines to help you navigate within the many talkgroups and digital networks available. You may also download a free Operating Ethics & Procedures reference guide from arrl.org made available to radio amateurs. While there, please consider showing your support by becoming a sponsoring member of the ARRL. Welcome to the world of DMR communications!

1. CODE OF CONDUCT - Be courteous, patient, helpful, supportive, friendly and a good listener. Treat all other operators as though they are an esteemed member of your own family. The amateur radio community is a worldwide fellowship of communications and technologies enthusiasts.

2. TALK PERMIT SETTINGS -  Be sure to program your DMR device to transmit only when talkgroups are clear of active transmissions. To do this requires changing your radio's (or channel's) TX Permit settings from Always to Channel Free mode (this terminology may differ depending on your radio device). Doing so insures that other's active communications are not being interrupted by your key-ups. Your device will remain able to transmit of course, but only when a talkgroup is clear of active traffic. Also, when activating your push-to-talk button, pause for about two seconds before speaking. This allows time for full capture of your digital audio packet to transmit through connected network routes.

3. LIMIT KEYUPS - Also called kerchunking, keyups refer to pressing the PTT (push-to-talk) button on your radio device to activate talkgroup access. Full-time talkgroups (commony international or statewide TGs) are always-on and generally do not require any keyup activation to connect (check your local repeater's TG settings). Part-time talkgroups (such as TAC or local TGs) may require a keyup in order to activate a connection with your station. Once active, part-time groups will later disengage from your device/repeater after a set period of time, commonly between five to fifteen minutes. When the connection drops, simply keyup once again to reconnect to timed-out TGs. Repetitious keyups are unnecessary, may be disruptive and can overtax repeater and network systems. Only keyup talkgroups as needed to maintain desired connections. Keying up numerous talkgroups simultaneously may also strain repeater operations and create service conflicts.

4. TALKGROUP DESIGNATION - With so many talkgroups available, it's important to understand and abide by their intention. Many full-time TGs service a broad geographic area... some statewide, others regional and some are international. International talkgroups can be referred to as DX talkgroups (DX is an old telegraphic term meaning 'distance'). It is common amateur practice to limit the amount of communication time within large-area FT talkgroups to perhaps a few minutes at best, no more than 15 minutes overall. Should a communication be quite involved or run long, it's courteous to move the conversation to a less trafficked part-time talkgroup, or make a direct private connection to the participating station(s). Part-time talkgroups are most commonly used for longer QSOs (contacts/conversations) but should be shared courteously with other operators.

5. SPECIAL SERVICES - There are talkgroups dedicated to amateur radio special services such as ARES, MARS, RACES and Skywarn. These serve both public and non-public interests in times of emergency and often require special licensing and/or certification to transmit within. None of these should be transmitted upon without proper authorization, or interfered with in any way ever, unless to address a matter of imminent danger to person or property where no other means is readily available. 

6. LISTEN FIRST - When connecting to any amateur frequency or talkgroup, take a few moments to first listen for on-going transmit traffic. If activity appears light or absent, feel free to keyup and transmit your identifiers (see below). If there is an ongoing QSO that you would like to join, or perhaps simply a desire to acknowledge your presence in that group, wait for a break between transmissions and briefly present your callsign. Other active stations will often pause to acknowledge you, perhaps invite you to join or their QSO or relinquish their traffic. In the event of an true emergency; promptly key-up, say "break break", announce your callsign, and state your emergency traffic. Operators should never falsify emergency situations, and should always relinquish frequencies and talkgroups to emergency traffic.

7. IDENTIFIERS - When initiating transmission on any amateur bands you must present your FCC callsign. Thereafter, you are required to re-transmit your callsign at least every ten minutes during the course of your on-going transmissions. In DMR talkgroups it is not necessary (though certainly not prohibited) to use code terms like CQ, QSL or other such preambles when entering or operating talkgroups. These are referred to as Q-codes or Q-signals (pdf guide here). Such code usage is welcome of course and many times useful, though may not be understood by all operators. A common practice when first transmitting into a talkgroup is this key-in example, "This is K3NYJ monitoring on TAC 310". This short identifier format is adequate for compliance, acknowledgement and to invite other interested operators to QSO should you like.

8. TRANSMIT QUALITY - One of several advantages of digital modes is clearer transmit and receive quality when compared to many analog modes. There are instances where digital transmissions may suffer. Be sure to adjust your DMR device to nominal microphone and power levels, so as not to over/under modulate (be too loud or too quiet). Additionally, it is possible to over-extend your transmit range away from a hotspot or DMR repeater creating loss rate, aka packet-loss. This translates into choppy, broken or dropped transmissions. Should this occur (as others may report), it's courteous practice to suspend or end your transmissions until your connectivity has been improved.

9. ENVIRONMENT NOISE - Another form of poor quality transmission may stem from our surroundings. Background noise and signal interference can be a factor and create an undesirable receive experience for other operators. Examples include excessive road noise during vehicular travel, radio frequency interference (RFI) from other power or electronic devices, audio sounds from sources like TV or music stations (which is prohibited), etc. If you encounter reports of undesirable background noise from other operators, seek to diminish or silence those sources before continuing on, or simply end your transmissions until resolved.

10. LANGUAGE -  Licensed operators are a myriad group, both young and old, from many different walks of life. Your choice of words and subject matter during transmissions is heard by anyone listening to that TG or frequency. Strong language and profanity is not only frowned upon by the amateur radio community, it is also prohibited per FCC regulation. Furthermore, while you may feel entitled to your own opinions of the world, some topics of discussion may be offensive to others and may be prohibited under the law. Enter the Amateur Auxiliary and FCC who monitor amateur frequencies for violations and locate/report perpetrators. Consequences that could arise from violations might include termination of FCC licensing, imposed penalties/fines and civil and/or legal actions. Additionally, most digital networks use publicly identifiable ID numbers assigned to licensed operators. Anyone can easily see and log exactly who they are listening to and, in some instances, even record offensive transmissions for the purpose of FCC complaint submission.

11. CONTACT PERMISSIONS - While not addressed specifically under FCC regulations, it is proper operating etiquette to acquire permission (in-advance) from other digital operators before initiating a peer-to-peer connection attempt using their network ID numbers, including any transmission of SMS, MMS or other forms of communication to those operators. Our FCC and network IDs are publicly accessible. However, that does not assume or grant an opt-in consent for unwanted and/or unsolicited contact. It's best to presume that amateur digital operators have opted-out of direct contact until you are given their prior consent to contact them forthwith. Federal and state legislation do provide legal protection from pervasive harassing or threatening contact as mandated by law.

12. RECORDING - Amateur radio frequency bands are deemed public-domain for the purpose of receiving (listening to) transmissions. A valid FCC amateur license is required to transmit on those bands. A number of devices are capable of recording such analog/digital transmissions and other related data during radio operation. The FCC finds legal the 'divulgence of transmisions by amateur radio or citizen band radio operators', so long as not for personal gain (see FCC guidance here). That being said, recording amateur band transmissions is allowable under FCC regulations. However, there are federal and state laws that set limitations on the purpose and manner of disseminating such recordings, publicly and/or privately. Please consult all legislation as is applicable to you before creating or sharing such recordings. In so far as amateur radio operations, it is proper etiquette to inform other operators of your intention to record their transmissions, prior to doing so, and for what purpose the recording would serve. Should any licensed operator object, it's best to cease and desist with any attempt or action of recording their transmissions. In the event that a recording would serve the FCC and/or law-enforcement to uphold the law, or serve to protect the public's safety (person or property), then record as necessary and contact the appropriate agencies for further guidance before any dissemination of such recordings.

14. LOGGING - It is not required to keep a logbook of amateur radio contacts in VHF/UHF analog or digital amateur bands. However, you may find keeping a logbook useful or entertaining. You could do so old-school style with a notebook or printed log sheets. Or, depending on your computer's operating system, you can find software and websites online to electronically enter and store your analog/digital contacts... yes, even logging DMR contacts should you wish. I keep a casual log of contacts with notes about the operator, like their radio equipment, what they do/did for work, what branch of military they served, etc. It's a nice personal touch when QSOing with other operators to recall something important to them. This also helps develop a personal connection with them as fellow hams.

15. HAVE FUN! - Operate your radio devices with fun in mind. We've covered several topics here and I am sure that I will continue to edit and add more as they arise. This list is surely not all-inclusive but it addresses some of the most important best practices for digital amateur radio. Feel free to contact me with anything overlooked or topics that you feel would be worth mentioning.

73,
Patrick, K3NYJ

Disclaimer: All content presented on this site are subjective and solely representative of personal ownership experience and individual understanding of said products and related subject matter described herein. Any and all representations, descriptions and commentaries posted herein are offered from opinion and should not be regarded as expert affidavit or testimony, or as a manufacturer's statement in any way. Please consult with product manufacturers and their approved sources for complete details, specifications and applicable warranties of all products described herein. All photos presented herein are property of this site's moderator and are not public domain.