Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

johnwhiles.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

331–340 of 982 posts

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#331

Post by zuminator »

samstave wrote: post #235
gruez wrote: post #158

>Other examples of products that seem to exhibit a similar trend, where purported convenience leads to higher prices >Cooking equipment: essentially indestructible Cast Iron skillets transition into teflon pans. The newer pans perform worse, and must be replaced on a shockingly regular basis. They also seem to be poisonous. They have their uses. I wouldn't try frying eggs in a cast iron, for instance (technically you…

>>*Also, claiming that they "seem to be poisonous" without any qualifiers is a little misleading. To my knowledge they're only poisonous during manufacturing (ie. the precursor chemicals) and when they get too hot.* Watch this documentary, "The Devil We Know" (About the history and toxicity of teflon. tl;dw - its a cancer causing birth defect, testosterone/endocrine system atomic bmb and there isnt a single person al…

You seem to be conflating the effects of chemicals previously used in the manufacture of Teflon, such as PFOA which is indeed very dangerous and toxic, and has been banned in the US, with Teflon itself, which appears to be safe.

I mean, if Teflon is so toxic, and there isn't a single person alive today who doesn't have Teflon in their blood, then why aren't there tons of documented cases of Teflon poisoning?

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#332

Post by data-ottawa »

pard68 wrote: post #201
nrclark wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I wouldn't try frying eggs in a cast iron, for instance (technically you can, but it requires an absurd amount of oil). FWIW it's pretty easy to fry eggs in a cast iron. You do have to oil the pan, but I wouldn't call it absurd. Just a dollop of oil in the pan. And the end result has a crispy, yummy texture that's hard to achieve with Teflon. It just takes a little practice and an open mind.

Not only is it possible with a reasonable amount of oil in any cast iron pan, but with a very thin cast iron pan one can do it without oil even. Eggs start sticking with high heat and the thinner the metal the lower the heat needed to cook.

The quality and state of the cast iron pan makes a big difference.

If you have a good seasoning then less oil while cooking is needed. If you have a new pan with a rougher surface then using a steel spatula will smooth out the surface texture and improve performance (without making it too smooth where seasoning won't stick).

There's a lot of varying advice on cast iron, but the prevailing wisdom seems to be that if you keep using it then the pan will improve.

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#333

Post by gruez »

foolfoolz wrote: post #319
algoatecorn wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My wife and I got rid of our TV last year when we moved. It was a nice break, but we want at least one in the house, so we're currently shopping around for a nice 4K 70+ inch. I've come to realize the market is headed toward a TV without any ports. You'll plug it in and immediately prompted to link with wifi so you can log into your streaming services. Fuck that. I'm hell-bent on getting something with zero smart fun…

check out “commercial display” tvs. they always have ports and usually don’t come with as much software

AFAIK the problem with those is that they're overpriced and have inferior picture quality. I guess if you want to make a statement or something they're worth buying, but for now I still think your best choice is to buy a "smart tv" and don't connect it to wifi.

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#335

Post by vzaliva »

The author is overlooking the fact that good quality cartridge blade is superior to old-style double-edged one. It gives a closer shave and cause more skin irritation. Depending on your skin type it could be worth extra money. I still recall ocassional cuts from using double-edged blade.

https://gillette.com/en-us/shaving-tips/shaving-science/why-...

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#336

Post by icelancer »

hindsightbias wrote: post #275
gruez wrote: post #158

>Other examples of products that seem to exhibit a similar trend, where purported convenience leads to higher prices >Cooking equipment: essentially indestructible Cast Iron skillets transition into teflon pans. The newer pans perform worse, and must be replaced on a shockingly regular basis. They also seem to be poisonous. They have their uses. I wouldn't try frying eggs in a cast iron, for instance (technically you…

There is only one conspiracy theory I believe in, it’s /reddit/r/castiron is a troll site created to make people believe ‘seasoning’ is really a thing. After spending a few weeks trying, I’ve had multiple people tell me they got theirs ‘seasoned’ after three or four months. Don’t let yourself be sucked in.

Yeah, it's very largely BS. If you cook enough bacon and high-fat foods in it over time.... sure.

But people who say you can easily cook eggs in it or everything else "after its seasoned" are just not to be listened to. Use a nonstick.

EDIT: Or carbon steel I guess. Even then, meh. Remember that the vast majority of professional chefs use nonstick skillets specifically for eggs both at home and in their workplace.

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#337

Post by flaviut »

jl6 wrote: post #63
kstenerud wrote: post #49

Yes, modern razors are a scam; they have AMAZING marketing teams. You still can buy old-style razors and blades cheap from Amazon because there's still a healthy demand. As for the rest of the article: > Cooking equipment: essentially indestructible Cast Iron skillets transition into teflon pans. The newer pans perform worse, and must be replaced on a shockingly regular basis. They also seem to be poisonous. No, no,…

> not poisonous unless you're eating the flakes from your scratched up pans If you do happen to scratch the pan, surely the resulting flake is very likely to go into the food, and you’re then very likely to eat it?

OP is incorrect, eating flakes is perfectly safe. The whole point of Teflon is that the bonds are so strong that it will not react chemically with anything else, including your insides. Scratching it up is just you damaging your stuff, not a safety risk.

The safety problem with Teflon is when it is overheated. Don't heat a pan without anything in them, because then the Teflon will decompose into some really toxic chemicals. Good news is that water boils at 100C, an even the highest smoke-point oils decompose at 250C. Teflon only begins to deteriorate at 260C, and only full-on decomposes at 350C.

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#338

Post by notacoward »

I've been experimenting a bit with different razor brands recently. I've been using Schick Hydro for years, currently US$19 for a four-pack at CVS. I tried Dollar Shave Club at US$12 a pack but came away very unimpressed. Lots of pulling, and not great for smoothness either. Harry's at the same price seems like more of a direct alternative to the Hydro. I use one cartridge a week, so that's ~US$80 per year without even having to try anything significantly different or change technique as with an old-school razor.

The other part of the cost equation is gel/foam/soap. I stopped buying overpriced gel and foam quite a few years ago. Hair conditioner (with maybe a bit of shampoo or liquid soap to make it foamier) works pretty well for a tiny fraction of the price. Liquid hand soap or body wash works even better for slightly more. The same goat-milk soap I use for everything else (including hair) doesn't work quite as well when lathered by hand, but it's closer with the one-time purchase of a brush. While the direct cost isn't the greatest, the marginal cost is near zero since I wear the shower bars down to slivers at a sufficient rate to support shaving as well.

In short, it's pretty easy to save a couple of hundred bucks a year without really changing the experience. If you want to go further than that because you enjoy the challenge (or for any other reason) you certainly can and should, but the incremental savings at that point are a bit smaller.

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#339

Post by [deleted] »

stevesimmons wrote: post #153
maxerickson wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The razor blade doesn't really dull, it gets mineral deposits that make it rough. So water hardness can make a big difference in how long they last.

Does that mean soaking in say vinegar would revive them?

[deleted]

Re: Shaving is an example of how consumer products extract more money

#340

Post by hindsightbias »

travisporter wrote: post #282
caymanjim wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Modern mass-market cast iron is garbage. Lodge's marketing department has managed to convince people that their garbage pans are actually better, and that the texture holds on to seasoning, but it's all nonsense. It's vastly cheaper for them to produce pans by skipping the polishing step. You can still get good polished cast iron, but the pans cost hundreds of dollars. Next time an old relative dies, go raid their ki…

What’s a good brand? I am new to cast iron and have a lodge and am okay with it for breakfast stuff.

I polished a Griswold older than anyone on this site and the eggs still stuck.

Someone then claimed my pan was manganese deficient due to some war in Gabon pre-WWII. It will always be something with these people.

Post reply on HN