Always thought those cheap coax strippers were a waste, but my buddy in Phoenix swore by his Klein model.

Borrowed it for a job yesterday and it cut my prep time in half, no joke. Anyone have a different brand they'd recommend over Klein?

A client's 'simple' data recovery turned into a ransomware nightmare

Last week, a regular customer in Springfield brought me a desktop that wouldn't boot. He said, 'Just get my photos back, I don't care about the rest.' The drive was encrypted with a .lockbit extension, a clear sign. I isolated it immediately on my offline bench. The timeline was scary; the ransom note said the countdown started three days prior when he clicked a fake invoice email. I explained we couldn't just 'recover' the data without potentially paying criminals, which I refuse to do. He hadn't had a backup since 2021. Now we're trying file carving tools on the encrypted drive, but it's a long shot. Has anyone else had a client bring in an already-infected system, and how do you handle that first conversation about the likely total loss?

Update: I thought a dedicated office was a waste of money.

Last week in Phoenix, I saw a friend's setup in a converted garage and realized my kitchen table work was costing me focus. He said, 'The rent for that extra room pays for itself in two good projects a month.' Anyone else find a separate space was the key to hitting their income goals?

Question about a cracked anvil face. I was working on a big leaf spring knife in my garage and my 70 pound anvil just split right down the middle on the third heat.

Had a customer in Toledo who refused to let me replace his brake pads

He said he saw a video online about filing them down to save cash, and he brought the worn pads into the shop to show me. I had to explain that the friction material was down to about 2mm and the metal backing plate was showing. Has anyone else had to talk a customer out of a really bad DIY fix they found on the internet?

My credit score hit 777 and I'm not sure if I should play the slots or just leave it alone

Tried a different mud pan for a week and the results were obvious

I've been using the same old 12 inch steel mud pan for years, figured it was fine. Last week I grabbed my partner's 14 inch plastic one by mistake on a big ceiling job in a new build over in Tacoma. The extra length and lighter weight made a huge difference. I could load more mud without it feeling heavy, and the longer edge helped me get smoother, longer passes with less stopping to reload. My arms weren't as tired by the end of the day, and I swear my finish coat went on faster. I'm honestly thinking of switching for good now. Has anyone else made a switch from steel to plastic pans and stuck with it?