Nail Care

I watch a lot of YouTube videos.  Too many.  And I read a lot of blogs.

One thing I've noticed in all this media saturation is the number of people with long, dirty fingernails.  It's a pet peeve but it bugs me.  No matter how interesting and valuable the information that's being presented, if the guy's fingernails are filthy (and it's usually a guy), I'm distracted.

I work outside quite a bit so mine aren't always in tip-top shape either.  But were I to make a video and post (or post pictures of same), I'd make sure my fingers look clean and presentable, the same for when I'm out in public -- toes included, especially if I'm wearing sandals.

Here are most but not all the implements I use.

Seki and Bassett (Trim) clippers: (front to back) curved toenail, curved fingernail, straight, straight toenail.  The Seki clippers are made in Japan and the Bassett was made in the USA in the 1970s but they have moved their manufacturing to China and the quality has not surprisingly suffered.  I received this Bassett clipper as a child on Christmas many years ago and it's still sharp and very effective.  The Seki clippers include a plastic cover for catching clippings, easily sliding off the clipper to be emptied.  It's a feature common on many clippers and it's one I really like.

This is a Fuller nail brush made in the USA.  Fuller brushes are some of the best in the world and this is without a doubt one of the best brushes I've ever owned.  I love this thing.

This is a grooming set made by Three Swords in Solingen, Germany.  It contains a number of useful nail implements including clippers, trimmers, a pick,  two tweezers, cuticle tool, etc.  It is in a handy genuine leather case.  In front of it is a file, good for smoothing out the edges of freshly-clipped nails so they won't catch on anything.

None of these items were expensive but they weren't the cheapest available.  There are many grooming products on the market, most of them cheaply produced for pennies and re-sold at very high profit margins, almost all of low quality.  I've tried to avoid those products because I want good results and I only want to buy these items once.