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Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Adam Cook.

If you love backpacking or just being outdoors, but always wanted to add something extra to the experience, then mountaineering is for you.  Mountaineering itself is a relatively simple sport; just make it up to the top of a chosen mountain.  The problem lies in the extreme range of situations you encounter as you pass through higher and higher altitudes, but it’s a welcome challenge for many that participate in the sport.  If you already know a bit about backpacking and being outdoors in general, it’s easy to transition to mountaineering and start bagging peaks in no time. There are just a few things you need to know.  Remember, a lot of this is dependent on how big the mountain is and how long you are going to be alone in the wilderness.  You would need far less food for an afternoon on Pikes than 40 days in Tibet climbing in the Himalayas.

1.  Terminology

Learning the mountaineering lingo is important when you start reading about climbing as well as to understand the rest of this article.  Mountains are often categorized by height.  In the US, a 14er is a mountain that is at least 14,000 feet.  The rest of the world goes by meters, so 4Kers to 8Kers are common.  A climb is also graded by ‘class,’ which is really determined by steepness and exposure.  A flat trail with no exposure to danger (i.e. a fatal fall) would be Class 1.  Class 2 and 3 are slightly steeper with some possibly challenging obstacles in the way.  Class 4 is mainly a hands-and-knees scramble, while Class 5 is technical climbing where both members are usually belaying one another.

2.  Basic Skills

Most 14ers in the US offer non-technical routes that can be climbed by any fit person.  Humboldt Peak in Colorado is my favorite Class 2/3 mountain due to the scenery and isolation.  Pikes and Longs are also classic lower class mountains, but they are often crowded during the summer months. But if you want to start seriously mountaineering, you are going to need to take up rock climbing.  Even large mountains like Everest are mainly class 2 and 3, but you want your technical skills to be rock solid (pun intended) when you reach the 20% of the climb that is technical.  You should be climbing 5.9’s at a local crag or rock gym with relative ease.

3.  Basic Gear

Protection and speed is the name of the game here.  I learned the hard way that a cheap tent is not going to hold up in a mountain storm with 80 mph winds and ice. Invest in a serious 4-season tent. This will be one of the most expensive things you buy, but without a tent, your trip is over.  You’re also going to want bivy gear and rain protection.  Bivy gear can be anything you need to set up a quick, temporary shelter.  Trash bags and a hiking pole work, but so does a 200 bivy sack from an online retailer.  Also remember to buy quality layering clothes. You’re only going to bring one set of clothes for an entire week in the mountains, so make sure it’s quality stuff! Here are some more specifics on what to bring:

One Day Lower Class Hike/Scramble-Up

• Day Pack: A small backpack.
  • Things to look for: We’re talking climbing here, not backpacking comfort.  The pack should be light and have no wrap-around belt or bulky padding.  It should be large enough to fit your camping stove (if you’re eating dehydrated meals), a rain jacket, and some para chord. If you’re only eating things like beef jerky and trail mix, you can skip the stove.
• Water Purification: On most mountains, there are opportunities for water on the way up.  But before gulping it down, you need to purify it.
  • Things to look for: In this kind of situation, you will want water purification tabs.  It doesn’t really make sense to boil water for a day hike, and it’s a ton of weight to carry if you know you don’t absolutely have to.  There are dual-packs of tablets that include iodine and an iodine remover that leaves the water clean and tasting pure.  If there are no water opportunities on the way up, you need to bring at least 4 Nalgene bottles worth of H2O.
• Rain Jacket: A lightweight jacket made of gore-tex or another waterproof, breathable material.  You need this EVEN if the weather is going to be sunny.  This jacket can be used to make a quick, makeshift shelter should the weather turn for the worse.  Bring para-chord or string along just for shelter or other random purposes.  It is very possible to get lost on a mountain, as silly as that sounds.  One day on Crestone Peak, two groups met at the top.  One group made it to the bottom and the other was never heard from again.
• Small First Aid Kit: An ace bandage and athletic tape is a very basic first aid kit.  You can use your iodine tabs to sterilize any wounds, so there’s no reason to bring the extra weight of sanitizing creams. You can also use the bandage and tape for a ton of other things, including make-shift gloves if there is a large crack on your route that you want to climb.
• Food: 2 meals would be sufficient, even one if you are going light or want to make breakfast or lunch non-cook only.  You need calories to perform at your best, and dehydrated meals are relatively inexpensive and super light.  I like to bring them just for the morale boost.  A cooked meal gives you ~30 minutes to sit, relax, and really take in the awesome scenery.  Keep in mind though, if you’re running behind on time and the weather looks like it’s turning, there may not be a lot of time to sit down and cook.  This is why I always bring a quick snack no matter what my plans are.
• Headlamp: You’re starting early, right?  Great!  So then a headlamp should be required since you’re starting before the sun comes up.  If it’s a short hike, possible if you camped half way up, still bring it.  If weather sets in and night falls, it is nearly impossible to navigate without a headlamp.  The headlamp should be able to fit around your helmet if you have one, and be adjustable to fit around your bare head.  Many climbers have been forced to stay on the mountain just because they were benighted without a headlamp.  It’s silly to try and justify not bringing an 8oz. headlamp.

Single Day Technical Climbs

This is mostly the same as above, as the great majority of a technical climb will still be hiking and scrambling.  But you need a few more things for a more advanced climb. Just to give you an idea, here’s some of the extra gear you would need for a technical 5th class pitch (a section of a route that is separated by areas suitable for belaying or resting).

• Helmet: This should be a certified climbing helmet that is made by a reputable brand.
  • Things to look for: The helmet should be adjustable.  During summer ascents it will go on your bare head but in the winter you will be wearing a cap or have your hood up.
• Dynamic Rope: This should be a bit longer than your longest pitch.  Most ropes are 60 to 70 meters.  If the pitches are very short (~75 feet), get a larger rope cut in 2 or order a shorter rope to use on short pitches.  I’ve had a 70m rope for a 50 foot pitch and it was really more of an inconvenience than anything.
  • Things to look for: It must be dynamic and must be a single rope.  Double ropes have their place but that’s neither here nor there.  It should also be a treated, waterproof rope.  Non-treated rope is good for sport climbing, but in the mountains there are too many opportunities for moisture to find its way to your rope and make for some heavy packing.
• Trad Gear: It’s best to take a class or at least read a few books on this subject.  A basic alpine rack consists of slings (nylon loops used to extend anchors if your path is zig-zaggy), plenty of locking and non-locking carabiners, cams, hexes, and nuts.  Those last 3 are all cramming devices that are inserted into cracks in the rock to serve as protective anchors.  This is your only lifeline, which is why I stress taking a class or getting some solid books and a little practice on the local crag before heading off on your own.

4.  How to Pack

Don’t be like me and take over 100 lbs of gear for your first week in the mountains.  You only need one extra set of boxers and 2 extra pairs of socks. You’re going to be wearing the same shirt and pants for your entire expedition.  Bring Gold Bond and baby wipes to take a makeshift ’shower.’  Put the Gold Bond into a plastic bag, same with the wipes.  You’re trying to pack everything you need for an entire week into 1 bag.  You obviously need food, but it should be the dehydrated kind and it should be taken apart and repacked.  Also bring a smaller bag for acclimatization hikes and summit pushes.  You don’t need 4 days of food for 5 hours away from camp. You want to be light and fast!

5.  Planning

There are tons of sources out there on mountain routes.  14ers.com is a good one for Colorado, and there are plenty of books available on larger mountains like the Matterhorn.  Be sure to read up before your trip.  Join a forum and ask questions.  Bring plenty of pictures with you, along with a compass and topo map of the area.  A mountain is very different in 2d than in 3d, so the more prepared you are, the less overwhelmed you will be.  Once you get there, allow at least one extra day should weather go sour or the route be more difficult than planned.  Always have a “plan B” in mind.  If the route is questionable, it’s good to have something else to do.  It’s hard to convince your ego that you can’t do something and to just turn around if it’s the sole reason you traveled so far.

5.  Acclimatization

If you’ve always wanted to know what it’s like to be on top of a massive mountain, shove ice down your pants, grab a straw, and run up and down the stairs breathing through it to get a rough idea.  Note: don’t actually do that.  Acclimatization is a serious deal though.  Mountain sickness and Accute Cerebral/Pulmonary Edema are very real and very dangerous. You want to avoid this at all costs as it can be very fatal.  To acclimate, you want to slowly climb higher and higher.  This isn’t a huge deal at lower altitudes or one day trips, but it becomes a pressing issue above 10,000 feet when you’re going to be setting up a camp.  Also remember to sleep low and climb high.  Being at altitude can cause insomnia which can hinder your motivation and fitness.  It’s best to climb high and spend the afternoon there, then return to your lower camp to sleep and get a good night’s rest.  This is why climbers have numerous camps on large mountains.  They climb high and build the advance camp, then return to the lower camp to sleep.

6. Bits of advice

Remember to place your tent where it will be out of the wind.  Find a cove of boulders, trees, or dig out a ledge in the snow.  Mountain winds can also change over the course of several days so be prepared to move camp should the need arise.  Always remember to hydrate.  At altitude you need twice as much water as you would back at home.  If you feel a headache coming on, take it easy.  If things get worse, be prepared to kick your ego to the side and come down the mountain.  Weather can change in an instant on a mountain.  Afternoon thunderstorms are extremely common and lightning is very dangerous at altitude (think: you’re the highest point around for miles!).  Start climbing while it’s dark in the morning and plan to be headed down the mountain by early afternoon. A daring mountaineer is a short lived mountaineer.  The mountain will always be there next year.

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Once again we return to our So You Want My Job series, in which we interview men who are employed in desirable jobs and ask them about the reality of their work and for advice on how men can live their dream.

Any man who has ever watched the Indiana Jones movies has had the thought of becoming an archaeologist cross his mind. Turns out the job is not quite like Indy’s adventures, but you do get to wear khaki pants and a hat, get really dirty, flee from snakes, and uncover relics of the past. Still pretty sweet.

1. Tell us a little about yourself (Where are you from? How old are you? Describe your job and how long you’ve been at it, ect).

My name is Dan, and I am 29. I have a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from Minnesota State University, Mankato and am nearly finished with a Masters in Geographic Information Systems from St. Cloud State University which is also in Minnesota. I work for the U.S. Forest Service as part of their TEAMS Heritage Resource Enterprise Unit. We provide trained archaeologists for National Forests that need survey work done on the property they manage. Our team is unique as we don’t belong to any one National Forest, but are “deployed” as the need arises. Kind of like the archaeological version of the Special Forces. This year I will be working on projects in Texas, South Dakota, California, and Idaho. I’ve been working for TEAMS for almost a year, and worked as an archaeological field technician for private environmental firms for 3 years prior to joining the Forest Service.

2. Why did you want to become an archaeologist? When did you know it was what you wanted to do?

Although I grew up with a love of history and of the outdoors, I didn’t realize I wanted to be an archaeologist until I was 23 and was nearly finished with a totally unrelated college degree. I can pinpoint my decision to be an archaeologist to a single day. I was traveling overseas and was wandering around Sophia, Bulgaria and happened upon a museum of archaeology, which contained a really impressive collection of ancient Greek and Roman archaeological artifacts. Staring at everything from ancient building columns, roman military battle gear, and even long buried sarcophaguses, I marveled at the thought of the experience of pulling something like that out of the ground and thought I would give it a try.

3. If a man wants to become an archaeologist, how should he best prepare?

Archaeology is one of those fields where you need a college degree, preferably in Anthropology or a closely related field such as History or Geography. Most have a degree in Anthropology. You can get work in the field with just a Bachelors degree, but if you want to lead crews and conduct your own research a Masters degree is needed. While you’re getting the degree, it’s also almost universally expected that you attend a “Field School,” usually a 4 to 6 week course that has you in the field for the first time learning how to dig in the dirt like a real archaeologist and becoming knowledgeable in the tools of the trade. In my case this involved living in a tent for six weeks working alongside 25 other students while we excavated a Native American site dating back to 1050 AD. At night we camped out under the stars, drank whiskey and listened to stories told by the college professor that was running the course. I was fortunate enough to have a really inspiring professor that knew how to get the best out of his students, and it was a really fantastic experience.

Besides the educational background, one should be comfortable working in the outdoors for long hours in all conditions. I’ve met archaeologists that seem to really dislike being outside, and I can not for the life of me figure out why they became archaeologists. Unless you are one of the few archaeologists that become college professors, you are going to spend a majority of your time outdoors, walking for miles on field surveys, digging for hours into the earth and generally getting completely filthy every day.

If you were the kid that always came home with dirt on you jeans and a bullfrog in your pocket, this might be the right job for you.

4. How do you go about getting hired for a dig? What sets a candidate apart from others when he’s vying for a job?

Most of the jobs for entry level archaeologists, also called “Shovel Bums,” involve working for Cultural Resource Management (CRM) firms on contracted survey projects, working for the company for an hourly wage as long as they have work for you to do, much like working for a building construction crew. You find out about these jobs largely through word of mouth, and through websites specifically intended for employers to post job details and their staffing needs. Then you send in your resume and hope for the best. Once you pay your dues as a Shovel Bum, you will hopefully be picked up as a Crew Chief, and start earning a 365 day a year salary with benefits. The fastest way to do this is to be recognized as reliable and hard working field technician, while at the same time working toward a specialization within the field of Archaeology, such as analysis of lithics (stone tools), pottery, or osteology (study of bones). My specific specialty is GIS, or Geographic Information Systems, which is used to map out archaeological sites and collect other data using GPS devices, computers and other digital devices. Basically, you have to make your self stand out, as just like in any other profession, there are plenty of people who are happy to just show up and punch the clock.

5. What is the best part of your job?

Reaching down into the dirt and picking up an arrowhead that hasn’t been held in 800 years or more. It gives an instant connection between you and the person that left it there so long ago.

6. What is the worst part of your job?

The time away from family due to the crazy amount of traveling I do. If I could do this job and still be at home every night for dinner, it would be the perfect career.

8. What’s the work/family/life balance like?

It’s tough. The term “Behind every great man is a great women” definitely applies here. Without my wife being as supportive as she is, there is no way I could have the career that I do. The most important thing is to leave work at work, and when I’m at home concentrate as much as I can on the relationship with my wife and family.

9. What is the biggest misconception people have about your job? Or in other words, how much does your life resemble that of Indiana Jones?

The biggest misconception is that I don’t dig up dinosaur bones. People confuse us with paleontologists all the time. Also, being an archaeologist is not nearly as exciting as the movies make it out to be. Archaeology is a process, and a very methodical one at that. Archaeology is a destructive science; once you remove soil and artifacts from the ground, they can never be returned exactly as they were found. We dig into the ground, removing 5-10 cm at a time so that the soil and the artifacts we remove can tell us the story of the past. It is our responsibility to convey that story to the rest of the world.

As for the Indiana Jones analogy, although there are dangers in the job, I have yet had to outrun a huge boulder or use my whip to disarm a Nazi. There are some similarities though. I am always traveling to new locales and working in areas of the country I’ve never experienced before. My hat is never far from my head, and khaki pants are part of the standard uniform. Snakes, especially rattlesnakes, are almost always an issue in many of the areas I work in. Other dangers include spiders, bears, and stumbling upon back country drug growing/manufacturing areas while on survey. I believe the real similarity between Indy and many of us mortal archaeologists is continuing to find the magic in human history and the cultures that came before us, and I doubt any archaeologist who spent part of theit youth in the 1980’s didn’t have Indy as a huge influence in deciding his career. How could you not?

No matter how hard they deny it, every archaeologist is a fan of Indiana Jones. Without him, our field wouldn’t seem nearly as romantic as it does. Whenever I travel to new projects I always bring at least one, if not all four Indy films with me, because it reminds me of the reasons I got into this job.

10. What’s a typical day like on a dig?

Managing an active dig site is like trying to keep multiple plates spinning at once. Everyone on the crew has a job to do, and everyone is doing it at the same time. Excavation crews are bringing down the “floor” of the excavation unit in 5-10cm levels, while some of the more artistically inclined are drawing and photographing the floors and walls to document the layers as they are removed and excavated further down. If artifacts are found, they are photographed in place, locations mapped in relation to the rest of the excavation unit, and removed. Technicians take data using GPS receivers to continue mapping out the site and its boundaries digitally. Elsewhere on the site, a geophysicist might be using ground penetrating radar to search for undiscovered features such as the remnants of old building foundations hidden under the ground.

I imagine watching a dig site from above is quite like standing over a busy ant hill.

11. What do archeologists do when they’re not on a dig?

The dig is only part of the scope of the project. After the field work, artifacts must be sorted, cleaned and cataloged. Data must be organized, analyzed and reports finalized. Grants need to be written and projects need to be bid on. Being in the field is the fun part. The rest of it keeps the business going.

12. What’s the coolest thing you’ve helped uncover?

A previously undiscovered Shoshone village in Utah. It all started with the discovery of one arrowhead and turned into the identification of a lost community.

13. Any other advice, tips, or anecdotes you’d like to share?

Even with all the education and training, if you become an archaeologist, you are probably never going to be rich beyond your wildest dreams. That’s just not how it works. Comfortable, probably. Filthy rich, probably not. The happiest and most successful archaeologists are the ones that genuinely love what they do. Take that into consideration before you invest all the time, tuition and weeks away from your family that is required for this field.

If you do pursue archaeology as a career, good luck. There are precious few jobs out there that allow you to use your brain as well as you brawn on a daily basis. For me a rainy day in the field beats a sunny day in the office any day.

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Last week, 3 college softball players in North Dakota drowned when the jeep in which they were riding became submerged in a pond merely 12 feet deep. While their deaths are still being investigated, authorities say that foul play was not a factor;  it was simply an unfortunate and tragic accident. What surprised me after reading the report is how frequently such accidents occur. According to some studies, over 10,000 water immersion auto accidents happen each year. Some people involved in these accidents survive; some do not. If you careened off the road and into a lake, would you know what to do?

While we all feel confident that we’d be able to escape, the reality of being inside a sinking car is far scarier than can be imagined.  The car fills up with water much faster than you’d think, you may be upside down, it’s dark, you’re disoriented, and panic quickly takes over. You have to know exactly what to do before splash down. So memorize the following tips.

How to Escape from a Sinking Car

Stay as calm as possible. When you have gallons of water filling your car, it’s hard not to panic. But when the difference between life and death comes down to a matter of minutes, having a clear head is essential to your survival. Panic is often the reason people drown; they lose the ability to think straight and don’t know what to do. The women in the North Dakota accident called their friends on their cellphones! But panic=death. Hyperventilating and wasting your energy on ineffective actions closes off the easiest options of escape, wastes precious oxygen and shortens the amount of time you’ll be able to hold your breath when making an escape. Just concentrate on what you need to do.

Keep your seatbelt on. Survival experts all agree that you should keep your seatbelt fastened until the very last second of escape. While this may seem counter-intuitive,  it actually makes a good deal of  sense. Water will be rushing into your car. If you’re not anchored to your seat, there’s a good chance you’ll be pushed away from the door or window that will serve as your escape hatch. Moreover, it’s easy to get disoriented when you’re floating around in the cabin of your car. This is especially true if your car flips upside down. Finally, being anchored to your car seat can give you more leverage to break the side window than you would have if you were floating in the water.

Do not wait for the pressure to equalize! When your car starts really sinking, the differential between the pressure outside the car and inside the car makes opening the door impossible. So people are commonly told to wait until the car fills completely with water in order for the pressure inside and outside of it to equalize, at which point you will supposedly be able to open the door. But two shows, Mythbusters and Top Gear have tested this theory and found it wanting. The inside/outside pressure will eventually equalize, but it won’t happen just as soon as the car fills up with water. It takes a bit longer, so long that you’ll likely drown before it happens. It is possible if you are patient, calm, and conserve your oxygen, but don’t count on it.

Watch Top Gear test out this theory:

Get out immediately through the door! Your best chance for survival is to open the door as soon as you hit the water. You should be able to get the door open up until the point that the water has reached your waist. After that, the pressure from the water outside the car will prevent you from opening the door. Of course, if you just accidentally drove or fell into a body of water, you’re going to be somewhat in shock and disoriented. You may not have the presence of mind to open the door before the pressure becomes too great. If so, you need a Plan B.

Roll down or break a window. If you can’t get the door open, the window is your best chance for escape. If the waterline has not risen past the windows, try rolling down the window first. Contrary to popular belief, Mythbusters found that automatic windows don’t immediately short circuit underwater. But as the car sinks, the pressure of the water will prevent you from rolling them down. This is even the case with manual windows. Even if you’ve got Popeye-sized biceps, you won’t be be able to overcome the pressure and roll down the windows. You’ll probably just break the crank.

So if rolling down the window doesn’t work, you’ll need to break the side window to escape. This is actually harder than you might think as the windows are made of strong, tempered glass.  While the windshield is easier to shatter, they’re designed to be unbreakable and are laminated with a plastic sheet that could keep you trapped in the car. If you’ve been doing your push-ups and pull-ups, you might be able to break the side window with your elbow or fist. Aim for the center of the window. But this is extremely difficult. The water significantly slows down the force of your movements. The Mythbusters were unable to break it with a kick from a steel-toed boot. Even if you are able to punch it through, your risk cutting up your hands on the broken glass. Remember the scene at the beginning of Karate Kid II when Cobra Kai sensei John Kreese punched through some car windows? Yeah, your hands could look like that.  Wrapping your hand in something can help reduce the chance of slicing them up.

Your best option is to have some sort of device in your car at all times that allows you to easily break your windows in case of an emergency. The LifeHammer or ResQMe keychain are two tools you might want to consider keeping in your car or on your keychain. They both have a hardened steel tip that makes breaking strongly tempered windows a breeze. The LifeHammer and ResQMe keychain also have a cutting device that will cut through a seat belt if you find that you can’t unbuckle yourself. Keep them in a place that will be immediately accessible in case of an accident; you don’t want to be rummaging through your glove compartment as your car fills with water.

Escape through the window. If the waterline is still below the car window, escaping from the window will be pretty easy. If the waterline is past the window, keep in mind that as soon as you break the window, you’ll be hit with a flood of water. But you should still be able to swim out. Watch Adam from Mythbusters “break” the window and make his escape:

Escape through the door. If escaping through the window is not an option, then your last resort is to wait for the pressure differential to equalize. Try to remain as calm as possible. Don’t waste your energy and oxygen fruitlessly trying to open the door before the car is completely filled. As soon as it is, wait a few seconds more and then give it a try.

Swim to safety. Push off the car and swim to the surface. If you’re disoriented and don’t know which way is up, look for bubbles and follow the direction they’re going.

What to Do with Passengers

First, don’t open the door to make your escape. While you might be able to get out, the car will quickly fill with water and sink rapidly, possibly trapping your passengers in a watery grave. Instead, roll down or break the window.

Escaping from a sinking car is hard enough by yourself. But what if you have passengers? The first goal is to keep them calm. Take control of the situation by explaining exactly what you’re about to do. When people see there’s a plan, they’ll usually calm down. Tell them to leave their seat belts on until you’re about to make the escape. Try to make your escape from a single front window.  They’re bigger than the rear passenger windows. Plus it makes it easier to ensure that everyone has left the car safely if they go through a single exit.

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While many of you have been following The Art of Manliness since we started back in 2008, some of you are fairly new readers. To help you new arrivals get the most out of AoM and navigate around our extensive archives and community section, we’ve compiled this beginner’s guide.

First a note: There’s a TON of stuff here. We don’t recommend that you go through it all in one sitting. It will probably take you days to go through everything on AoM. Bookmark this page and come back to it from time to time to do some more exploring.

Why The Art of Manliness?

We’re often asked why we started a site called The Art of Manliness. We explain that on our About page and also go into a little bit about the philosophy of the site. Check it out.

Also, make sure to check out our FAQ. It might answer some of the questions you may have about the site.

The Archives

We’ve written over 500 articles here at AoM about a variety of topics. I highly recommend surfing through our archives to see what we have to offer. There are lots of gems.

If you don’t want to waste your time going through every single post in our archives, each month we compile a list of the most popular posts of the month. Here are all the lists since Jan. 2008:

• Best of Art of Manliness: March 2008
• Best of Art of Manliness: April 2008
• Best of Art of Manliness: May 2008
• Best of Art of Manliness: June 2008
• Best of Art of Manliness: July 2008
• Best of Art of Manliness: August 2008
• Best of Art of Manliness: September 2008
• Best of Art of Manliness: October 2008
• Best of Art of Manliness: November 2008
• Best of Art of Manliness: February 2009
• Best of Art of Manliness: March 2009
• Best of Art of Manliness: May 2009
• Best of Art of Manliness: June 2009
• Best of Art of Manliness: July 2009
• Best of Art of Manliness: August 2009
• Best of Art of Manliness: September 2009
• Best of Art of Manliness: October 2009

Movie and Books Lists

Over the past two years we’ve compiled lists of books and movies that we think men would enjoy. Check them out!

• Movies for Men
• Books for Men

Popular Series on AoM

Every now and then we’ll have a series of articles that focus on a particular theme. Here are our three most popular series.

• Benjamin Franklin Virtue Series- In this series we analyzed one of Benjamin Franklin’s 13 virtues each week and offered suggestions on how men can live those virtues on a daily basis.
• 30 Days to a Better Man- In June 2009, we ran a series called “30 Days to a Better Man.” Each day we created a task for Art of Manliness readers to complete that would help them improve in different facets of their lives such as relationships, fitness and health, career, and personal finances. Check out the series online or download our popular 30 Days to a Better Man eBook.
• So You Want My Job- Ever wanted to know what’s it’s like to be a movie director? How about a farmer? In the So You Want My Job series we interview a different man each week who has the sort of job that lots of men covet. If you’re trying to figure out what you want to be when you “grow up,” check out this series. You might just get inspired.

Comment Policy

One of the great things about blogs is that it allows readers to comment on articles. It’s our goal to create a community of readers who are actively engaged with the site. We pride ourselves on the level of maturity and civility that the comments on AoM have. To ensure that the discussion stays civil and on point, we have established a comment policy. Please read it.

The Community

The blog isn’t the only part of the Art of Manliness site. If you’d like to connect with other men who are interested in rediscovering the lost art of manliness, make sure to join the Community. We have over 5,000 registered members from all over the world. In the Community, you can

• Take part in one of the hundreds of discussions going on
• Share manly pics
• Write a blog post about a manly skill
• Join groups with like minded men

The Book

In October 2009, we published a book based on The Art of Manliness website. It includes some of our most popular posts, which have been edited and improved, along with brand new material that has never appeared on the website (about 30% of the book is brand new). It also includes lots of great illustrations.

If you enjoy the Art of Manliness website, you can now have some of our best advice all in one place, in one comprehensive, nicely formatted, handsomely illustrated whole. The Art of Manliness book is also fantastic for the husband, brother, boyfriend, or son that you’ve been trying to turn on to the website. The book is perfect for both boys and men who want to better themselves.

Pick up a copy at your local bookstore, Amazon.com, or buy a signed copy directly from us.

eBooks

We’ve written a few eBooks that are available for download. Some are free and some cost money. Give them a look through.

• Guide to Being a Gentleman
• The Art of Manliness Man Cookbook
• 30 Days to a Better Man
• Man’s Guide to the Holidays

The Podcast

In September 2009, we started a weekly podcast at the Art of Manliness. In just two months, the podcast has attracted over 40,000 iTunes subscribers. In the AoM podcast, Brett interviews authors and experts about topics of interest to men. Every other week the podcast dedicates itself to the series called “Man Stories” in which Brett asks a different AoM reader what it means to be a man.

Check out the episodes from the beginning here.

Also, make sure to subscribe to the Art of Manliness Podcast via iTunes

Or through the subscription service of your choice.

YouTube Videos

We’ve also created a few how-to videos on manly skills. Give them a watch. They’re short, but you’ll definitely walk away learning something new.

• How to Fold a Pocket Square
• How to Carve a Turkey
• How to Sharpen a Pocket Knife
• How to Tie a Tie
• How to Tie Seven Basic Knots

Subscribe to our YouTube channel so you don’t miss out on our video updates. We plan on doing more videos in the future.

T-shirts

Show off your manly pride with one of our 6 Art of Manliness t-shirts designed by the gents at TankFarm Clothing.

Never Miss an Art of Manliness Post by Subscribing

Did you know that you can get The Art of Manliness articles delivered directly to your email inbox? Make the AoM experience easier for you by signing up for our email updates. Over 26,000 people get AoM articles emailed to them. Simply sign-up here. And just to let you know, we hate spam just as much as you do. We’ll never give out your email address to third-parties. You can also easily unsubscribe yourself any time you’d like.

If email updates aren’t your thing, we also provide RSS subscription. Click here to add Art of Manliness to your feed reader.

As a bonus to our subscribers, they get a FREE ebook called “The Guide to Being a Gentleman.” It’s crammed with useful tips that will turn any man into a smooth and debonair gentleman.

Connect with Art of Manliness on Facebook and Twiter

If you use Facebook, join the Art of Manliness Page. Every day we post links to interesting stuff from around the web that would be of interest to AoM readers. We also occasionally have special contests for Facebook Fans.

The same goes with Twitter. Follow us on Twitter to get the latest AoM updates and links to interesting stuff around the web. We’ve also included a twitter list of people and sites that we recommend you follow. Follow the AoM Recommends list to get the best in men’s interest material.

• Best of Art of Manliness, March 2008
• The Best of Art of Manliness: August 2009
• The Best of Art of Manliness: March 2009
• The Best of Art of Manliness: May 2008
• The Best of Art of Manliness: June 2009

Welcome back to another edition of the Art of Manliness podcast! In this episode we return to our series called “Man Stories” where we interview a different gentleman every other week and ask him what it means to be a man. This week our guest is Robert Disque from Ogden, UT. Thanks, Robert!

Listen to the Podcast!

Other ways to listen to the Art of Manliness Podcast:

Listen to this episode on a separate page
Subscribe via iTunes (Join over podcast 43,000 subscribers!)
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• The Art of Manliness Podcast Episode #6: Man Stories With Zeke Smith
• Art of Manliness Podcast Episode #4: Man Stories with Dan Kern
• The Art of Manliness Podcast Episode #5: The Cultural History of the Beard with Allan Peterkin
• The Art of Manliness Podcast Episode #7: Rules for My Unborn Son with Walker Lamond
• The Art of Manliness Podcast Episode #2: Man Stories with Dan Lauth

Last week Daniel started an interesting discussion in the AoM Community on what progress men have made in the last 50 years. He was inspired to pose this question by my podcast interview with Walker Lamond, and more specifically, Walker’s comments about how we threw the baby out with the bathwater as it concerns having rules that govern a man’s life.
The Art of Manliness clearly looks to the past for inspiration. But we’re not naive enough to believe that the past was an unmitigated good. So both the podcast and the discussion got me thinking about this question: When it comes to manliness today, what parts of the tradition of manliness should we seek to keep and preserve and what parts should we be happy to assign to the dustbin of history? In other words, what’s the baby and what’s the bathwater? Here’s my humble opinion.

The Bathwater

The oppression of women. For most of human history being a man meant being the superior half of the population. Men did honor women, but they also put them on a pedestal, considering them too good or pure to be sullied by the pursuits of men. This barred women from sports, academia, careers, the military, politics and so on.

Some men feel nostalgic for a simpler time where men and women had clearer roles, and think that putting women back in “their place” will return society to the way it was in the “good old days.” Personally, I think the liberation of women has been largely a good thing for both men and women. I’m glad that I could marry a woman who’s my intellectual equal and who has a mind of her own- a woman who’s not dependent on me for her whole identity. I’m glad women can follow their passions and be themselves. Has the feminist movement had some negative effects on women? Sure. But a  man should prize freedom, not just for himself, but for everyone. Women folk included.

A man should suppress his emotions. Decades ago the standard for manliness was the motion picture cowboy. Taciturn and reserved, this man was stoic in both good times and bad. Crying was for sissies. Such reticence may have worked well in the Old West, but as husbands and fathers, such an approach left wives and children emotionally wanting. Many a Baby Boomer man grew up in a home where hearing their dad say “I love you” was a bi-annual occurrence. And where a wife would seek comfort or understanding from her husband, only to be met with stony silence. Men today are free to cry when it’s appropriate, openly show love to their family and friends, and acknowledge their feelings and passions. Some men have taken this emotional openness too far, and let their emotions completely control them instead of the other way around. But when a man can acknowledge and express his emotions in a mature fashion, while keeping them under control, this is an incredibly healthy thing.

There’s only one way to be a man. While it’s easy to be nostalgic for the days of gray flannel suits, 3 martini lunches, and cars with fins, it was also a time of rigid conformity. Being a successful man was narrowly defined-you had “made it” if you had a secure corporate job, a pretty wife who stayed home with your 3 kids, and a split-level house in the suburbs. Men who had a different vision of how to lead a satisfying life either suppressed these dreams or embraced a different path and suffered the snub of society.

While we often think of the feminist movement in terms of giving women a greater number of options, it helped liberate men from the idea that there was only one way to be a man, too. These days a man should still be a provider, but now he can provide by working and bringing in money or by being a stay-at-home dad and raising his kids. A man in an apron cooking in the kitchen is no longer the set-up of a sitcom joke but a legitimate interest. If a man wants to be a nurse, or an elementary school teacher, or an artist, then he’s now more likely to be greeted with a pat on the back than a snicker.

Dads don’t need to be too hands on in the child rearing department. Even the men in my father’s generation weren’t expected to change diapers. Men used to be able to get away with coming home, patting the kids on the head, and then settling in front of the television with a beer. Today men are expected to be just as hands on with the kids as moms. Attending their kids’ sports games, going on father/son outings and daddy/daughter dates, burping and feeding the baby, etc.

While this has certainly added more to a man’s plate, and made it harder to enjoy things that grandpa did, like membership in a fraternal lodge, most dads find it rewarding to play a bigger role in their kids’ lives, and children have benefited from seeing more of dad.

Homophobia. As we wrote about in our article on the history of male friendship, men used to enjoy much closer bonds with each other than they do today. In the 19^th century, men felt completely free show their buddies physical affection and tell their friends just how much they meant to them without any fear of being called a “fag.” It was only in the first half of the 20^th century, when homosexuality started being analyzed, written about, and denounced, that men started to feel self-conscious about whether or not their actions might be construed as being “gay.” Some modern men still can’t get emotionally or physically close to other men because they don’t want others to think they’re a “homo.”

No matter your stance on the morality of homosexuality, men today should feel secure enough in their sexuality not to care if they come off as “gay” to others.

The Baby

Leadership. In reading Tom Brokaw’s book, The Greatest Generation, I was struck by the way the men of the past embraced, nay, relished leadership roles. They prized the chance to take on responsibility and guide something towards a lofty goal. Today young men hide from leadership positions, hoping no one will notice them so they can just hang out in the background without any work to do.

From politics, to business, to family, the world needs men of leadership, men who are willing to take on the responsibility of making things right.

Initiative and ambition. Today, women outnumber men at colleges, universities, graduate schools, and some law and medical schools as well. Women also get better grades and are more likely to graduate than men. The feminist movement lit a fire under women’s bums, and it seems a lot of men became content to let them surge ahead while they pulled up a chair and had a beer. But men have always thrived on competition, on the desire to be the alpha male, on the will to be their very best. Not enough has been expected of men in our modern age, and it’s become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Men and women are different. So above we said that men and women are equal. But that doesn’t mean men and women are exactly the same. I’m not a “men are from Mars, women are from Venus” guy; I’d say we’re more alike than we are different. But we’re definitely different, and I think we should celebrate that fact instead of pretending like it isn’t so.

It seems to me that young people today are awakening from the Eunuch Era and embracing the fact that they like to feel like men and women. And that they want there to be some differences in how we treat and interact with each other.

Chivalry and courtship. Our grandfathers held women in such high esteem that they deemed it worthwhile to put in some effort to woo them and treat them with class. They didn’t just hang out with them, they asked them on real dates. Physical intimacy was a sign of commitment in a relationship, not a recreational activity born out of boredom.

Some people think chivalry is sexist; but they’re missing the point. It’s a code of behavior to remind us that men and women are different, which is why it gives both sexes a good feeling.  It’s simply a sign of mutual respect-men and women both do symbolic things for each other to show their affection. Some of the things that men do happen to have been codified into a set of more specific rules.

Manners and rules. Somewhere along the way, being virtuous and well-mannered became associated with being sissy, so that the cultured, polite man began to be seen as effeminate, while the uncouth, disheveled slob became the symbol of the “man’s man.” But the men of yesteryear understood that respect for others was one of the fundamental principles of manliness. And that manners were not baseless outward forms, but important ways to communicate that respect. Instead of stifling us, rules can be liberating. In Walker Lamond’s book, Rules for My Unborn Son, he said:

“Somewhere along the way, rules got a bad name. People wanted freedom. Authority was questioned, rules were broken, dress codes banished! Rules were seen as antiquated obstacles to individualism and progress. Barbers were ignored, ties packed away. And the game of life suddenly got a bit sloppier, more uncertain, and even a bit less fun. My father….understood that a man of strong character, who took pride his appearance and behavior, was given the most liberty to have fun. And so he had rules.”

And one of the rules that men lived by was:

Dressing and grooming well. It seems like every time we post an article on dressing or grooming on the site, we get an angry complaint from a reader who wants to know what haircuts or suits have to do with manliness. These men have forgotten something that their grandfathers knew very well.

The core of manliness will always be your character, your internal values. But those internal values on the inside should correlate with how you present yourself on the outside. If you are a man who is powerful, organized, disciplined, and confident, then that should be projected in your appearance. Your inside and outside are not two separate and unrelated things; there should be a clear correlation between the two.

It’s all fine and dandy to say that in theory a man should wear whatever he likes and if he wants to walk around in sweatpants and a t-shirt  then that f-you attitude really epitomizes manliness. But that’s a completely modern idea of manliness, a clear marker of the disappearance of our civility. For centuries men understood that a person’s clothes show respect for others and respect for an occasion. Yes, you can “be your own man” and show up to a wedding in jeans, but in choosing to detract from instead add to the ambiance, you show a true disrespect for the solemnity of the occasion.

The 9 manly virtues. How well a man lived the manly virtues was the ultimate test of manliness for our grandfathers. These were the values a true man strove to build his life around. Some of them we have written about already; the others we will cover in the months and years to come. They are the timeless benchmarks of manliness and no matter how much the world changes, they should be fervently embraced by each generation of men and taught to the next generation of men.

• Loyalty
• Industry
• Resiliency
• Resolution
• Personal Responsibility
• Self-Reliance
• Courage
• Integrity
• Sacrifice

Alright, that’s what I think, but it’s just one man’s opinion. What progress do you think men have made in the past 100 years? What trappings of manliness should we leave in the dustbin of history? What values of the past should we preserve? Share your thoughts in the comments. And please, remember to show the class, civility, and intelligent discussion that we’re accustomed to here on AoM.

• It’s Time For a “Menaissance”
• 30 Days to a Better Man Day 1: Define Your Core Values
• 30 Days to a Better Man Day 18: Find Your N.U.T.s
• The Art Of Manliness Weekly Roundup: There Will Be Blood Edition
• Introducing The Art of Manliness Discussion Forum

Energetic  Men

We love upright, energetic men. Pull them this way, and then that way, and the other, and they only bend, but never break. Trip them down, and in a trice they are on their feet. Bury them in the mud, and in an hour they will be out and bright. They are not ever yawning away existence, or walking about the world as if they had come into it with only half their soul; you cannot keep them down; you cannot destroy them. But for these the world would soon degenerate. They are the salt of the earth. Who but they start any noble project? They build our cities and rear our manufactories; they whiten the ocean with their sails, and they blacken the heavens with the smoke of their steam-vessels and furnace fires; they draw treasures from the mine; they plow the earth. Blessings on them! Look to them, young men, and take courage; imitate their example; catch the spirit of their energy and enterprise, and you will deserve, and no doubt command, success.

From Readings for Young Men, Merchants, and Men of Business, 1866

• Manvotional: Difficulties
• A Pipe Smoking Primer
• Manvotional: Albert Jeremiah Beveridge’s The Young Man and the World
• The Art of Manliness Weekly Roundup: Revisiting Strong Lifts Edition
• Manvotional: The American Boy by Theodore Roosevelt

The Art of Manliness Movember Team

The first week of Movember has come and gone. How are those mustaches coming along? The AoM Team has raised $2,466.50. Here are the top 5 team members:

Michael Miller    $ 580.00
Paul Fournier    $ 300.00
Adam Bradley    $ 200.00
Chuck Balog    $ 295.00
Ryan Gorman    $ 195.00

Our goal is to raise $10,000 by the end of the month. Please help us reach our goal by donating to the Art of Manliness Movember Team.

Support the Art of Manliness Movember Team by Buying a Copy of the Man’s Guide to the Holidays Ebook

If you’re not growing a stache, but you want to donate to the Art of Manliness Movember team, here’s an easy and fun way to help out. Starting today, we’ll donate 50% of the purchase price of every Man’s Guide to the Holidays ebook that we sell to the Art of Manliness Movember team. Click here to buy an ebook right now; you’ll get tons of manly holiday tips and you’ll help raise money for men’s health issues like prostate and testicular cancer and male depression.

Picks from the AoM Archives

The Uncle Buzz Workout: How to Get in Shape Without the Gym

Your Personal Appearance: The Importance of Being a Sharp Dressed Man

Teaching My Son to Be a Man

Around the Community This Week

Denis wants to know what you do to relieve stress when your plate is enormously full.

Killkiddo wants to hear your desert island list. You get one movie, book, album, drink, and weapon. And a volleyball, of course.

B.J. is feeling really burned out at work. Got any advice for him?

Mark started a great discussion on how to change society’s perception of men. Lots of insightful comments.

In the John Wayne Appreciation Club, Yankee Cowboy Bob shared stories of when the Duke took some bad falls while filming his movies but kept on trucking.

Clark started a discussion on how a man should wear a scarf.

Nicholas started a discussion on ways to get out of the doghouse.

Brad posed the interesting question: “How far will humans advance?” Have we hit our evolutionary peak?

Paul started a discussion on morality and deviance-are people born good or born evil?

James! wrote a great blog post about how he scared kids on Halloween.

David wrote a blog post about what it’s like in his new role as stay-at-home dad.

Herb wants to know what you want for Christmas.

Links from Around the Web

Galco’s Soda Pop Stop. If you love good soda, you’ll love this video about Galco’s Soda Pop Stop. Here’s a man who’s passionate about real soda and runs an awesome store with hundreds of interesting and unique brands and flavors. Banana soda? Cucumber soda? Awesome. (Hat tip: Andrew Barbour)

The Gentlemen’s Ten (@The Gentlemen’s Standard) In this excellent article, Glen Antoine Palmer lists the ten things he never saw his dad do, but which he is determined he’ll let his children see him do.

The Black Tie Guide. Every man is at his most dapper when he’s dressed up for a black tie affair. But do you know how to do it right? This website is the ultimate resource on everything black tie, from its history to modern and vintage styles. (Hat tip: Stephen Arksey)

Revising and Reworking a Failed Financial Plan (@ The Simple Dollar) While this post is geared towards financial plans and goals, the ideas in it are applicable to any facet of your life. When things aren’t working out for you, instead of doing more the same, take a step back and see if your approach is completely wrong.

Terry Tate: Office Linebacker This is an oldie, but a goodie. Every office needs an office linebacker. Productivity would shoot through the roof!

Always Say Your Name (@ Social Primer) A simple reminder to introduce yourself when you meet new people. Also has great advice on what to say and not say when you remember a face, but not the name.

Is Barefoot Running Really Better for You? (@ Nerd Fitness) Barefoot running seems to be all the rage right now, but is it really an improvement over running with shoes? Nerd Fitness investigates.

Fathers Gain Respect from Experts (and Mothers) (@ NY Times) It seems for the past century, dads have been portrayed and seen as inept parents. See Homer Simpson, Al Bundy, The King of Queens Guy. But parenting experts are finally giving dads their due. Experts are starting to appreciate the different parenting style dads bring to the picture. It seems fathers use discipline and play to encourage risk-taking and problem solving, both important skills in the development of a child.

Create the Perfect Mustache (@ GQ UK) A fun article for you gents growing your mo’s for Movember.

Cigarbox Nation Who would have thought there’s an entire community dedicated to the cigarbox guitar? AoM reader Shane Speal introduced me to the world of cigarbox guitars and I have to say I’m smitten with it. Definitely want to make one for myself. If you’re looking for a cheap and unique alternative to the classic guitar, check out this site.

• Weekly Link Round-Up: October 31, 2009
• Best of Art of Manliness: October 2009
• The Art of Manliness Movember Contest 2009
• The Weekly Round-Up
• Weekly Link Round: Week 3 of 30 Days to a Better Man

Image from Millie Motts

Why should a man care about dry cleaning?

1. When your expensive clothing is damaged or lost, what can you do? I’m sure many of you reading this have been burned when it comes to having a garment come back missing buttons, torn, or in the worst case scenario-doesn’t come back at all.  You may have purchased your suit for $2,000, but if it vanishes you’ll be lucky to see 1/10^th of that.  The key to preventing a loss is up-front preparation – which we’ll discuss below.
2. Dry cleaning your clothing unnecessarily shortens the usable life of your garments. I’ve met men who dry clean their clothing once a week – others twice a year.  When should you dry clean and what are the effects of the dry cleaning solvent on your suit’s wool fibers?  We’ll get into the details here.
3. You should understand what you are spending your money on. What’s the difference between the dry cleaner next to your house that charges 99 cents per shirt vs. the one near your office that charges triple that?  Is the more expensive one worth the money?  We’ll discuss ways to measure the quality of a dry cleaner and choose the best one for your needs.

What is dry cleaning?

Dry cleaning is a cleansing process that uses a solvent called perchlorethylene or DF2000 to clean clothing.  The perc (as it’s called in the industry) is run through the garment and then extracted along with dislodged oils, food, dust, and other unwanted dirt particles.  Since soap & water are not used in the process, it’s called “dry” cleaning.

Make sure your garments are properly tagged - this is where most problems start!

The dry cleaning process starts when you drop your clothing off; first it’s tagged and then sorted by whether it needs to be dry cleaned, laundered, pressed, or altered.  At this point the clothing is often moved to another location; in fact, it’s not uncommon for all the dry cleaners in an area to use the same contractor or be owned by a few companies.  This is why many cannot offer same day service or when “they” lose a garment you’re out of luck because the garment is lost in a much larger system than just the facility you dropped it off at.  Also, despite two cleaners charging different prices for the same service, if they use the same master cleaning facility, you are receiving no added benefit despite paying more.  I always look to use cleaners who do their work in house – I like knowing my garments are kept right where I dropped them off and handled by the person I gave them to.

Back to the process – after the drop-off stains are pre-treated (note – it’s very important you point out stains and label what the stain is so that it is treated properly) and the clothing is loaded into large machines where they sit in baskets and rotate in perchlorethylene – the perc is then drained using centrifugal force (shirts and other cotton garments are more often simply laundered with water and soap – it’s less expensive and does the job without damaging the fabric).  A good cleaning facility will then inspect clothing for any remaining soiled spots and post-treat if necessary.  Next the clothing is lightly steamed, pressed, and ironed where applicable.  Finally, garments are sorted out, shipped if necessary, and then stored for pick-up.

Always ask: Does your suit or shirt really need to be dry cleaned?

Most of us dry clean our delicate clothing way too much; more often than not simply brushing your wool sports jacket and hanging it in a well ventilated area will eliminate odors caused by light smoke or food.  If you spill food or drink on the garment, simply spot clean it as necessary by gently blotting the cotton or wool fabric with clean water.   Stains that require quick attention such as mustard or red wine, especially on light colored or silk fabrics, should be taken to the cleaners the next morning.  Immediate action after the spill should be to change the garment if possible, slip it off in the case of a tie, or carry on as if it doesn’t bother you.  Avoid home remedies such as club soda and salt and never rub a stain or put water on a fabric that can’t be washed in water (ties especially) – you’re just as likely to damage the fabric, especially if it’s fragile.

How often should a person dry clean their wool clothing?

There is no right answer here; an architect who wears a sports jacket to the job site in Orlando is going to soil his jacket much faster than a computer engineer wearing the same jacket in the Bay Area.  My guidance here is when brushing, spot cleaning, and airing out no longer do the trick….take the wool garment into a quality cleaner.  Dry clean when you must, not on a set schedule that will strip and weaken the wool fibers and damage their ability to crimp, thus unnecessarily aging the garment.

The specialized machinery that cleans, steams, and presses your clothing.

How should a man select a dry cleaner?

Selecting a dry cleaner is very similar to selecting a tailor – click here for my seven rules on that process.  In addition to the 7 tips on how to select a tailor, use the five rules below to significantly reduce the likelihood of disappointment at the dry cleaners.

1. What is their lost garment/damage to clothing policy? Do they replace or give you depreciated value as listed in the International Fabricare Institute’s Fair Claims Guide?  What this means is that a three year old custom suit bought for 2K can be argued by a cleaner to only be worth 200 dollars.  So was saving that $5 worth it?  Always choose a cleaner with a great replacement policy.
2. Are they clear on their pricing? Do they try the old “bait and switch” trick, and if so, what does this say about the integrity of the cleaner?  Make sure to ask how much you’ll be charged upon picking up your item – the lowest price guarantee that brought you into the store may only apply to one item, and even the listed prices may just be starting prices not including extra costs applied to specialty garments.
3. How long have they been in business under their current name? Be wary of a cleaner that has changed ownership and names every few years.  In the case you do have an issue with a cleaner, take them to court, and win, collecting on a judgment is notoriously difficult because unless they voluntarily pay up, you need to force a withdrawal.  Dry cleaning businesses can often maintain multiple bank accounts under various names and you may end up filing with a court a half dozen times for a sum that quickly becomes not worth the effort.
4. What level of training do they have? When you hand the person behind the counter a silk shirt and ask for it to be laundered, you want someone behind the counter to  suggest that the shirt be carefully dry cleaned instead, since a harsh washing method like laundering would destroy the shirt.  Don’t be afraid to ask about trainings and “test” their knowledge of the cleaning process.
5. Are they environmentally friendly? Repeated exposure to large amounts of perc can cause cancer in humans. I am very pleased to see professionals in the industry such as Jerry Pozniak moving to a chemical free cleaning process that involves CO2.  In addition to being friendly to the environment, it is a superior cleaner to petrochemicals.

How to protect yourself in case of lost or damaged clothing

Do your homework. Do a Google search and locate any online reviews – what are others saying about how the dry cleaner reacted when something went wrong?  Now realize a customer’s view is only one side of the story and an upset customer is more likely to report a problem than a satisfied one is to give praise – so don’t let a single review scare you off.  But don’t ignore it either.  Give them a call and ask a few questions – are they friendly and competent or rude and unhelpful?  Are they on America’s Best Cleaners list?

Maintain your records. Ensure that when you drop off your clothing you receive a detailed receipt.  It should have a legible description of what you dropped off, when it was dropped off, who it was left with, and what you asked to have done.  For most shops this isn’t standard, and may be met with a frown, especially at rush hour.  But without it it’s your word vs. theirs if something goes wrong.  Also, you should have photographs or video of all your valuable clothing – the great part here is that this can also be used for your home insurance records as well.

Foster a relationship of trust. The best way to protect yourself is to create a long term relationship with a merchant that builds trust between both parties.  The men and women in the dry cleaning industry are like anyone else, and will often bend over backwards for a customer they like.  You have to understand the margins in this industry are paper thin, and many of these companies would go out of business if it wasn’t for family members pitching in.  However, they often do realize a long-term relationship isn’t about a single sale and are very interested in building loyalty and repeat business.  So strike up a conversation, tip if the service warrants, learn their names and ask about their family – because when you lose that receipt, and they lose the garment, more often than not an agreeable settlement will be reached.

A big thank you to Martin and Tanya Martin of Martin’s 1 hour cleaners in Shawano, WI for the images.  I’d also like to point out one of our commentors improved upon this write-up with her own dry cleaning article at Geek in Heels – it’s great so check it out!

Written by
Antonio Centeno
President, A Tailored Suit
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“His type is as normally average as the hot dog and pop at Coney Island. He is good looking without being handsome, quiet without being a bore, ambitious without taking either himself or his job too seriously and unassuming without being dull. Stewart’s growing appeal has sometimes been difficult to peg. He’s no Gable and certainly has none of the qualities of a Valentino. A sixteen-year-old fan seems to have hit it when she wrote to him, ‘I like you because you’re like the boy next door.”-1938 MGM biography of James Stewart

James “Jimmy” Stewart was an unlikely candidate for silver screen fame. Lacking the suave handsomeness and virility of a Cary Grant, the tough masculinity of a John Wayne, and the dark grit of a Humphrey Bogart, he was unlike anything else to come out of Hollywood at the time. Beanpole thin, with a famously slow drawl and awkward mannerisms, studios initially couldn’t imagine him as a leading man. Everyone could sense that Stewart was enormously talented, but few had a clue on how to use him. It would take directors like Frank Capra and Alfred Hitchcock to recognize his strengths-openness, emotional complexity, intelligence, and authenticity-and coax out some of cinema’s most unforgettable performances.

If Stewart broke the mold of the typical leading man, his behavior off the set was equally antithetical to the rest of Hollywood. Never one to be flashy, married only once, courteous to everyone he met, disciplined and professional, his life provided little grist for the town’s gossip columns. There were no shortage of people who agreed with President Truman when he said, “If Bess and I had a son, we’d want him to be just like Jimmy Stewart.”

While often remembered for his wholesome turns in movies like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Stewart was an actor of tremendous emotional range, equally adept at delving into the dark corners of the human condition. Over the course of his brilliant and wide-ranging 55 year career, Stewart appeared in 80 films, several of which have become true American classics.

In following his own course on screen and in life, Stewart left behind many lessons in manliness. Here are just a few.

Forge Your Own Path and Follow Your Passion

“My earliest memories are of hardware smells. The dry aroma of coiled rope. The sweet smell of linseed oil and baseball gloves. The acid tang of open nail kegs. When I open my nose, they all come back to me.” -Jimmy Stewart

James Stewart did not come from a family with connections to Hollywood. Raised in Indiana, Pennsylvania, his father was the proud owner of the town’s hardware store. His father worked tirelessly to make the store a success, and believed that one day his son Jimmy would take over the business that had been in the family for three generations. Starting at age 10, he expected young Jimmy to come to the store after school to help out and learn the ropes.

Alexander Stewart was an Ivy League educated man who had served in both the Spanish-American War and World War I and presided over his family with manly bearing. Stewart idolized his father and wanted to fulfill his expectations and make him proud. Thus, though Jimmy wished to be a pilot and attend the Naval Academy, he acquiesced to his father’s desire that he follow in his footsteps and attend Princeton.

Upon graduation, Stewart planned to continue his education by getting a masters degree in architecture. He would then be expected to come home to Indiana, take over the hardware store, and perhaps expand into the home building business.

But after matriculating from Princeton, Stewart joined an acting company for what started as a summer stint. When Stewart made the decision to keep on acting instead of returning to school in the fall, his father was not at all pleased with the change in plans. Remembered Stewart:

“Dad was upset. My father didn’t like it at all-till the day he died he didn’t like it…he kept shaking his head, saying, ‘No Stewart has ever gone into show business!’”

Indeed, the elder Stewart never completely warmed up to the idea of his son being an actor. Even after the huge success of Jimmy’s first breakout film, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Alexander called him and told him to quit the movie nonsense and come back home to get married, start a family, and help run the store. It was a plea Jimmy would hear for pretty much the rest of his life.

But Stewart didn’t go all Dead Poets Society and kill himself over this rift; he respected his father but he was his own man with his own dreams and his own life to lead. Although he was tempted to return to the quiet life of Pennsylvania throughout his whole life, his passion for acting kept him making movies into his old age.

Be Dignified with the Ladies

While we often think of the stars of yesteryear as more upright than the current crop of tabloid fodder, the Hollywood of the past was much like it is today; studios just worked harder to cover up their actors’ misbehavior and the media kept a respectful distance. While Jimmy Stewart was assuredly no saint, next to fellow actors who juggled multiple women at a time, had affairs with married women while they were single and liaisons with single women when they were married, Stewart was considered downright prudish.

Stewart had relationships with some of the most beautiful and alluring women of the time-Ginger Rogers, Olivia de Havilland, Dinah Shore, and Marlene Dietrich to name a few. But he preferred to keep his relationships out of the public eye and was notoriously circumspect about the women in his life when probed by reporters.

While other stars burned through multiple marriages (Clark Gable and Cary Grant both married 5 times), Stewart held out to find the right woman to settle down with. She was hard to find in Hollywood; women threw themselves at Stewart in hopes of hitching their star to his, but he found these brash, sexually aggressive women off-putting and quickly tired of the vapid ladies he met in Tinseltown. Seeing many of the women he knew cheat on their husbands, he became extremely cautious about tying the knot. As his fortieth birthday approached, he began to despair of being a bachelor forever.

But then he met Gloria Hatrick. Athletic, smart, and funny, she was an elegant and beautiful woman who shared his love of fishing, golfing, and sailing. Stewart said:

“I could tell right off that she was a thoroughbred. For me it had been love at first sight. She was the kind of a girl I had always dreamed of. The kind you associate with open country, cooking stew and not fainting because it was made of cut-up squirrels. She’d look at home on a sailboat or a raft; in a graceful swing from a tree branch into the swimming pool.”

Stewart and Hatrick were married in 1949 and stayed married for 45 happy years. If Stewart had been something of a playboy in his single years, after his trip down the altar he became a devoted husband. Gloria remembered:

“Jimmy was working with some of the most glamorous women in the world. My constant fear I suppose was that he would find them more attractive than me and have an affair with one of them. A lot of men in Hollywood became involved with their leading ladies. Jimmy was a red-blooded American male so naturally I thought it could happen to him, too. I was convinced it was only a matter of time before the telephone would ring and it would be James telling me that he had to work late at the studio or that he would be out playing poker with the boys. Well, no such call ever came. And I can honestly say that in all the years of our marriage Jimmy never once gave me cause for anxiety or jealously. The more glamorous the leading lady he was starring opposite, the more attentive he’d be to me.”

Do Your Duty

All the generations of Jacksons on Stewart’s mother’s side of the family had served honorably in the military, going all the way back to the Revolutionary War. So when it was Jimmy’s turn to serve, he was ready to fulfill his duty. Although he had numerous opportunities to get out of service, Stewart-unlike a certain cowboy actor who usually gets many more manliness points-did everything he could to serve.

In 1940 Stewart was drafted into the military. But when he took his physical, the army rejected him; at 6′3 and 130 pounds, he was deemed too skinny for service. He could have bowed out honorably but instead he appealed the rejection and set up a second physical. He spent the next 3 months constantly gobbling up milkshakes and fried chicken wings in attempt to put on 10 pounds. When the second physical came around, he was still underweight, but he convinced the doctor to look the other way and approve him.

And so a week after winning an Oscar for The Philadelphia Story, Stewart became the first major American actor to don a uniform. He humbly transitioned from acting to peeling potatoes and gracefully accepted the drastic change in his pay-from $3,000 to $21 a week.

Stewart had a lifelong fascination with flying that started with building model airplanes as a child and progressed into getting his private and commercial pilot licenses as an adult. As an avid flyer, he decided to transfer to the Air Corps. While eager to just be one of the boys and start flying missions, Stewart grew increasingly exasperated as the other men were shipped overseas while he was left to train other pilots, make recruitment films, and be trotted out in uniform for various publicity events.

The Army, afraid that losing Stewart in combat would be a heavy blow to American morale, was intent on keeping Stewart from shipping out. But Stewart continually and persistently implored his commanding officers to put him on active duty.

Thus when Colonel Robert Terrill, Commanding Officer of the 445th Bombardment Group needed a man who would be able to lead his men into combat and get them home safely, the Army, knowing there was no more capable or qualified man for the job, finally relented.

When Stewart joined the 445th in Sioux City, he so impressed Terrill that in a matter of weeks the Colonel put him in command of the 703rd Bomb Squadron division, consisting of a dozen B-24 bombers and 350 soldiers and flyers. Once in Britain, Stewart flew missions as dangerous and harrowing as any other Airman, leading squadrons on bombing runs into Germany and occupied France. Besieged on each mission from the Luftwaffe, Stewart escape many narrow misses. Many of his fellow men were not so lucky, and Stewart watched with sickness as they fell from the sky.

For his service, Stewart received the Air Medal for flying 10 successful missions over Germany, the Distinguished Flying Cross for leading an air raid on Brunswick, and the prestigious Croix de Guerre from the French Air Force.

Stewart remained in the Air Force Reserves until forced into retirement and left the Force with the rank of Brigadier General.

Be Humble

Stewart’s dignified manner with women extended to his treatment of everyone he met and worked with. He refused to let fame give him an inflated sense of sense-worth nor deter him from his values. Although his money would have allowed him to, he never lived in an ostentatious way. While the car of choice in Hollywood was a Mercedes, when he finally hit it big he went out and bought a Volvo. He drove it for many years, and then replaced it…with another Volvo. During the energy crisis of the 1970’s, when he was in his 70’s, he refused to heat his pool for his daily dips, seeing it as an extravagance.

Stewart always sought to make his co-stars shine and respected his fellow actors immensely. Known as a consummate professional, he never had an ill word to say about a co-star, even when their antics on set had been anything but respectable. And he was always rooting for the success of others. When Stewart was up for the Best Actor Oscar in 1960 for Anatomy of a Murder, he wanted very much to win as his star had dimmed a bit after the poor reviews and box office performance of 1958’s Vertigo. Walking into the Academy Awards ceremony, he bumped into another nominee in the Best Actor category, Charlton Heston, and the two posed for pictures together. Heston recalled, ”As the flashbulbs finally petered out and we turned to go to our seats. Jimmy took my arm and said, ‘I hope you win, Chuck, I really mean that.’ I don’t know another actor alive who would’ve said such a thing. He’s an extraordinary man.”

Stewart’s humility extended to his military record as well. The public was enamored with the idea of this movie star turned Airman, and when he returned home, he could have easily used his service record as a way to garner attention for himself and promote his films. It would have certainly been tempting, as his postwar transition back into movies did not go smoothly, and industry insiders were beginning to doubt his ability to make a comeback.

But Stewart had long insisted that he was just one of the boys, no more important than any other serviceman. To this end he refused to talk to reporters about his war experiences or appear in any kind of publicity event that capitalized on his service. He also refused to act in movies that depicted combat, leading him to turn down lucrative roles in big movies like Midway and The Longest Day. As Stewart explained, “They’re just hardly ever the way it really is.”

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• So You Want My Job: Air Force Pilot

Today we return to our monthly series called Toolmanship. The goal of this series is to pass on the basics of tool use to a generation of men who never got around to learning how to be handy.

In this edition, we take a look at how to properly use a handsaw. We’ll give a rundown on the different types of handsaws out there and tips to get you sawing like a carpenter.

Crosscut Saw or Rip Saw

Before you put saw to wood, you need to determine what sort of saw you’ll need for your job. In the pantheon of saws, two basic designs exist: the crosscut saw and the rip saw. Which one you use depends on whether you plan on cutting with or against the wood grain. Let’s take a closer look at the differences between the two saws and when you would use them.

Crosscut saw. If you’re cutting across the grain of the wood, you’ll want to use a crosscut saw. The teeth on a crosscut saw angle back and have a beveled edge. The teeth are also much smaller than those on a ripsaw. This design allows the saw to act like a knife-edge that cleanly slices through the wood’s grain. The crosscut saw’s design also allows the saw to cut on both the push and pull stroke.

Rip saw. When you’re making a cut parallel to the direction of the grain of the wood, use a ripsaw. Unlike a crosscut saw, the teeth on a ripsaw don’t angle backwards nor are they beveled.  Instead, the teeth bend left and right in an alternating pattern. This design allows each tooth to act like a chisel that chips away small pieces of wood on each push stroke. The chisel design ensures a clean cut as you saw along the grain. Also, unlike the crosscut saw, the rip saw only cuts on the push stroke, not on the pull stroke.

Different Handsaws for Different Jobs

While the crosscut saw and rip saw will cover most cutting jobs, sometimes you need an even more specialized handsaw. Here are a few handsaws you might consider adding to your toolbox arsenal.

Keyhole saw. The keyhole saw is good for cutting holes for pipes, electrical outlets, or fixtures in floors, walls, and ceilings. Its narrow, tapered blade goes where other saws can’t, and its teeth can chew through tough material like drywall.

Coping saw. If you’re wanting to cut curves and other intricate shapes, you need to bust out the coping saw. The coping saw consists of a thin metal blade set between a C-shaped metal frame. Because of its thin blade, you can easily change directions and still maintain a clean cut with a coping saw. If you want to make cuts inside a piece of wood, you can do that with a coping saw, too. Just drill a starter hole, remove the coping saw blade, insert the blade through the hole, and reattach the blade to the handle.

Backsaw. Backsaws have a stiffening metal rib on the edge opposite the cutting edge. This allows for better control and more precise cutting than with other types of saws. Use a backsaw in woodworking when you need precise cuts. Different kinds of backsaws exist for different kinds of jobs. Miter saws are used with miter boxes to cut angles in wood. Dovetail saws cut, well, dovetails for joining pieces of wood together.

8 Things to Check When Shopping for a Handsaw

When you’re at the hardware store looking for a new saw, make sure to run each saw through this 8 point test to ensure you get a quality tool:

1. Sharp teeth. Run your thumb lightly over the teeth. If they’re properly sharp, they’ll catch your skin with little snagging tugs.

2. Straight blade. Sight along the blade to see if it’s true. Even a slight bend or bow will cause binding. Check the handle, too. A crooked one throws your arm off center, making sawing inaccurate and tiring.

3. Evenly set teeth. Squint toward the teeth from the back of the saw. If any teeth project farther than others, they’ll drag and leave a rough cut. If all teeth on one side are set out farther than those on the other side, the blade will twist.

4. Blade taper. Good saws taper so they’re thinner at the top than at the teeth. This provides blade clearance, reduces binding, and makes a cleaner cut because less tooth is needed. Taper may not be apparent, so be sure it’s specified. Watch out for saws that are just chamfered to give the appearance of a taper grind.

5. Proper flexing. Your saw should flex easily when you bend it, but quickly straighten when you let you go.

6. Built-in tension. Bend the saw with a straight edge across the blade and you’ll see a slight bow. The bow will keep trying to spring the blade back straight. This is the result of tension built into the saw by rolling and hammering the center portion. If the saw’s tension is correct, the bow should appear in a uniform curve and not look lopsided.

7. Blade crown. Hold the saw at arm’s length and sight along the teeth. You should see a slight outward curve at the blade’s center. This crown increases the cutting pressure by putting only a few teeth in contact with the wood at a time. The higher the crown, the better.

8. Balance. There are no absolute rules for good balance, but a saw should feel comfortable in your hand– not nose heavy or cumbersome. Make a series of sawing motions in the air to see how the saw feels in your hand.

How to Saw Like a Carpenter

Mark the cutline. Remember the timeless rule of carpentry: measure twice, cut once. Measure where you want a cut (twice of course) and draw a line marking where you want the cut to be. The line will act as a guide to help you get a straight cut.

Make the starting cut.When you make the first cut, use your thumb or the knuckle of your thumb on the hand holding the wood as a guide to ensure you cut along the cutline.

Use your thumb as a guide to start cutting

If you’re using a crosscut saw, start your cut with the teeth nearest the handle. This will give you the best control. Make a few back cuts until you get a nice kerf (opening in the wood).

If you’re using a ripsaw, start your cut with the finer teeth furthest from the handle (near the point of the blade).  Make a few short draw strokes to get a kerf going.

Don’t start the cut right on the line you marked earlier with pencil. Instead, cut right next to the line on the waste side. The waste side is the part of the wood you’re not going to use in the finished product. It’s always better to have a piece of wood that’s a bit long, than a bit short. You can always sand the wood down to the pencil line.

Angle the saw correctly. After you get your kerf going, you need to angle your saw correctly to get the best cut. For crosscut saws, the proper angle is 45 degrees between the saw and wood. With ripsaws, it’s 60 degrees.

Hold your elbows close to your body. To counteract the natural tendency to angle the blade away from perpendicular, hold your elbows close to your body when sawing. This will also help prevent you from twisting and tilting the blade, thus ensuring a nice, clean cut.

Hold the saw firmly, with forefinger extended along the side of the handle.

How to hold the saw. Just grip the handle so that your forefinger extends along the side of the handle. This helps you “point” the saw along the line and ensures more accurate cuts. Hold on to the handle firmly, but not too tightly.

The stroke. After you’ve started the groove, a few short forward strokes will deepen the cut so you can move your left hand away from the blade. Push the saw with an easy, free-running motion.  Use long strokes so that each tooth does a fair share of the work. Short strokes dull the saw faster because only a few of the teeth do the work.

Resist the temptation to bear down on the saw. It won’t do anything except tire you out. Let the saw do the work. If you feel like the saw isn’t cutting properly, something might be wrong with the saw itself.

For straight cuts, use a 2×4 as a guide. For many men, simply using the pencil line as your guide to cutting just doesn’t work. If you want to ensure that you get a true and square cut, place a 2×4 (or 2×2) along your pencil line and clamp it to the board you’re cutting. The board will now act as your guide to keep the saw on the line.

Correcting veering. Even the best carpenters veer from the cut line. If this happens to you avoid the natural tendency to twist and bend the saw blade so it gets back on track. This will only result in an uneven and rough cut. Instead, stop sawing and bring your blade back to the point where you veered off. Start sawing again on the line.

Prevent binding with a nail. One problem you may encounter, especially when you’re cutting along the grain with a rip saw, is binding. Binding occurs when the kerf closes in on the saw. To prevent this, simply place a nail in your kerf. This will keep it open. Move the nail towards you as you saw.

Storing Your Saw Properly

If you want to ensure your saw gives you years of cutting service, you need to take good care of it. By placing a simple sheath on your saw blade before you throw it back in the toolbox you can prevent your saw teeth from becoming dull and rounded, thus maintaining the sharp edge necessary for all your woodworking projects.

Most new saws come with a sheath, but if yours didn’t or you lost the sheath, here’s how you can make a makeshift sheath with just a bit of garden hose.

1. Hold the saw up against a straightened section of an old rubber garden hose. Use a utility knife to cut a section of hose that’s roughly as long as the saw blade.

2. Cut a slit down the length of the section of hose. Make sure that the slit goes all the way through the rubber.

3. Slide the cut edge of the hose over the exposed blade of the saw. The stiffness of the hose should hold it in place over the blade, protecting it from nicks and bending.

Got any other handsaw tips? Share them with us in the comments!

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Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Andre Naser at Club-Offers.com. To learn how to win a 3 month membership into their beer and cigar clubs, see the details below.

There was once a time when a man with a cigar in his mouth was held in high regard; a time when a young man toasted farewell to adolescence by igniting the end of a cigar that “just happened” to slip out of his father’s humidor. A time where the arrival of a man’s progeny was celebrated with cigars in the hospital’s waiting room.  A time when one could find a guillotine right alongside a man’s trusty pocketknife.

A 21-year-old Winston Churchill, on a quest to prove his manliness, ventured to the island of Cuba. It was in Cuba where Churchill began his love affair with the cigar. He described cigars as part of his “rule of life prescribed as an absolutely sacred rite; smoke cigars and drinking of alcohol before, after and if need be during all meals and in the intervals between them.” Churchill was so renowned for his cigar habit that a cigar of especially large magnitude still carries his name today: The Churchill cigar.

There can certainly be some intimidation when you first walk into a well-stocked cigar humidor. How can you possibly tell the difference between a Montecristo and an Ashton? Does it matter if this “Romeo y Julieta” came from the Dominican Republic and not Cuba? (why yes, it does). Fear not. After reading these quick tips on choosing a quality cigar, you’ll have an idea on how to pick a quality cigar. You’ll also be left wondering why you ever thought picking up a pack of Swisher Sweets from the gas station was a good idea.

Anatomy of a Cigar

The head: This is the end you put in your mouth. It’s sealed off and will require cutting; a guillotine is preferred to reduce the chance of smashing the cigar; however, a sharp knife will do. But for the love of God, do not use your teeth!

The foot: This is the side that you light.

The filler: A nice, consistent blend of dried and fermented tobacco.

The wrapper: The outside of the cigar. It varies in color from light to dark. A lot of the cigar’s flavor comes from this outer layer.

Choosing a Cigar

Now that you know your head from your foot, we can move onto choosing a cigar.  Check out a local cigar club.  They’ll likely have a well-stocked humidor and a knowledgeable tobacconist who will guide you through the selection.  When you arrive at the cigar club, you’ll walk into a humidor full of cigars. Humidors help maintain an optimal level of moisture inside the tobacco.  If it’s too humid, the tobacco will rot. If it’s not humid enough, the cigars will dry out and lose their flavor and aroma.

If this is your first time smoking a cigar, stay away from the higher-priced ones since, at this point, you won’t be able to truly savor the distinguishing elements of an expensive cigar. Besides, price isn’t the most most important factor in choosing a cigar. There are plenty of cheaper cigars out there that hold top ratings from major cigar publications.

While price isn’t that important when selecting a cigar, cigar construction and tobacco quality are. The cigar’s construction determines how smooth and even the draw is when you smoke it.  You can test the construction of a cigar by rolling it between the thumb and index finger of your hand. As you do this, make sure the cigar’s outside doesn’t have any lumps. Also check that the body is not too soft or void of filling. You want the cigar to have a nice even consistency and fill. A rough texture or any other mark of bad construction means a less smooth draw when you inhale.  With a well constructed cigar, the ash will maintain the shape of the cigar as it is smoked.

The second important factor when buying a cigar is the tobacco’s quality.  You typically can’t determine tobacco quality simply by looking at the outside of the cigar.  So how do you know which brands use good quality tobacco? It’s mainly based on reputation. Ask the tobacconist or your friends for recommendations on cigars that use quality tobacco. It’s usually a safe bet to go with larger brands. The big cigar brands tend to use higher quality tobacco in their cigars because they usually have first dibs on the quality stuff. In your quest to find cigars that use quality tobacco, just remember to purchase one cigar at a time instead of buying boxes. You don’t want to be left with a box of crummy cigars you’ll never smoke.

Now before you go running off to your local cigar club, let me first answer a question that typically comes up from those who want to learn more about cigars.

The Cuban Debate:  Are Cuban Cigars Really Better?

I must first preface my answer by saying this: if you live in the U.S., don’t even bother trying to buy a Cuban cigar locally.  Because of a 1962 embargo against Cuba, Cuban cigars are not allowed in the U.S. (legally, at least). But because Cuban cigars are so desirable, a large counterfeit industry has popped up in the United States.  If someone says they have some Cuban cigars for sale, steer clear. It’s probably a fake and will leave your mouth tasting like charcoal when you smoke it.

You’ll also find clever Cuban immigrants rolling cigars claiming that since they themselves are Cuban, the cigars can be sold as “Cuban cigars.”  A clever scam, but a scam nonetheless. If you really want to smoke a Cuban cigar, you’ll either have to head north to Canada or south to Mexico.

Now to answer the original question: Yes, Cuban cigars are indeed better. Cuban cigars are highly regulated by the Cuban government and are held to a very high standard.  They’re also constructed by some of the most skilled cigar rollers in the world.  The “torcedores,” as they are referred to in Spanish, have been rolling cigars their entire lives, often learning the skill from family members who passed the knowledge on from generation to generation. The skill these workers employ ensures a consistent fill for the cigar every time.  The flavor of a Cuban cigar tends to be extremely overpowering to someone not acquainted with cigars.  They are much more full and smoky compared to their Dominican counterparts that tend have a more peppery and spiced flavor.

It All Comes Down to Personal Preference

The cigar-smoking experience is very personal. Everyone has different tastes, so make sure to try a few different varieties in order to discover your cigar of choice. It’s similar to finding your favorite beer. You probably didn’t know it was your favorite until you experimented with some different variations: more hops, less wheat, maybe some orange zest. But when you finally found your favorite beer, you knew it was the one. Cigars are going to be the exact same way.

And what if you could have a variety of cigars mailed straight to your door every month? Well, with the Cigar Of the Month Club you can try new and different cigars without leaving your house. It’s like the Fruit of the Month Club, but manlier.

The Beer and Cigar of the Month Giveaway

A 3-month membership to a cigar of the month and beer of the month club is up for grabs in this giveaway. One lucky winner will be getting a monthly shipment of 12, 12-ounce microbrews from two lightly distributed domestic microbreweries with a total of 4 different varieties to try. They’ll also get five professionally chosen, hand-rolled cigars from around the world. The focus each month is on quality cigars ranging from a variety of types. More information on the exact package can be found here.

How to Enter: To enter, simply leave a comment on this post sharing your favorite cigar brand, tip, or experience.

Deadline to Enter: The deadline to enter the contest is Monday, November 9 at 11PM EST. The winner will be announced on Saturday, November 14 in the weekly roundup.

Legal:

• Only open to residents of the United States (sorry, laws don’t let us ship alcohol and tobacco internationally)
• Must be 21 to win.
• Due to local laws beer can not be shipped to the following states: AK, HI, ME, and UT.
• Adult Signature Requirements (Beer & Wine) – All beer or wine shipments are sent via Federal Express, UPS, or other local ground service carriers with an adult signature sticker required on the box. It’s best to have your shipments sent to a location where someone (21 & up) will be there to sign for it. Each carrier will make one or more delivery attempts and if unsuccessful they will leave door tags and/or phone messages indicating the attempted deliveries. Please respond to any communication from the carrier right away. After the final delivery attempt, the box is routed back to the local consolidation center closest to your shipping address and you may be given a short period to pick it up before it is sent back to our fulfillment center. We’ve intentionally packaged our shipments in a very non-descript, brown corrugated box such that most of our customers are comfortable having their shipments sent to their daytime location.
• The memberships will be “gift memberships” which will automatically stop after the 3 months. They will be able to go online and easily continue membership on their own if they want, or let it expire without doing anything.

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Welcome back to another edition of the Art of Manliness podcast. In this week’s episode we talk to Walker Lamond, author of the new book Rules for My Unborn Son. Walker’s book is based on his popular blog, 1001 Rules for My Unborn Son. We discuss the inspiration for the book, wheelie luggage, and required listening for boys. Pick up the book  from Amazon.com today! Full of advice both insightful and humorous, I highly recommend it. It makes a great stocking stuffer this Christmas for any man in your life, not just dads.

Listen to Podcast!

• The Art of Manliness Podcast Episode #8: Man Stories with Robert Disque
• The Art of Manliness Podcast Episode #5: The Cultural History of the Beard with Allan Peterkin
• The Art of Manliness Podcast Episode #6: Man Stories With Zeke Smith
• Art of Manliness Podcast Episode #4: Man Stories with Dan Kern
• The Art of Manliness Podcast #3: Primal Living with Mark Sisson

To kick off Movember, the month-long mustache growing contest for charity, we’ve put together this list of the manliest mustaches in history. Enjoy!

Tom Selleck

When pre-pubescent mustaches grow up, they want to be Tom Selleck’s mustache. It’s a modern mustache masterpiece. Magnum P.I. wouldn’t have been the same with some dude with a naked upper lip.

Walter Cronkite

Walter Cronkite’s mustache was the most trustworthy mustache in all of news history. And that’s the way it is…

Eddie Murphy

During the 1980s and early 90s, no mustache was funnier than Eddie Murphy’s. We won’t hold Eddie Murphy’s mustache responsible for Daddy Day Care or Norbit.

Alex Trebek

I’ll take game show host who lost major manliness points when he shaved his mustache for $800, Alex.

Daniel Plainview

Daniel Plainview’s mustache will drink your milkshake. And then bludgeon you to death with a bowling pin.

Hussein bin Talal

The King of Jordan’s mustache had an uber-manly lineage; it can be be traced all the way back to the Prophet Muhammad. Today, his son Abdullah II carries on his father’s peaceful policies and the manly mustache.

Errol Flynn

Australian film star Errol Flynn had a swashbuckling mustache that could make even tights look manly.

Rollie Fingers

Rollie Fingers brought back the waxed handlebar mustaches rocked by the baseball players of yore. Diamondbacks relief pitcher Clay Zavada carries that torch today.

Steve Prefontaine

Scientists have proven that the secret to Steve Prefontaine’s record-setting running times was the aerodynamics of his mustache.

Wyatt Earp

Wyatt Earp is a Western legend. Some sources say he killed up to 30 men during his time as a lawman in the American frontier. He didn’t even have to use bullets; his mustache knocked em’ over cold.

Ron Burgundy

Ron Burgundy is the manliest fictional news anchor to ever live. He loves scotch (scotchy, scotch, scotch), leather-bound books, and the smell of rich mahogany. And of course, he had a kick ass mustache that injected the news with testosterone.

Clark Gable

Clark Gable’s mustache doesn’t give a damn.

Friedrich Nietzsche

Nietzsche’s mustache can provide meaning to the life of even the most strident nihilist. Look at that thing. Awe inspiring.

Genghis Khan

Not only did Genghis Khan grow a manly mustache and rule over the largest empire in history, he also rocked the flavor saver way before it was cool. Wait, was the flavor saver ever cool?

Mark Twain

Mark Twain had some strong words to say about beards: “It performs no useful function; it is a nuisance and a discomfort; all nations hate it; all nations persecute it with the razor.” Guess that’s why he decided to go with an awesome mustache instead.

Martin Luther King Jr.

I have a dream, a dream that all men will grow a mustache as magnificent as MLK’s.

Mark Spitz

Michael Phelps may now have more medals, but Spitz’s mustache could beat Phelp’s any day of the week.

• 20 Manliest Mustaches and Beards From Facial Hair History
• The Art of Manliness Movember Contest 2009
• The Best of The Art of Manliness: November 2008
• A Treatise on the Mustache
• Weekly Link Round-Up: September 19, 2009

We had a lot of cool stuff happen in October. The biggest news was the launch of our new book, The Art of Manliness: Classic Skills and Manners for the Modern Man. A big thanks to everyone who has gone out and bought a copy (or 2 or 3…. or even 7! Thanks John T.). We really appreciate it. With the holidays coming up, consider picking up a few copies of our book for the men in your life. It would make a great stocking stuffer.

Speaking of holidays, we also released A Man’s Guide to the Holidays eBook. It’s crammed with tips guaranteed to give you the manliest holiday season ever. Learn how to tip like a gentleman around the holidays, hang Christmas lights efficiently, and cut down a Christmas tree.

October’s Most Popular Posts

How to Exit a Room Like a Man

How to Shave Like Your Great Grandpa: The Ultimate Straight Razor Shaving Guide

How to Speed Read Like Theodore Roosevelt

The Mad Men Guide to a Manly Haircut

On Manly Loyalty

The Community

The blog isn’t the only part of the Art of Manliness site. If you’d like to connect with other men who are interested in rediscovering the lost art of manliness, make sure to join the Community. We have over 5,000 registered members from all over the world. In the Community, you can share manly pics, write a blog post about a manly skill, or take part in one of the hundreds of discussions going on.

Movember

The Art of Manliness formed a team to participate in Movember. Movember is a month long campaign where men grow mustaches and raise money to help battle prostate cancer and depression. The AoM team has 82 member from all over the world. If you’re not a member of the AoM Movember posse, please consider donating a few dollars to the AoM team. Your money will be going to an important cause for men.

Art of Manliness T-shirts

Show off your Art of Manliness pride with one of our 6 manly t-shirts from TankFarm Clothing. Also, makes a great Christmas present!

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• The Best of Art of Manliness: August 2009
• The Best of Art of Manliness: May 2009
• The Art of Manliness: Best of July 2009
• The Best of Art of Manliness: June 2009
• Weekly Link Round-Up: October 31, 2009