Thread: What is WRONG with You Guys????

I think the cost of disposable razors and the thing about throwing them away(I'm a packrat) started me thinking about it. For years I wanted to shave with a straight razor, I didn't tell anybody. I finally bought some "bargain brand" triple edge replacement blades and it pushed me over the edge. Those cursed Kroger blades would shave me once. The second time they would just go all over the hair but cut nothing. I found this forum and a few others and started reading. A month or so later and here I am. My shaving skill sucks, but I like learning a new skill. I'll give it 6 months to a year to improve and I have no doubt it will.
A buddy of mine was asking me if those strops really sharpened anything. I showed him how they worked and he got all upset. "You're pulling that razor toward yourself on half those strokes!" He thinks I'm going to freakin' die stropping the razor! LOL my stropping isn't the best, but I don't think it's life threatening. Kinda funny watching this huge(6'4", 260..not fat) bald black guy having a panic attack because "that razor is coming within six inches of your body!"

"What is WRONG with you guys????"

Shorter list would be what is RIGHT!

Anyway, I learned from my grandfather around 15. He was an old crusty fisherman type born and raised in Gloucester... I thought it was cool and of course just watched Croc Dundee (I know lame... but that is the truth)

I switched to the DE and junk throwaways in the service/college but kept the brush and soap.

I went to University in New Orleans, and went back this last summer for a friends wedding... I stopped in at Aiden Gills and got a shave... little did I know I would be back at it, learning all over again.

Funny how my left hand forgot how to operate the razor

I would have to say it is a self reliance thing as well. Being able to make your own furniture, grow your own food in the garden, cook food over an open fire, repair and maintain your things with your hands and skills.

Imagine a situation such as Katrina, yet nowhere to go or no one to really help. Could you start a fire without matches/lighter. Can you provide a shelter with just minimal tools?

I would be able to find each and everyone of you after a months time in such a scenario. We would be the only ones clean shaven.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention, I do feel like I'm pampering myself a bit. Great evening shave, afterwards sip a fine bourbon, put a nice aromatic blend in the pipe. We can't always be the rough individual.

Kilowattkid

I know for me its the history of it all. Its the same reason I carry a handkerchief, a pocket knife, and polish my shoes and boots every morning. I love tradition.

Plus I love the whole self reliance part. Everything I do for the most part is in a way to make me more self sufficient or better prepared in some way. Learning how to hone a razor has made me better at honing my knives too!

its just a natural progression, im working up to the bowie knife

when i was but a child, i knew nothing. no hair on the chest, no muscles, so i ate spinach and shaved with a straight. now i look like a hairy version of Popeye. actually, i always thought it looked cool. manly almost.

and like someone else mentioned, i like the idea of primitive means. i like using handtools and doing manual 'work'. that is probably why the only solingen blade i have collects dust, and the ones i prefer to use are early 1800 blades.

that and i like the reaction when i tell people that i use a straight razor. nobody gets it, and i am okay with that.

vgod

along these same lines...how many of you drive a stick shift? Would you ever buy a car with an automatic?

Own both a stick and auto currently. An auto is steering, a stickshift is driving.

Kilowattkid

Originally Posted by Sharp&Shiny

...plus the ffact I have fond memories of a favorie Uncle shaving whit his straight In His kitchen when I was a small Boy.

Yep. For me it was uncle Dick. He was a former blackjack dealer in Reno, drank a shot of bourbon in the evening, chewed a toothpick, wore suspenders, and shaved with a str8.

If you expressed an opinion he disagreed with, he kept his silence, but if he agreed with you, you would get a quick answer: "You're god-DAMNED right!"

He had owned three dogs, had named each of them "Bob," and the last one died driving off a burgler from his house.

So, I shave with a str8 and tip my hat to Dick Meeks of Crescent City, CA, may he rest in peace.

Junkinduck – I’ve always liked the idea and image of steampunk, but aside from playing through BioShock I haven’t had much real experience with it. I am working somewhat on a wooden case with gears and stuff for a laptop mod, but aside from dabbling in that I’m probably on the same level as you.

After I started to strike out on my own, I quickly noticed that I greatly prefer to focus on smaller amounts of quality in life. Grinding my own coffee, brewing good beers with real taste to them, and fine spirits as other’s have mentioned. It might be partly for the same reason I drive a standard, I enjoy doing things more for myself. Yes, I do smoke a pipe, and soon I’ll be shaving with a straight razor, not just a lil face shreading disposable.

I can’t say I do it for the full aspect of simplicity, although I do enjoy keeping my life as simple as possible at times. It’s another way to differentiate myself from those around me at college, and make me feel good about myself and my own skills.