Thread: What other AD's do you have?

Originally Posted by Makar

I must post a question (a piece of research really) to get a clear understanding of why folks like the old stuff (razors, fountain pens, wind up watches etc.) as opposed to the new ones. I am giving a talk in our local town in January which I titled 'Out with the new and in with the old - straight razors and fountain pens'. It would be good to have some of the thoughts from here on that as evidence of why people want to go with the old ways. I know my reasons but personal opinion is only part of the story as always...

cheers
Stephen

That would be worth reading and thinking about. Are you planning to post that as a separate thread?

~Rich

I must post a question (a piece of research really) to get a clear understanding of why folks like the old stuff (razors, fountain pens, wind up watches etc.) as opposed to the new ones. I am giving a talk in our local town in January which I titled 'Out with the new and in with the old - straight razors and fountain pens'. It would be good to have some of the thoughts from here on that as evidence of why people want to go with the old ways. I know my reasons but personal opinion is only part of the story as always...[/quote]

I think, in a nutshell, New => science. Old => art.
There is the perceived or real quality of something old as well as the mystique associated with "the lost art of ...". Older things were made with a more "manual" method, relatively speaking, implyhing more uniqueness to the individual articles. Less availability. Anything "hand made" has an inherent attraction to it. If it was made by hand there will only be a rare few artisans with exceptional natural ability. Nostalgia -- "things were just better back then".

I would add that old things that are still around and functional (like straights) are high quality items that are still functional despite their age. Naturally, there are hand made items of poor quality, and there are mass produced items of high quality, but the older items that are still around and in use are cleary of very high quality.

Another aspect is that you can do something or you can enjoy it. Shaving with a straight is not about taking the hair off my face; it is relaxing and enjoying. That's not to say that if I just need to make myself presentable that I would use a modern cartridge razor; I keep a DE around for those last minute, morning shaves.

There is also what I might call an ecological aspect, which can be either consciously thought out or reflexive, or both. What I mean is that a lot of the "new" is based on use-up-and-throw-away, while working with the "old" is usually a matter of maintaining a good tool for a long time and using consumable supplies--shaving soap, bottled fountain pen ink. The throw-away culture is wasteful and ecologically irresponsible, and I suspect for a lot of us it's also repugnant at an emotional level.

Rich

I have
Books - AD
Guns - AD (used to be easier to manage when I lived in WA-state)
Knives - AD
Music (Cds) - AD
Art - AD
Wine - AD
Cognac - AD
used to have Wrist watches - AD (Cured -found "the perfect one")

35mm SLR cameras - think I have about 5
Coarse Fishing gear - I`m just a tackle tart
Computers - 5 & 1 being planned (ie. my wife has 1 and I have 4 & 1)
Fountain pens - I just stick with about 6 plain Parker Vectors as I find them SO easy to use
Carvin Bass Guitars - I`m about to start building a Carvin BK4 kit, but I`m already saving for another

And she who thinks she is being listened to wonders where my cash goes

Skeleton Keys
Old Glass Bottles
Cufflinks
Books
Maps
Locks (really into lock picking ATM)
Regional hard liquor (what weird distilled beverage does your country make? I'll take a bottle!)


I am sure there are others I don't even know about


-Rob

awesome posts.
here is some library porn, sfw, tongue in cheek.
Hot Library Smut

i collect knives. have a kukri given to me by a nepalese soldier.
strider sniper chuck malwhinney, given to me by strider.
randall model 1
ww1 doughboy bayonet given to me by iraqi soldier, it belonged to his great grandfather
iraqi republican guard ak bayonet
hand made knives from family friend
etc...

Generally I'm very controlled person and I don't really have many ADs. Maybe because I was keeping off eBay for a long time. But now I'm hooked! So I discovered that I have a thing for a lot of stuff...
I find myself looking for shoes I don't need, suits I wish I could afford and hats I'll never wear... I also find myself looking at shoes on shop windows... I like shoes, I like vintage suits and bespoke stuff! Argh!
The shaving related ADs are under control, though... so are the others, in fact. I don't have the cash flow for them so... they remain in the realm of dreams! There are times I thank myself for not having a credit card! Otherwise it would be like this...