Thread: The nerve of some people

Yeah, I have had a few of those. Luckily, my family was already well aware of my strangeness before the straight came along, so I didn't here much about it. I think it also helped that my Dad is a carpenter. I grew up in his shop and learned a fair bit of the trade my self. It is hard to be so afraid of one of these when you are working with table saw, chops saw, planer, routers, and the like all day.

Still I got a few reactions from others. Not so serious, but some definite."You'll slice your neck open." They were all pretty light hearted though. The only thing I got a little steamed over was when a buddy of mine told me that developments in last hundred years had to have improved the quality in shaving. I looked at him like he was the stupidest person I had ever seen. I don't think he liked that very much.

"Necessity is no longer the mother of all invention.", I told him, " We now have convenience and trendiness to go along side that." He took the point and dropped it.

Matt

Well, I don't wear a fedora, but I wear a very similar hat. I also write with a fountain pen, and if I could have a fire-burning lamp in my room (or 3) I would. I am glad to see that I'm not alone. Thanks for all the responses, and keep 'em comin'!!!!


Harry AKA Rosko AKA KD5TMU

Originally Posted by steve

Straight razors, fountain pens, fedoras... And I thought I was the only oddball that use/wear these things.

Nice to know I'm not alone

You're definitely not alone. You're not even the only Steve who uses/wears those things . . .

Originally Posted by EAD

... What do you think? why guys think it is a dangerous thing ?! ...

People fear what they don't know. Men don't have a regular connection to these tools any more and so they can't imagine how they should work. They can only imagine all the things which can go wrong.

X

It seems to me that people operate and use tools on a daily basis that are far more dangerous ---cars, chainsaws, lawnmovers, powertools, etc. ---- like X says its all about familiarity.

Its all about hype these days and people accept whats told to them like sheep. As far as I'm concerned thats fine I always do what I want and pay no mind to other's opinions.

the reactions I got when I first started with the straight was not quite what I expected. My Father, whom I expected to shrug it off, is still telling me that he's afraid of my using one. My Mom, on the other hand, shrugged it off and saw the reasoning behind my decision.

As far as being an "oddball". I also wear a fedora, walk with an irish walking stick (shillelagh),and wear a handlebar moustache / van dyke In other words, yes, I too am an oddball.

No one in my family made a big deal about it ---- my father actually ragged on me about not being good enough with it after the first couple of tries ---- but no one has ever worried about me. Go figure.


Justin

Fountain pens are absolutely wonderful, Straight razors and associated supplies are among life's luxuries, but hats should only be worn to funerals or weddings, they are much the same.
of course if you want something close to a fountain pen but do not want the stigma try rotring's "rapidograph" pens, preferably those made in west germany. they make for some of the finest lines of ink, even my sloppy handwriting looks nice when i use a .13mm nib.

but no hats! and a shillelagh is nice to use to keep them kids off my lawn

Do you other "oddballs" find that doing things the old way keeps you grounded a bit? Let me explain. I'm part Irish, as alot of people are lol, but using the shillelagh, makes me feel just a little closer to my roots. Same with the straight, by doing things the old fashioned way I feel like it keeps me reminded of how easy we have it today, and helps me not to lose sight of what's important by reminding me that this was how my great grandfather had to shave. Do you guys feel the same? Or am I just really an "oddball"?