Old school forum in SRP?

[Spokeshave]

It sounds like an interesting forum idea but again, what exactly is included and what is not. New items based on old designs or methods or only true, old items. Is a Robert Williams forged razor a viable topic of discussion where a razor made by stock removal only (grinding) not? My Heirloom paddles with red rouge or lampoblack okay but not diamond or chromium oxide? My Amish friend's home made lard soap but not Trumpers?

I guess we would need to have rough guidelines about whether this is vintage stuff only (tools, equipment and methods) or slightly modern replicas made in the spirit, method or materials.

I would think to stay on track we should be thinking vintage here to stay in the spirit of our ancestors shaving. Post our "Shave Of The Day" experiences based on classic razors, grandpa's strop, Burma shave soaps and brushes, Pinaud's aftershave, etc... Say 1950/1960 or before maybe?

Tony

Great ideas. I think you have the sense of what I'm thinking. How about this for a statement that answers the question of what would be in this kind of a new forum...

"Topics primarily dealing with the discovery, sharing, understanding and preservation of the traditional aspects of straight razor shaving."

Using that definition, I'd say that your implications of what would be "in" and what would be "out" are more or less accurate. Defining what's "in" is more important than regulating what's "out". The better we define what's in, the more we generate the kind of ideas that will populate and really define the forum. While some order needs to be preserved, it would be like any other forum where posts that are better suited to another forum would be addressed by the moderators, members or however that's handled now. Though, with this forum some definition is more needed than forums like the Razor, Hones, Strops forums where the forum name defines their scope.

Your example about the manufacturing methods of razors points to yet another application of such a forum, that of comparing and clarifying what's different between the traditional ways and modern ways. I know nothing about "Robert Williams forged razor" vs. "a razor made by stock removal" but would find the comparisons interesting and relevant to "the discovery, sharing, understanding and preservation of the traditional aspects of straight razor shaving."


As I read yours and others' responses, I'm thinking that there would be better names for the forum than "Old School". Things like "Traditional", "Vintage", "Historical", or better still maybe some combination like "Traditional/Vintage/Old School".

Thanks Tony...and all for your thoughts! Keep 'em coming!

- Dale

[Spokeshave]

I think, when you start looking at different products out there you will find many of the old school things are really not old school at all but modern interpretations of these things...

...the ingredients are modern and the manufacture is modern and not the same as the original.

...which gets at some of what this kind of forum could help...getting closer to factual understandings of what was. Like you, I assume the past shaving world was much simpler, especially when it comes to the "software". But what was really in their software? Does anyone know? I don't but I'm guessing/hoping there are people more knowledgeable than me who can shed some light into the mysteries of the past. Cool stuff that intrigues me. Not likely to find scholarly works of historical research into the ingredients of shaving soaps in the 18th century...but then again, who knows? I've found other research works that surprise me!

Thanks.

- Dale

[Spokeshave]

I think it would be wrong to assume that we here are the guardians of knowledge, and that everyboday who does differently is one of the ignorant masses.

Here, here!

Common variants on that assumption are assuming that the latest is greatest and newer is truer. Much wealth can be mined from the past without devaluing the present.

Thanks Bruno.

- Dale

[Tony Miller]

Dale,
Thanks!
I regards to your question on "forged" vs "stock removal" and in a nutshell so as not to spoil a topic for future discussion...... forging is the tradional method of razor making. Usually raw blank of metal was heated red hot and either hammered by hand into a rough razor shape or hammered between two machine dies (stamped) into a rough razor shape. The now "near net shape" blank is then ground into the finished razor. Forging both compresses the metal structure and by rough shaping make less final shape grinding needed. "Stock removal", a commom method of modern knife makers is to start with a rectangular bar of steel and shape it into a finished razor compelely by grinding or 'removing stock", no forging no hammering, basically "carving" the steel into a razor or knife. I would doubt many razors in the past were made like this.

Tony

[Spokeshave]

Were it not for my "liberal" views on a lot of things , I'd probably fall under that category of "young fogey". I like simple devices that are built to last a lifetime (or more), and might take a little effort to use. Should I ever reproduce, and have kids that are interested, I'll gladly pass on this art.

"Young fogey"...me too I guess. Not so young, not exclusively "fogey", but a bit of both.

We here are "wise" enough to strop gently, but my dad (who grew up in the 50's) swears that all the old-time barbers did that "whap! whap!" style of stropping. Maybe they knew something we don't?
- Scott

...or maybe there are simply different ways to strop.

I wish I could find more information on antique razors -- the companies, models produced throughout the years, and so on.

Another great topical area for such a forum!

Thanks,

- Dale

[Noam]

We know a little about the more famous makers, but I know literally nothing about my "W.H. Sample & Sons" razor, and haven't found much on the Internet. Perhaps we could have a wiki?

I really like the idea of a shaving wiki. Wikipedia's info on straight razors is spotty at best, as is Wikibooks. It wouldn't be hard at all to set something up at a free wiki hosting site like Wikia. The only question is will enough members get involved so that we can build up a decent content base? I'd like to think, considering the wealth of info on this site, that this wouldn't be a problem. Wiki editing syntax is really easy to pick up, and it's the kind of thing you can chip away at bit by bit whenever you feel like it.

If the admins were up to it, there could even be a wiki right here at SRP. The MediaWiki software that powers Wikipedia is free and open source.

There's a certain weakness in the forum paradigm, it can be very hard to sift through posts to find pertinent information. Even using the search function isn't very helpful, too many off-topic results and it's just too much to sort through. Forums are great for asking specific questions, ongoing discussions, organizing events, doing business etc. However, a wiki is a much more effective way to store communal wisdom: easier to search, doesn't involve seven different sticky threads at the top of your forum, you get the picture. This would be a great resource for newbies, and might save a lot of repetitive questions on the forum.

One problem I can foresee with this sort of thing is competition with Lynn and Bill's videos, and with several books out there on collecting. One important part of doing a proper wiki is always citing sources!

Any other thoughts on the subject, gentlemen?

[Spokeshave]

I really like the idea of a shaving wiki. Wikipedia's info on straight razors is spotty at best, as is Wikibooks. It wouldn't be hard at all to set something up at a free wiki hosting site like Wikia. The only question is will enough members get involved so that we can build up a decent content base?

I agree it's a great concept. The question you raise is key. I don't get there much, but the Wicki on the B&B forum seems to suffer from the lack of contributions.

There's a certain weakness in the forum paradigm, it can be very hard to sift through posts to find pertinent information. Even using the search function isn't very helpful, too many off-topic results and it's just too much to sort through.

Agreed. Especially with the kind of information I'm thinking of in this traditional vein. It runs through many of the other forums but is hard to zero in on if that's the perspective you are looking for.

- Dale