Thread: Are you the only one?

My wife thinks I'm nuts. My father-in-law is a bleeder and wouldn't find it wise to shave with a straight.

My brother also has a shaving "fixation" too! He uses a DE but enjoys the same shaving products that I do.Since we live quite a distance from each other I was surprised when he brought the subject up, we exchanged emails with links to our favorite shaving vendors and of course many are the same.

My wife supports me 100%,regardless of hobby.Life is far too short to try to justify ANY activity to anyone. Its great to share ideas with others that have the same passion. Shaving IS necessary EVERYDAY for me. There is no reason not to pursue skill, items and knowledge that have turned an unpleasant task into an enjoyable activity.

For those that don't get it-well, its THEIR LOSS.

Originally Posted by Damon

Yes, but then I'm the only one in the family who is a Ham too.

I'm also the only Ham lol.

I'm definitely the only one. I've never met another straight razor shaver except for SRP members.

Some have said that they've been surprised to find the people they've been acquainted with were straight razor shavers and never knew it. I think that's something that at some point would simply come up "around the water cooler" and certainly hasn't for me.

Chris L

My wife enjoys seeing me create things. She has dealt with my antique bicycle restoration, knife restoration, now razor restoration. Otherwise, I really don't talk about it or make a big deal out of it.

I am the only one in my extended family who uses a straight, I do have a mate, who used a straight for years until his daughter shaved her legs with it and he was unable to get it honed back up. I suspect he may have had other reasons for quitting.
My late father may have used them in his younger days ( born in 1910) and he did say that for your 21st it was traditional to be given a pair of straights, interestingly my mother was keen to get me a cased set of duelling pistols for mine!
My current partner is amused by my use of the straight, but curses me for taking time in the bathroom, as I live in a house full of women, use of the single bathroom is a nightmare.


Cheers

Gordon

Well I was the only one I know who has been bitten by the straight razor bug. One Sunday last month there were a couple of razors on my ebay watch list ending soon. My girlfriend and I went out for a bit and I thought we would be back in time for me to bid on what I wanted but when I realized we would not, I called my dad. I asked him to log on to my ebay account and bid $26 on a pair of old Sheffield razors, in fair condition, and leave it alone. As at the time I had about twenty razors on the list, that was my price for those and I was perfectly happy to win them for that price, or lose them and set my sights down the list. Well, we got home and I had convinced myself that I would be out bid and when I logged on, sure enough, I had. Much to my dismay, when I looked at the winning bidder, it was my dad. I realized I had gotten my dad involved in an ebay bid war and allowed him to enable my RAD. Don't get me wrong, I really appreciated the gesture but there were actually a couple more that I would have rather bid up so I was fine with loosing those. So I paid my max and shipping and my dad kicked in the rest. I told him that for what he did, I was going to give him one of the razors and make him give it a try. He was actually excited about that. I have not gotten those two in tip top shape yet but his birthday was last Thursday so here is what I got him; one original strop from Damon, a Col. Conk pure badger brush, soap, and my first Dovo and a Wapi. I will take one of the razors back but I wanted him to feel the difference in the grind and weight and take the one he liked best. He was really surprised and excited over the gift. Today we went to my parents house to go for a birthday dinner but first I spent a little time teaching my old man how to shave. I will post some pictures and a write up of his first shave as soon as I get them but I figured this story would fit right into this thread. Only time will tell if I have created a sensible shaver or an AD ravaged monster

As for reactions from friends and family, my girlfriend told me a while back that I need a hobby and I got one. My parents have always been interested in and supportive of anything I am into. Friends reactions range from curiosity to, "are you crazy and why?" to, "you are a bad ass!"

One of the crazy dreams I have is to teach the ol' man how to shave. The beautiful irony of it!

When I wrote my above post my father was just starting to look around for razors for me, in support of my RAD. Since then he managed to pick one up for himself (a blued Timor), brush and stop. The beginnings of his own RAD. Last week he had his first shave.

You'll like this Dave, today I went over to his house to demonstrate how I shave my chin.

It's great to think of my dad getting into this. It's got all the elements that speak to him: Ritual, sharp objects, history, danger, craftsmanship, etc.

Once my brother's kids are grown up enough, he's next.

Solitary bunch aren't we ? I think the family thought me odd even before my straight shaving.

I have only one close friend who uses a straight. He learnt from his Dad, a blacksmith.

Don't you love the " my skin's too sensitive to shave with one of those things" reaction ?