Thread: Introducing: Me! From Alberta in the Great White North

Hi all. Please allow me to introduce myself:

My username is cmbcne, so you can call me “cmbcne”, or you can call me “Mike”; just don’t call me late for supper <silly grin>.

I just joined today.

Even though I joined several forums a few months ago I have, for the most part, been a lurker. My life is quite hectic and my time for shaving forums is limited. I must admit that I spent quite some time on one specific forum and made a number of posts. I am now finding that other forum is, perhaps, not as welcoming as I first thought. As a result, I am now reaching out to others in the shaving community hoping for a more pleasant experience.

To continue my self-introduction:

I have been shaving with brush and blade for over 50 years (I am over 70). Unfortunately the “blade” part was whatever multi-blade #%$^% that Gillette, Schick, et al decided was good for me.

I had an epiphany in January this year (2015). After having a particularly bad shave on day 3 of a Gillette Fusion cartridge, I was on the ‘net and stumbled upon a forum discussing wet shaving in general (I can’t recall which one) and DE razors specifically. It was an eye-opener.

My father (RIP) had a Valet Auto-Strop, but I haven’t a clue as to what happened to it. My wife, bless her soul, remembered that her father (also RIP), had some shaving stuff in a box in our basement. We found it and discovered a Gillette Slim Twist (made in England – a.k.a. “The Knack” in the USA), and a couple of dispensers of Wilkinson Sword (made in England) blades. I already had a cheap badger brush I bought back in the 1960s and some Williams Mug soap, so I was all set.

After spending some time browsing several forums, I came down with a bad case of RAD. Since February of this year (2015), I have accumulated a collection of 45 DE razors (12 modern and the rest are Vintage Gillette) and 10 brushes (Badger, Boar, Synthetic, and Horse). I have at least 20 different types of soap and creams and 21 different After Shaves and Balms. Blades? Don’t ask! Large Rubbermaid box full!

Many of the vintage razors were chosen specifically to commemorate “Milestone” dates in my life:
[M=Birth] 1937 Coronation of George VI Ball End New Type OC – Purchased from a vendor in Yorkshire, England who swears it was originally owned by a man in Yorkshire (I was born in Yorkshire in 1943, so My Father could very well have used such a razor).
[M=Arrival In Canada] 1952-X4 Super Speed in original case
[M=Coronation of Elizabeth] 1953-Y2 Tech Coronation of Queen Elizabeth set #45 (not really a milestone in my life, but I already had the coronation razor for one English monarch during my life, so why not complete the set)
[M=High School Graduation] 1961–G2 Gillette "Fat Boy" TTO Adjustable
[M=Canadian Citizenship] 1963-I2 Flare Tip Super Speed
[M=Wedding] 1967–M4 Gillette Aristocrat Gold Plated Slim Adjustable
[M=Honeymoon] 1967–M4 Travel Tech
[M=Birth of first daughter] 1969–O3 Black Handled Super Speed
[M=Birth of second daughter] 1971-Q1 Short Black Handle Super Adjustable (The “Q” razors from 1971 are supposed to be relatively rare)
[M=Graduation with RIA accounting designation] 1980-A4 Long Black Handle Super Adjustable

I am having a friend develop an Access Database to catalog all my razors and brushes. What type of information should I capture?

Hey there, Me! Lots of Canadian fellas here to buddy-up with!

Enjoy!

Hi Mike, and welcome to SRP! Having and already-formed acquisition disorder prior to joining is a sure sign that you will feel right at home here.

As for your DB, wow that's a big question! Some suggestions that come to mind:

For brushes, I'd imagine that the main things people pay attention to is type (badger, boar, etc), knot size, loft, handle material. Would probably be nice to track where they came from and possibly what you paid for them if that interests you.

For the razors, manufacturer, year, model name/#, how aggressive or unaggressive it is, which blades work well with it, origin and cost.

If you branch out into straights, then there's a whole bunch of other info such as honing notes, size, grind, maker, scale material, etc., etc... Anyway, it's yours and for you use, so as long as it tracks what you want, it should be perfect.

What part of Yorskshire are you from?

Hello, Mike. Welcome to Straight Razor Place!

Hi and welcome. Sounds like you are the perfect candidate for transitioning to straights so you can start your RAD all over again. Any questions feel free to ask and good luck with your database

Welcome to SRP, Mike.
We're neighbours..... kinda sorta.
Enjoy the forums and always ask questions and be active when you can.
Great bunch of people here.

Mike, welcome to the forum. Sounds like you are well into it. Any questions come up just ask.

Bob

Welcome to the forum Mike,

As you'll see, there are quite a few gents from Canada here.

Regards

Christian aka

Kaptain "We're all in this together' -- Red Green.' Zero

Welcome, fellow Albertan! It's very friendly here at SRP, a 'Gentlemen's' place for everything shaving, and a wealth of knowledge and advice. Hope you enjoy.

Originally Posted by Cangooner

Hi Mike, and welcome to SRP! Having and already-formed acquisition disorder prior to joining is a sure sign that you will feel right at home here.
As for your DB, wow that's a big question! Some suggestions that come to mind:
For brushes, I'd imagine that the main things people pay attention to is type (badger, boar, etc), knot size, loft, handle material. Would probably be nice to track where they came from and possibly what you paid for them if that interests you.
For the razors, manufacturer, year, model name/#, how aggressive or unaggressive it is, which blades work well with it, origin and cost.
If you branch out into straights, then there's a whole bunch of other info such as honing notes, size, grind, maker, scale material, etc., etc... Anyway, it's yours and for you use, so as long as it tracks what you want, it should be perfect.
What part of Yorskshire are you from?

Hi Cangooner. Nice to meet another Canuck.

I was born in Horsforth in 1943.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horsforth

Regarding the database -- I am thinking it was a mistake on my part to make that part of my intro post. I will likely make it a separate thread. Do you agree that the "General Razor / Shaving Related Discussion" would be a good place for it?