Thread: I'm An old Cowhand From the Rio Grande

But my legs ain't bowed and my cheeks ain't tan.

And I'm bleedin' like a stuck hog due to sloppy wielding of a 1938 Gillette Senator loaded with an Astra Platinum blade this morning.

I hail from the Great State of Texas.

Started shaving in September of 1969 on a Saturday night when my dad gave me his old Gillette Fat Boy (he'd gone over to Norelco electric wonderment by the mid 1960s) and told me to shave the peach fuzz off before church next morning. There was no Fat Boy nickname connected with that model Gillette adjustable razor then and I received no instructions other than to lather up with the Safe Guard soap and shave. Didn't know a thing about the adjustable feature and thought more numeral was better so left it set on 6 to 9 for years. Soon after marrying in 1978 I gleefully tossed the Fat Boy to the back of a bathroom drawer and graduated to a Gillette Trac II.

After progressing through Gillette's latest and greatest multi-blade creations and their associated marketing I was shaving with Fusion in 2011 and complaining to my eldest son that the Fusion blades didn't shave as well as they did upon introduction and blade prices had risen to unattractive levels. He suggested that I try double edge shaving as he was doing. I replied: No, I've been there and done that. After a few months of consideration though, I tentatively took my wife's grandfather's 1949 Gillette Tech on a test drive with dismal results. Kept at it though and finally mastered it for the first time in my life. Then I went on a collecting spree and gathered in most of the main Gillette models produced between 1904 and 1988, tried all the soaps, creams, and potions.

Oh, that Fat Boy from my youth and early adulthood? The youngest son lost it in a show-and-tell at the elementary school years before I again could have made use of it.

The Forum appears attractive with interesting topics of discussion. I enjoy reading, music, collecting stuff (firearms, coins, watches, razors, antiquarian books), shooting sports, hunting, and fishing. I'm a proudly retired fogy geezer too. If it's old tech, vintage models, or yesterday's news then it's superior to today's stuff.

And that's the way it is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo-pApe1Kd0

Welcome, Tex. Only time I nick myself anymore is with one of those double-edged contraptions.
I suppose practice makes perfect. Changing angle and adjusting for terrain is much easier for me with a straight.
These guys will set you straight.

Lots to read-up on. Hit that search box up top-right and shaving with DE's has lots of results for you.

Hello noelekal and welcome to SRP.
Enjoy your time here on the forum.

Pete <:-}

Welcome. Most of us use straight razors but some of us still fall back on the DE and SE razors when pressed for time of medically forced too. So we still chat about them and the new stuff coming out. Different blade types so just nump right in. Maybe we can help push ya into the world of straight razors. Or not. Stick around. We always have fun chatting of many things.

Welcome to the forum

Welcome to the forum. As it happens I too started with my Dad's Gillette Fat Boy iirc around the same time as you did. Same no real real instruction on how to, be careful and have at her. Small world ain't it. Enjoy yourself on the forum and ask away if you have any questions.

Bob

Hi noelekal pleased to meet ya, stick around for a while, I think you'll like it here.

G'day and welcome.

Hi and welcome aboard

Welcome to the fold. I too started in a similar fashion. I’m glad the multis are behind me.