hi everybody. thanks for all the information freely available to lurkers! the time has come, though, to take the razor I found at a thrift store and turn it into a deadly work of art. it's a karnak from st. louis, which I don't see too much mention of in these parts; does anybody know much about them? I'll get it sent to a honemaster here soon. from what i've learned here, my novice's eye tells me the blade is not in terrible shape. I'll post a picture set later when my camera's charged. i also found an e.c. simmons keen kutter junior, also mfg'd in st. louis. i picked it up as an "arkansas stone," but my googling says it was made for razors. it is only 2" by 4", which seems small. thoughts?
as 'gifts' i've received a series of electric razors and i'm sick to death of shaving. I enjoyed shaving with the mach III i got for being 18 years old (drug dealers will give the first hit free, right?) but hated buying new expensive cartridges. I'm too young to remember very much of those days, but things used to be built to last, by real craftsmen and women.
i'm another self-sufficiency buff, originally from iowa and now in chicago. i like growing my own food, working on my own bicycle, and can't imagine relying on a multinational corporation to cut my whiskers.
thanks for your help, past and future, and i look forward to geeking out on the forums as my knowledge increases. most of all, i look forward to shaving like a man and not a marketing demographic.