Thread: Hello from the land of the "Red Person"

Oklahoma is a word that was made up by the native American missionary Allen Wright. He combined two Choctaw words, "ukla" meaning person and "humá" meaning red to form the word that first appears in an 1866 Choctaw treaty. Oklahoma means "red person."

Hey, I'm as plain as it gets so I thought I'd start with something that's at least historically mildly interesting.

I've been following the forums for some time and really enjoy the depth of knowledge and experience represented. I'm somewhat of a returning prospector to straight razor shaving and still looking for that great shave. I tried straight razor shaving years ago (70's) with razors passed down from grandfathers, great grandfathers and uncles with the oldest razor being a C.H. Sheehan, Sheffield - found in my grandmother's old family trunk in Arkansas with other civil war keepsakes. The spine is honed practically flat making it an almost true wedge. I couldn't resist the urge to try to shave with a razor that one of my relatives had used during such a tumultuous period in our history, but at the time barbers that offered the old barber shop experience were getting very rare and no one sold strops or other barber supplies, at least not in my area, and alas, no internet. I honed on a Franz Swaty that had also been passed down, stropped on a belt and once on the side of an old leather boot. It shaved, but I could see why they wore beards. Needless to say after a short tenure with these old razors and no knowledge to draw on I put them up for 40+ years. Now I'm back and have new and old razors which I love, and still find it challenging and at times frustrating trying to get that great edge, that you know is lurking, but not quite yet ready to reveal itself. Anyway, Hello to all and have a great day and a perfect shave.

Howard

Welcome Howard

I never knew that about the etymology of Oklahoma - thanks, very interesting. Sounds like you have had some fun in the past with straights, but of course no knowledge is wasted, and yours sounds like it could be quite beneficial. I hope you enjoy the community here and get some good shaves!

James.

Welcome Howard. You have immediately aroused the envy of not a few members of this forum by being in possession of a number of family heirloom razors. There are many members here who have a deep feeling of history and would love to have a razor formerly owned by one of their forebearers. My advice is to have one of the excellent honemeisters on this forum put several of your razor back into "fighting trim" with a professional honing that will allow you to get the most out of them should you decide to take up straight shaving again. Your earlier experience wasn't pleasant because you were handicapped by a razor that wasn't prepared to give you a comfortable shave. Try it again with a properly honed razor and you will be amazed at the difference. You can pick up a decent strop at a reasonable price to keep your razor "tuned up" and you will be in business. Please don't hesitate to ask any questions you might have. There are lots of folks here willing to walk you through the process.

Regards - Walt

Welcome!

Any chance of seeing some pictures!

Again, Welcome to the Friendliest, Helpful and Knowable Site on the Web!

Gentlemen,
Thanks for the welcome. I have already benefited a great deal from the information available on SRP.
Walt, your advice for restoration by one of the members was already on my to do list, and I have three that I'll be sending out to be inspected for restoration. One is a Wade & Butcher "Celebrated Special" with "Markley Alling & Co. Chicago" etched on the blade. Second is a "Top Flight" "Burrell Cutlery Co. Inc., Ellicottville, NY". Third is a "RAOLA" "Van Camp Hardware & Iron, Indianapolis, Indiana" The C.H. Sheehan, Sheffield which really shows its age is going to stay pretty much as is. I will gently remove or at least control the rust, but still retain as much of the aged patina as possible. I just wish I knew which of my relatives each razor belonged to. Oh, on the strops and other equipment. I'm fully armed. I hone and strop my razors and have gotten very good results shaving, but I still on occasion strop one to death.
cudarunner, Yes Sir, I'll try to get some pics tonight and get them posted tomorrow, if I can figure out how to post them.

To say that I am envious of your collection would be an understatement.
I would soooo love the have razors that belonged to my forebears.
Use them in good health and smooth shaves.
Welcome to SRP as well - hang on and enjoy the ride

Oh si' oh, Howard... (Cherokee for how ya doin?) I worked in Moore for 20 years after finishing my undergrad degree at OU. A Ph.D. in Stillwater left me no where to sit at the games. Oh well, everyone there thought I was a communist because I don't like football anyway. I'm in California now. No ice storms for me.

Welcome!

Welcome to SRP. More than mildly interesting intro

(cudarunner, Yes Sir, I'll try to get some pics tonight and get them posted tomorrow, if I can figure out how to post them)

Hey can one of you more computer literates out there give him a pm and help him post? Don't look at me! I'm a Mastodon with computers!

Oh! Many have seen it already, but here's what Glen did with my great grandfather's W&B.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/custo...ered-horn.html

cudarunner,

Here's some images (I hope). I'm hoping that I've followed the instructions correctly. If they don't show up, I'll study some more and try again later. Forgive the fingerprints, I had oil on my hands from wiping them down and never even thought about it until i processed them. Glen did a great job on your restoration and he's the very one I intend to ask to do mine also. I watched him strop on one of his videos once and I started laughing and couldn't even get to sleep. Not laughing at him, but at the thought of me being that fast. I could just see shrapnel flying and nothing left of the strop but a ragged little strip of shredded leather after I got finished. He's a master!