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So this evening I got home from work and took a look at my thread from yesterday that had a little fun at Clay Matthews' expense. While it's all too easy and ever so enjoyable, to poke fun at the latest marketing campaign touting a six blade, Chinese made, plastic abomination as God's gift to the shaving man, I think it's important to remember that like me, most of you used to be believers. Our shaving universe was ridiculously simple but totally a necessary evil (especially for those of us who ...

Andrew Jackson Jordan was born in Baltimore in 1845. He established a cutlery retailing business in St Louis in 1871, which at first imported German goods. Jordan liked quality in cutlery and that led him to look across the Atlantic.
'His trade was almost entirely in America, but it was in Sheffield that he established his factory, as he wished to deal only in first-class Sheffield goods' (Sheffield Daily Telegraph, 22 June 1929).
In 1885 he started his own business in the town, first ...

Lately, I've rekindled my relationship with the one pass shave. When I first started straight shaving, I often wondered why barbers (even back in the old days) would seldom do multiple passes but the denisons of SRP seemed to classify any shave that only involved a single lathering of the face as a half-hearted effort of sorts. As ridiculous as it sounds now, back then I actually felt a tinge of guilt if I didn't do at least 2-3 passes. It was as if I had betrayed the confidence of my SRP brothers ...

Coticules, The legendary sharpening stone from Belgium. This is another topic we see frequently on the forum. Back when I joined SRP, they were all the rage. Having one was almost a requirement. Just joking...

Coticules come in all shapes and sizes, 8x3,(200x75) 6x2 (150x50) are probably the most popular. In addition to the array of rectangular stones, The quarry produces "Bouts" (pronounced "Boo's") or irregular shaped stones, like trapzoids and the like. ...

I read more and more posts about members having trouble with their Japanese Natural stones. These stones can be the best and the worst stone you ever bought as far as naturals go, only behind Coticules. That's another blog...
What do I mean by that? Japanese naturals or "Jnats" are legendary in the world of sharpening, by straight razors users, knife enthusiasts, and woodworkers alike. With the correct stone, and skill, the edge is really hard to beat, unless you know how....Now, ...