Thread: What did grampa do ??

Razors were a common daily use item. The were treated with the same care as you treat your tooth brush now. It was an item to be used until worn out then pitched and replaced. You could get them at the local hardware store for a dollar. Things like this were viewed differently back then. A straight was common, used by many and available everywhere. If you simply dry the razor after use, it will keep for a very long time. I never oil any of my blades and only occasional give them a polish. Still mirror perfect. A little or a lot of pantina was not any more of a problem then a dirty handle on your hammer. In fact, a good hammer was probably cared for better than most razors since you needed it to make a living and keep your house and barn from falling in.

My grandfather lived in Alaska when I've heard of him shaving with a straight. There were no barbers in his town and he had to stay clean shaven for his job. He was extremely poor therefore had to treat his razor with the utmost respect. Unfortunately in the environment they lived the razor wouldn't last long despite his attempts. He would then retire them to his leather kit as a strip knife. His methods were to soak the razor everyday in an oil that he brought home from work (grandma thinks it was mineral). His strop was treated with his palm just like we do now (he used to rub his neck first). He had a couple of strops with powders sprinkled on them (grandma didn't know what they were). He made his own strops and had two of what we would call bench strops that were treated with a "soot" and a crushed rock of some kind. That's about all grandma knew.
My other grandfather I don't know much about, but he would be the type to have his properly honed and stored alongside a moisture wicking substance. I do know that he preferred the DE and when canned goo came out he said it was better suited to clog a drain than shaving cream.

-G

Thanks MickR and Deighaingeal you were right on the money with this topic. Try to keep more simple with the facts as I was hoping for more of a historical factual sort of info as opposed to DE info or speculations or what you think you would have done. Thx again.

All I can recall is my dad thinking the same "if it's cheap, and gets the job done..ill use it"..hehe...My grandfathers I could recall using disposable razors..I unfortunately never found a SR anywhere in their possession(s)
But..I have heard and read some amazing stories here
PcDad

Originally Posted by DHMStr8

"This doesn’t answer your question but as far as WWI goes, this was the time when the Gillette was taking off. Many doughboys would have been issued safety razors because they were more compact and easier to maintain in the field."

That brught back a memory! My grandfather fought in WWI, and many, many years ago my grandmother showed me the shave kit he "brought back from the war". As I remember, it was a little olive-drab pouch that contained a Gillette comb-edge DE plus a pack of blades in the original paper wrap. The razor head unsrewed from the handle so that everything fit just right in the pouch; in other words the pouch was obviously made to fit the razor. The pouch was stamped "US", so I assume the Army issued it to him.

(I'm not that familiar with DEs so you experts may know better than I do what I'm describing.)

Of course at the time I was a teenaged punk and had no interest in that sort of thing, and it's long gone now!

The picture below is from WW2 but it's exactly what you describe-this is from my modest collection of historic razors. I have shaved with it a couple times, and it's a fine shaver.

I noticed a few of the comments seem to be from people who live in a world called planet America. Think broader than that if you can. As we seem to mostly be thinking WW1 era I'll stick with that for my point.
Not every country was serviced by King Camp Gillette. During WW1 there were also people from Germany, Australia, Britain, Turkey etc. Now Britian and Australia may have had shaving gear supplied by Gillette, but I doubt it. However I don't know for sure. I'm pretty sure the Germans and the Turks weren't supplied with the new fangled DE but I could be wrong there too. My point being not every nation used King Gillette's new invention since it was only in production from 1904 or 6 and WW1 started about 10 years later.
WW2 would have been a different story, the Boer war soldiers would have used straights, in fact prior to the DE I think it was all straights...I need to do more research myself...Makes for a very interesting topic of conversation this one. Thanks for asking the question Nightblade.


Mick

P.S Just had a thought, When did the Roller razor come out? That may have been another razor used in that era.

Originally Posted by Geezer

Current data is only available till 2009. $39.50 in the year 2009 has the same "purchase power" as $1.5 in the year 1900.
From:
Measuring Worth - Home

I have a straight razor manufactured by "Salem Markos and Brothers" that has engraving on the blade, faint but legible, that says "$3.00 Razor" so apparently this one cost (then) $3. I can't come up with a date for this manufacturer, though.

Once again Mick,ya make a good point. Hmmm I'm startin ta like these Aussies here,but don't you dare tell a soul ! Beware Mick...I came across an Australian slang website...this could get ugly heh. I still think sheilas is an awesome term for women. And I beleive you are right about the Boer War.Prior to WW1 I do believe everyone was straight(Pun inteneded though not entirely correct).

As has been pointed out in a past thread, sailors at sea probably didn't shave for the duration due to the scarcity of fresh water.

Good point there Leadduck.