Thread: What did grampa do ??

I daresay ingenuity played a large role in that sort of thing, If I was living in a rat infested trench in WWI for example, I might have coated my razor blade with beeswax from a candle and rubbed my stop down with a mixture of beeswax and kerosene or something to help prtect them from moisture and, in the case of the strop, the rats as well...Rats don't like the taste of kero I hear.
Just my thoughts there.

Mick

Now we are thinking on the right track.....good ol Mick,nice to hear from ya chap !

Not sure about most of that stuff but I do remeber my Grandfather storing a Straight in a Old Spice mug. Never remember him actually using it. My father is however is famous for his if it is cheap I will use it method, and for some reason he does get decent shaves. I should ask him for his secret besides the tissue paper on the cuts.

I'm not sure that SR care was nearly as important to our forefathers as it is for us. It was their razor, nothing more. Just take a look at some old razors on the 'bay and see if they look like they were well taken care of.

Sorry Nightblade, but I can't give you any definitive answer other than perhaps they used some gun oil and a razor pouch/box. We definitely treat our razors like babies nowaday. Some of us probably spend more on razors than they do on their children, too.......

Originally Posted by Ryan82

I'm not sure that SR care was nearly as important to our forefathers as it is for us. It was their razor, nothing more. Just take a look at some old razors on the 'bay and see if they look like they were well taken care of.

Sorry Nightblade, but I can't give you any definitive answer other than perhaps they used some gun oil and a razor pouch/box. We definitely treat our razors like babies nowaday. Sme of us probably spend more on razors than they do on their children, too.......

Big +1

Waterspots, draw on the strop, etc... is all cushy obsessive stuff we do as part of a hobby, not out of necessity.

Not lookin for definitive answers just thought this would be interesting to see what people come up with as a matter of historical interest . Not so much like I was looking because I needed to know. I was just curious that's all and thought people would have some interesting things to share.

Chances are that they were using double-edged razor blades, if we are talking about most of our parents or grandparents. My grandfather is 91 years old, and I don't think he ever picked up a straight razor.

As for way back in the day, I was under the impression that barbers were mostly the ones utilizing straight razors. I assume that, those being their tools, they would take pretty good care of them (I am sure some kind of rest preventative was around, like some kind of oil.) People also might not have cared as much back then about aesthetics of their razors. Also, straight razors were convenience items at one point, not hobby items. If you had a razor go bad for whatever reason, just buy a new one.

Just some thoughts.