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I am noticing that we are getting some Ohio members. If any of you get to the Cleveland area, let me know and we can have a beer and hone up some razors. Some of the guys in other geographic areas have gotten to meet folks and it's been cool. I have met a few during my travels and have had several over to the house during their travels. Someday a conclave......lol. On bikes I hope. We could also take Jay on a road trip with his chair and have him give out free Shaves. Cooooooool. 8)
I am in Covina which is between the 210 and the 10 freeways a few miles east of the 605 fwy.
John
I live in western Massachusetts and would very much be interested in meeting up with a veteran (Chaaaz?). I'm pretty much a newcomer to straights, and would love a little mentoring on honing.
As my other hobby is motorcycling, I can travel!
Mark
Im 4miles north of Tijuana on the California coast :lol:
1 hour SE of Raleigh, NC. Small place called Sanford.
Hangin out at the beach in Wilmington, NC.
But moving to Atl, as soon as I find some geeks to give me a job ;)
Going to flea markets and estate sales here in unusually rainy St. Paul, Minnesota
:roll:
EAST of the ^)% 605!Quote:
Originally Posted by johntopdog
I think that we are getting enough members now in the New England area, as to soon be able to schedule an SRP get-together in the Boston Area. I can arrange a meeting place, if we need to.
Having been to a "Realspace" (as opposed to 'cyberspace') for other lists, I can attest that it is pretty amazing! :D We could also schedule some local touristy things to do/see, and other stuff as well.
Honing demos, stropping demos, brushes, stones, eBay, the works!
Total addiction immersion! Tee-shirts, photo shoots, razor trading and trying.......
From Amherst, MA; I'd really be into that, Chaaaz. I'm amazed at how much I'm learning over time, and it'd be great to trade stories, techniques etc and just meet face to face.
Let me know if there's anything I could do to help facilitate.
Mark
25 miles southwest of downtown Chicago ..... Orland Park
well, i had a nice visit with jay from indiana. i wish it had been longer than maybe 3.5 hours, but it was hard to try to meet with him and get some work in. he showed me a lot of things to avoid in buying and using razors. one benefit was that he did look at me strop a razor and that i was doing it correctly. my honing, i need to work on, but i had the principles down right. technique needs to get better. i probably need a norton as my hones were not as abrasive as his norton, not even the 8000 side. i also need to condition and bend up my strop to get it less stiff and slick. other than that, i am doing ok, and that was a great thing to know.
it was nice to be able to have some instruction like that. if a new guy can look to an older guy and meet up for a session like mine, that is great
sam
memphis, tn
Hello Sam,
So you met Jay? He is quite a nice guy. I had the pleasure of meeting him a couple of months ago. He had scored a bunch of stuff off of a retired barber in Eau Claire Wi. He was kind enough to let me purchase one of the strop's and I use it every day. He does love going to estate (tag) sales and we hit several of those while he was here. He gave me a shave and I can say that he has gentle, steady hands. He really should take up Barbering and offer Straight razor shaves.
yes, he gave me some tips. and if i go on ebay, things to avoid. my strop, i need to break it in more. mine is a little more stiff than his favorite. having three to show me, it kinda gave me a primer. and he showed me things lynn had shown him. a group meeting, even if in regions, would be a helpful tool to many of us
sam
Well, Jay left Nashville at 2pm. He stopped here after his visit with Sam in Memphis, stayed overnight at a motel, then arrived at my door at 10am this morning.
First, we dropped off my 16 month old daughter at the grandparent's house. Talking straight razors is not the best place to have a baby running around. After that, Jay proceeded to show me several razors he had won in an Ebay lot. He would hand me the razor to see if I could find the flaw. I learned alot about what to look for in used razors. Then we studied his shaving razors; very nice, all in all.
From there we moved to strops. He showed me three, of which he only likes one. I showed him my Illinois 206 and he used a pumice stone to take out a nick I just put in there on Monday. I had been stropping on an angle and he said that straight forward would work fine. He also complimented my flipping technique, so that made me feel better. He held one end of the strop and me the other, so he could tell how much tension I was using. I found that to be very helpful. I held the strop for him next so I could tell how much he was using. Again, helpful.
Next we moved to hones. I have a Norton 4000 and 8000 which he said was good, though mine are not as wide as his. (I think his are 3" wide.) He showed me the metal that is starting to build up on my hones and told me how to clean them. I asked about lapping a hone and here is his response: get a 12 by 12 piece of glass (mirror tile works fine) and a piece of 1000 grit sandpaper. Wet the sandpaper and place it on the glass (it will stick due to the water). Then, place your hone flat on the sandpaper and essentially sand it to perfectly flat. I had asked about lapping before the "group split" and never got a good answer; I will try this.
Then it was upstairs for the main event: the shaves. Jay shaved first and I watched his technique. He had about 4 days beard and he did a good job. I got to see him lather and use two hot towels. After his shave he shaved my one day beard. I have a folding chair, the kind used for camping. It has a leg rest and a little head pillow for leaning back. This was our portable barber chair and worked well for the shave. I lathered up and sat down. Jay did a wonderful job with the first pass and I was very comfortable. He lathered me for the second pass and was amazed at how stiff my beard was in certain places. I am secretly releaved about this because these were the same places I have trouble with myself. But, overall, Jay shaved me better than I shave myself. The entire shave was very enjoyable and I hope Jay passes through Nashville about once a week; I could get used to such luxury.
Both being clean shaven we headed back downstairs for some potato soup I had been cooking. It was my first time using this particular recipe and I think it needs more spices. Jay kindly said the soup was good, but I think he was just being polite, hehehe.
That was it. I had to meet my wife for a pregnancy check up so Jay packed up and headed back to Indiana. I wanted to post to tell Jay thank you for the lessons and the shave and to encourage other straightrazorplace fellows to get together if given the chance. I look forward to meeting some of you other fellows in the future. Sam, anytime you want to visit the Frist Center just let me know and you and your family will be my guests.
Keep 'em sharp,
showme
thanks for the invite. jay and i had talked about the frist - i did not know what type of museum it was but tried to tell him about the frist family. i will take u up on it as my daugther is going up to knoxville, though we will be passing through nashville next sunday. i have meetings sometimes with the tennessee bar in nashville and if so, i may come in earlier.
yes, jay was letting his beard grow. i had forgot my razors and he met me at my office, so i was not really set up for a shave. he did the same thing with the razors - let me try to see if i could find the flaw. he showed me lynn's pointers about looking at the bevel edge, showing me where something was honed unevenly, showing me the spine being worn flat. these sort of tips would be more than just useful if and when i go to antique shops to look for razors. and it was a relief about the strop, knowing my technique was not bad.
my beard is a little more fuller than his. i would look like he did after day 2, and is a little more filled in than his. nothing wrong with that, but i am a little younger than he and i have black hair, so it shows up more.
jay, if u read this, i hope you enjoyed your trip. probably not as much sightseeing or visiting with us as you and we would have liked, but if some of you guys can get together, it is a pretty cool idea. for someone like me, it is great to be able to confirm that some of what i do is correct and where i need correction. thanks jay
sam
If anyone ever gets near Cleveland, we have a guest room and can accomodate. Doors always open. Razors always sharp. But.....you're doin' your own shaving.....lol. Lynn
15N and El Cajon blvd, San Diego
(about 30 minutes north of Kelly in IB)
John P
Uthed,
I'm in naperville, and down in bourbonnais for school.
I'm in Ames, Iowa (at least on most weekends) if there's anyone around flyover country.
I'm just outside of the Lincoln Tunnel in NJ. I would be willing to travel a bit for a large meet-up depending on when/where.[/list]
Im in Jackson Heights Queens, 10 mins from the 59th str bridge and 30 from Jersey. I'd travel a lil bit to get some good mentoring in all the areas involved with a straight razor. RichZ where are ya?
I am in Briarwood Queens past Forest Hills but not Jamaica.
So close
Lets see what we can do. I am not as accomplished as some on the group. However I am close. :roll:
When would you be free? for a tutorial sorta?
Doubt that anyone would be here soon, but if so, I live 5 miles from Schiphol Airport (near Amsterdam, the Netherlands). So if you ever get stuck there (eg. flying Brit. Airways lately.... :wink: ) or about to visit this miniature country drop me a line.
I am in Stuart, FL and I don't go to work untill Aug 29th. amyone want to come chat? Bring blade stones and leather we will have a party!! :D
mason
considering I am in Hobe Sound, we really ought to!!! :lol: small world isn't it?Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruckeriii
My, my, showme1or2, it sounds as though you and Jay had quite the intimate experience! :wink: Just kidding. It sounds like it was an educational meeting.
Lynn, I drove through Cleveland last year, headed further south. I would have popped in for that beer had I been interested in straight razors at the time. What kind of beer do you typically drink?
Door is open any time!!! I usually have a few cold Buds or Dos Equis hanging around. Lots of razors. Lots of strops. Lots of stones. Lots of fun. Lynn