Thread: Are we too obsessive?

glad you started this thread as i have often thought of the same questions you put forth. i remember quite well my grandfather(who raised me until i was 7 years old) shaving with a old boker straight. he had a strop hanging on the wall and i do not remember any type of hone other than a whetrock for pocket knifes. my father says the razor was "honed" on the knife sharpening stone, then stropped a few times..i know from my shaving experience that this seems like it would not be a great shave. i never heard my grandfather complain or any of the older men that were around at the time..so i am grateful for the newer ways of honing and glad i was not shaving back then.

I like thinking of it as a "shaving enthusiast" too. Its just like enjoying quality steaks or high performance cars, both can be replaced by their simpler siblings i.e. hamburger and Honda Accord...but why do that when you can have the best and most enjoyable? Horrifically sharp blades for the win!

Originally Posted by Stubear

Definately not! :-)

I keep getting told I dont need more than one razor but I so do...! And I need all my Shaptons as well.

Its necessary kit!

We are simply pushing the limits of our forebears as we have the modern technology to do so.

Man used to gaze into space with a telescope, then he built the space shuttle and he can go there himself.

Man used to use any sort of abrasive he could find to sharpen his razor, now he has the Shapton ceramic on glass to dial in the perfect edge.

Wait, did I just compare a hone to a space shuttle...? Ok, maybe I am too obsessive...!

Or maybe not..! :-)

The tiles on the bottom of the space shuttle are ceramic. I'm not sure what grit, but I imagine the NASA engineers have lapped them all correctly!

Thats a negative. Remember Columbia?

Originally Posted by Seraphim

The tiles on the bottom of the space shuttle are ceramic. I'm not sure what grit, but I imagine the NASA engineers have lapped them all correctly!

Originally Posted by khaos

Thats a negative. Remember Columbia?

Which would therefore lead one to the conclusion that we can never be too obsessive!

Your logic is infallible! I bow to your wit, as I head over to the other interwebs to seek out more shaving gear. (**** you and your $20 Wusthof) JK.

Originally Posted by Seraphim

Which would therefore lead one to the conclusion that we can never be too obsessive!

I think that while it may seem obsessive to some, our benchmark has changed drastically.

Back then (100+years ago) a pretty darn sharp straight was as good as you could get. Now-a-days a feather DE blade (or even a Mach3) is so much sharper than the old benchmark that we really do need the edge to be incredibly sharp to produce a superior shave.

Now-a-days we have so many options. For a straight to be the best option it has to be incredibly sharp (/keen) and capable of producing an irritation-free, close, smooth shave. Good enough 100 years ago probably wouldn't 'cut it' today.

There are many ways to skin a cat when it comes to getting a perfect edge, perhaps that's the difference between today and years ago.

Years ago a babers hone or sharpening stone was used, then the strop was used over n over to refine and keep that edge.

You can do this today, rather then going to 12k, or 30k Shapton etc.. you can stop at 8k or less and strop til your hands bleed, but which of us has the time, we're more obssesive now because we have the tools to do so, back then they weren't as readily available to the average joe.


so yes, we're OCD but it produces a finer sharper edge in less time I think, unless its a wedge or a frameback


I can tell the differnce when I dont take my edge down to .5 diamond film or so. I do however notice I can get there with a lot of stropping too, but this takes hours.

cheers
D

Originally Posted by khaos

(**** you and your $20 Wusthof) JK.

Seriously. Like he said.

Originally Posted by khaos

aren't we overkilling?

Not me - I'm just obsessive enough