Thread: THE HOLY GRAIL

Originally Posted by BeBerlin

There are bathrooms, and then there is this:

So, yes, I am looking forward to another shower and shave in our humble new home in Berlin Grunewald, and I know already that it will be bliss. Sun shining through lead glass windows, birds sining, espresso machine waiting - perfect. Tangible? Not really. Repeatable? I certainly hope so.

That looks like a gorgeous bathroom Robin. And judging by the info of Berlin Grunewald it looks like you're not doing too badly for yourself either. Congrats!

I'm not certain it is possible for me but one day I'd like to do one pass and be to the point I don't think another pass is necessary.

Wunderbar!

Obie, you've done it again, friend. A lovely post that reaches several different levels of the "why" involved with all of this, and it speaks to me at my core.

I don't have enough straight razor shaves under my belt to begin to classify them save to say I've been more satisfied than with ANY shave I've ever done with another tool.

I am connected in this process to impulses and urges that go back literally thousands of years. Linguists can't decipher the earliest written languages of the Minoans or the Harrappans, but among the things we know about them, we know they shaved. Imagine that for a moment: in regions a thousand miles apart, populated by peoples who had no idea the other existed, there arose a common urge among the menfolk to scrape the hair off their faces, and to use resources more precious than we can begin to imagine in order to accomplish their goal. Before there was iron, they shaved with bronze. Before there was bronze, they shaved with beaten, ground copper. Before that? Does ANYONE on this forum have the guts to go at his face with a sharp ROCK? Someone did.

I never thought of that stuff when I shaved with a Gillette19-bladed Conspicuous Consumption Cartridge Shaving System (refills only 12.99 apiece). And why would I? I was merely a consumer, and not a man; a purchaser-for-value and not a human.

In the decision to enter into all the arcana that surround shaving with a straight razor, I've found a part of myself that I genuinely appreciate and want to nurture. The time I spend in my shaves is time that belongs to me and me, alone, and my mind may wander where it wisheth, and I'm the better for it.

Women have had the good sense to take that time for themselves for aeons, while we men have snickered (insecurely, I think) about the time it takes women to "get ready." Guess what! That's quality time, and I'm taking some of my own. When I emerge, I do so clean and refreshed and eminently pleased, even if I find I, as Obie noted, missed a few stragglers. No worries. They'll cut just fine next time and I've learned to pay more attention wherever they were. What's more, a dreaded chore has become a cherished bit of the ever-so-finite time we have on this sweet blue-green time machine hurtling through space. God knows that time is far more engaging and well-spent than time spent answering a telemarketer's call or looking at vacuous images on a backlit flat screen or watching some bleach-blonded huckster blather about the power of gold or the wonders of herbal "male enhancement" pills.

Time is precious, probably moreso than we usually acknowledge. The Holy Grail I seek is the all-too-finite time well-spent in taking close care of that part of myself I see in the mirror, and knowing, like that image in the mirror, that it can be sought but never fully possessed.

My dear BobKincaid:

So well said, sir. Thank you for your profound thoughts, and for the kind words.

Regards,
Obie

I never thought of the time we take with a straight razor and actually enjoying it immensely compared to women taking their time getting dolled up. My wife never says a word to me to hurry up just as I have not to her.
Man, gotta love it when you can find a bit of little fairness in the world

Obie,

As you know, today I just received my DOVO Bismarck 5/8 spike tip from Lynn and soon will join the elite ranks of straight razor shavers. As such, I'm looking through the mist, hoping to catch a glimse of the Holy Grail - unlike those of you who already have it within your grasp.

Have you seen the Pixar animated movie Ratatouille? Even though it is a children's movie, you owe it to yourself to watch it if you have not already. In one scene the restaurant critic Anton Ego tastes the protagonist Remy's ratatouille and is instantly transported back to a warm and happy time in his childhood. The visual and audio effects used in this scene are stunning.

This is what I imagine the Holy Grail of shaves to be like - the here and present whisked away and for a moment, nothing else matters: just a guy, some lather, and a sweet blade singing it's way effortlessly through stubble.

Thanks to Obie and all of you for sharing your version of nirvana with us newbies. It is a source of inspiration for us all.

I know that there has already been a thread about favorite classical music, but Obie, I'd be honored if you'd suggest the "perfect" classical piece for me to play during my first straight razor shave.

Greg

Originally Posted by LinacMan

Obie,

As you know, today I just received my DOVO Bismarck 5/8 spike tip from Lynn and soon will join the elite ranks of straight razor shavers. As such, I'm looking through the mist, hoping to catch a glimse of the Holy Grail - unlike those of you who already have it within your grasp.

Have you seen the Pixar animated movie Ratatouille? Even though it is a children's movie, you owe it to yourself to watch it if you have not already. In one scene the restaurant critic Anton Ego tastes the protagonist Remy's ratatouille and is instantly transported back to a warm and happy time in his childhood. The visual and audio effects used in this scene are stunning.

This is what I imagine the Holy Grail of shaves to be like - the here and present whisked away and for a moment, nothing else matters: just a guy, some lather, and a sweet blade singing it's way effortlessly through stubble.

Thanks to Obie and all of you for sharing your version of nirvana with us newbies. It is a source of inspiration for us all.

I know that there has already been a thread about favorite classical music, but Obie, I'd be honored if you'd suggest the "perfect" classical piece for me to play during my first straight razor shave.

Greg

Hello, Greg:

Thanks for your thoughts, and for the kind remarks. Your new Dovo "Bismarck" 5/8" spike point is a lovely razor. I had one a long time and still miss it.

Good luck on your first shave with the "Bismarck." Be careful with the bite in the spike point. If you need help, please drop a note.

So what classical music do I recommend for your morning shave? Well, let me see. I love baroque in the morning, and listen to a lot of it: Bach, Handel, LeClarie, Vivaldi, Tartini, Rameau, Telemann, and big group of other good guys. Johann Sebastian Bach especially.

1. Try any of Bach's six unaccompanied cello suites. My set is with Yo-Yo Ma (CBS Masterworks M2K 37867).
2. I also recommend Bach's box set of sonatas and partitas for solo violin. Mine is with Itzhak Perlman (EMI 7 49483 2).
3. Another favorite is The Well-Tempered Clavier, Books 1 and 2, by the great Bach. The Well-Tempered Clavier is a set of 48 pieces, in two books of 24 each, written in all the major and the minor keys. They were originally written for the harpsichord. I have the piano version with Andras Schiff (London 414 388-2).

All these great works are calm and reflective. I find them perfect in helping find the Holy Grail of wet shaving with a straight razor.

Regards,
Obie

Originally Posted by Obie

Hello, Greg:

Thanks for your thoughts, and for the kind remarks. Your new Dovo "Bismarck" 5/8" spike point is a lovely razor. I had one a long time and still miss it.

Good luck on your first shave with the "Bismarck." Be careful with the bite in the spike point. If you need help, please drop a note.

So what classical music do I recommend for your morning shave? Well, let me see. I love baroque in the morning, and listen to a lot of it: Bach, Handel, LeClarie, Vivaldi, Tartini, Rameau, Telemann, and big group of other good guys. Johann Sebastian Bach especially.

1. Try any of Bach's six unaccompanied cello suites. My set is with Yo-Yo Ma (CBS Masterworks M2K 37867).
2. I also recommend Bach's box set of sonatas and partitas for solo violin. Mine is with Itzhak Perlman (EMI 7 49483 2).
3. Another favorite is The Well-Tempered Clavier, Books 1 and 2, by the great Bach. The Well-Tempered Clavier is a set of 48 pieces, in two books of 24 each, written in all the major and the minor keys. They were originally written for the harpsichord. I have the piano version with Andras Schiff (London 414 388-2).

All these great works are calm and reflective. I find them perfect in helping find the Holy Grail of wet shaving with a straight razor.

Regards,
Obie

If I may add in my $.o2, Mozart always sees me through the shave with flying colors.

Check out the Overture from Don Giovanni (and all of Don Giovanni) or Symphony 41 "Jupiter", along with the Marriage of Figaro... I prefer the faster, more lively classical, myself.

Cheers,
Jeremy

Hello, Jeremy:

How right you are about the great Mozart. He, too, is ideal for the morning shave. Symphony No. 41, his last, is glorious. Also, his late piano sonatas, string quartets and quintets — all that is good stuff for the morning shave.

By the way, Mozart used to frustrate his barber. Mozart's mind never stopped, and he was always composing, even when his barber was trying to powder him and put a ribbon in his hair. Mozart would be moving about and the barber chasing with the bloody ribbon. I can picture it.

Regards,
Obie