Thread: Traditional Shaving Products for Our Troops

Ladies and gentlemen:

I have read these posts with much interest, and have analyzed the idea of providing straight razor and wet shaving equipment to our troops fighting wars. As a former soldier who has served in war (mine was Vietnam), my thoughts echo what some of you have noted.

My experience tells me most soldiers dislike the daily shave. They find it a burden, a pain in the tokhus, but do it because regulations are regulations. Although Straight Razor Place has made this noble gesture to our soldiers in war, I dare say we will have few takers.

A soldier has far too many things to think about, and on which to spend his time, than to embrace the world of straight razor shaving with all its rituals and idiosyncrasies. With rare exceptions, soldiers would rather get the shave over as fast as they can, any way they, and move on.

I fear, therefore, our effort will be for naught. Yes, our soldiers will be grateful for the gesture — soldiers are always grateful for a nod — but most will probably admit that straight razor shaving is not for them, at least not under the circumstances. A soldier's reality in a bloody war is different from ours in a peaceful land.

What's more, the world of wet shaving with the straight razor and the double edge relies on personal desire rather than anything else. We embrace this colorful world because we want to. Yes, occasionally some of us have tasted the fruits of it on invitation. Yet the reason we have kept up with it is directed by our desire to shave with the straight razor or the double.

I believe the best course for us, as individuals and as members of Straight Razor Place, is to provide all the teaching and information we can and let our soldiers decide for themselves, when conditions are better, whether they want to experience the daily pleasures in the shave den we civilians so enjoy.

Regards,

Obie