The Shave Den On Diet

Gentlemen,

Recently I have been forced to limit my straight razor shaving because of my banged up hands. The condition makes holding the razor for a long period of time uncomfortable. Stropping and honing are even bigger killers. Oy! As a result, I have had to pass on most of straight razors — down from about 50 to 9. Since I can handle only one pass with the grain, two the most, I now shave straight on weekends, finishing off with the double edge. Occasionally on a week day, too. So here is the shave den on a diet. Some of the soaps and creams are out on the counter. About 20 others are in the closet to the right (looking at the photo) of the counter. Enjoy.

Aww sorry to hear about your hands. What happend if you don't mind me asking? Sweet collection! Are 5 of your 9 straights TI's? I'm just judging by the scale design. Hehe up on your brush shelf you have a 7 day set! I'd like to leave a few of my shaving goodies out on the counter for display but I'm too paranoid about the humidity affecting things.

Obie your den looks stressful to me! How on earth do you decide which awesome combination of items to shave with?! So many choices I'd never get out of there.

Wow!!! If thats what you call on a diet. Great gear, thanks for the look see.

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Originally Posted by AndrewK

Aww sorry to hear about your hands. What happend if you don't mind me asking? Sweet collection! Are 5 of your 9 straights TI's? I'm just judging by the scale design. Hehe up on your brush shelf you have a 7 day set! I'd like to leave a few of my shaving goodies out on the counter for display but I'm too paranoid about the humidity affecting things.

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Hello Andrew,
The problem with my hands is major arthritis. I am sure Vietnam wasn't much help either.
Yes, the five razors you mention are Le Grelot: dark buffalo horn, snake wood, ebony wood, black plastic and white plastic. Through the years, even when my hands were not that bad, I found the Le Grelot the most comfortable — and I had a big variety of new and vintage razors. The 25 Sheffields eventually became the hardest to hold, because of their size and weight. What I have left now are: 5 Le Grelot, Kropp, Widerstrahl, Rudi Schaaf and Friedr. Herder. Under the circumstances, that's about all the straights I need right now. Then again, who knows what lies ahead?
Stay well.

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Originally Posted by RobertH

Obie your den looks stressful to me! How on earth do you decide which awesome combination of items to shave with?! So many choices I'd never get out of there.

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Hello Robert,
Yes, sometimes I spend a lot of time just hanging around the shave den. It's great therapy. I used to rotate everything. Now, though, I grab whatever and whichever grabs my eye. The boars and some of the coarser badgers are reserved for soap. The softer badgers are reserved for creams.

I'm sorry to hear about your arthritis, my granpa has it to and he's handeled it like champ, he doesn't let it stop him from doing what he want's even if it hurts and I admire him for having the stubborn willpower that he has, anyways keep strong.
Baxxer

Hmm, I wonder if designing scales for arthritic sufferers would help? Or would that even make a difference?

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Originally Posted by Mephisto

Hmm, I wonder if designing scales for arthritic sufferers would help? Or would that even make a difference?

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Mephisto,
That's a good thought. I don't think it will help, though. The reason these days I shave with the grain only is because shaving across and against the grain respectively require some contortion of the hands — and I switch hands. The grip for straight up and down for me seems the easiest. As I mentioned earlier, stropping puts a heavy burden especially on the right thumb. So does honing. While we don't hone that much, we strop before each shave. Oh well, I do the best I can. Either way, I am not about to give up on the straight.

Well, I hope it works out for you. I know later down the road it is something I will have to start thinking about.

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Originally Posted by Obie

Mephisto,
That's a good thought. I don't think it will help, though. The reason these days I shave with the grain only is because shaving across and against the grain respectively require some contortion of the hands — and I switch hands. The grip for straight up and down for me seems the easiest. As I mentioned earlier, stropping puts a heavy burden especially on the right thumb. So does honing. While we don't hone that much, we strop before each shave. Oh well, I do the best I can. Either way, I am not about to give up on the straight.

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