Thread: Conundrum Curiosity Complex.

How MaCGyver would spend his time after retiring. If Rube Goldberg was just a bit more to the point. If Tim Taylor were less well-equipped, and had spent time in the U.S.M.C. ("adapt & overcome!"). Or maybe just the b@$tard child of all of the above!

This, in a nutshell, is what has become a hobby of its own for myself. It is a mental exercise, in the same sense as when SWMBO & I pause "The Walking Dead" to discuss how WE would handle a dire scenario. With the difference of there being no zombies, and I'm basically trying to "make do" with scrap and/or trash. Most of the time, I find it both entertaining and rewarding, mentally.

There have been a few challenges in this hobby that basically snowballed into existence out of what started as an avalanche called "self reliance". Self reliance -> self educate about various prepping topics -> "What about shaving?... Is there a way to shave without throwing away money (cartridges) every month??" = straight razors etc. -> the current topic of indulging my curiosity*. One such challenge is pacing myself in order to not agitate my wife too severely.

With every year, the words of my father ring louder in my head: "If it's worth doing once, it's worth doing right the first time." I am also never afraid to ask a stupid question or four! I openly admit that I am strange and/or odd. I down right love thinking outside the box! And when one of my hair-brained ideas works out, or proves true a solution, I feel a sense of pride, and sometimes a bit exhilarated. But enough about me!

Many of my obstacles during these endeavors stem from a lack of knowledge of materials, not knowing how to proceed or what technique is needed, or a general lack of funds.

So I have spawned this thread to implore you to assist my mental exercises. I would greatly appreciate any help you can lend me, as I reason & logic my way through a metaphorical labyrinth I generously call "possible solutions". Comments, questions, and criticisms are also welcome (as long as you aren't flagrantly insulting ).

Some ideas will be for/shared with razor restoration. Some ideas will not. A couple examples: human powered table saw could get some use during a razor restoration; the dinosaur I am gonna make from "bread factory trench art" is a gift for my wife. IMO, this thread would be best served in "The Workshop", but won't put up a fight if a Mod were to move it.

Also, those of you that get a kick out of my whackadoodle experiments ("Crawler and His ERN", "Brush Uniform Metrics & Measurements System, or B.U.M.M.S."), you may want to outright subscribe to this thread now .

I encourage anyone else with likewise curiosities to post them here as well! Let's get brainstorming. This is gonna be fun (preferably no "blasts" stronger than a firecracker...)!

*= No small thanks to "Star Trek", and the way it openly embraced the natural curiosity we have as a species!!!