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Going back in time .

Well I am starting this blog to record my return to an older type of shaving . Like most of us I at present use the ubiquitous supermarket disposable razors , and have done so for , well I don't really know how long . When did these disposable and cartridge type of razors come about ? I guess I have been shaving regularly since I was around 16 which ,as I was born in 1953 , make it around 1969 when I started . I have a memory a very faint one I admit , to having a razor that twisted to open and receive a double edge blade of the kind that came in little rectangular boxes . I remember that the blades came wrapped in paper and the used blades were posted into a slot in the back of the box . Now that is all I actually remember of these things and as soon as the more modern types , disposables came out I started using them. Well you would wouldn't you how many teenagers want to do things as their Fathers do most of us wanted to look modern I guess , well I did anyway .

So where is all this rambling leading to , I am glad you asked ! As I am getting somewhat better at sharpening knives My poor weak mind seems to be taken with the idea of buying a straight razor from an antiques centre ,something from the 1880's to around the demise of the Old Queen , in 1901 I think . I admit that I only knew the date of Queen Victoria's death from watching my favourite John Wayne film The Shootist . So the thought of going from a modern razor to an inexpertly sharpened cutthroat is for me a daunting prospect and unusually good sense has prevailed and instead of leaping straight back to the end of the nineteenth century perhaps the 1950's may be a better place to start .

I have now checked out a few video's on YouTube and have found that the razors that I remember from my youth are indeed called DE or double edge . In fact this whole retro shaving lark is alive and kicking without me knowing anything about it . Youtube is awash with helpful young fellows scraping the whiskers off their finely honed chins with razors that they certainly don't remember from the first time round . Mind you I have learned an awful lot more about shaving than my Father ever taught me ,I guess it must have been him that showed me the ropes though I don't remember the lesson .

So I now have an Edwin Jagger DE89 razor and am waiting for those fine folks at Amazon to deliver the rest of the not inconsiderable amount of gear that it seems I must have . A styptic pencil ,what a word from the dawn of history , anyway I have forgotten to order one so in the short term things may get bloody !! The razor looks nice and I am thinking that it is probably of a lot higher quality than I would have had in the late sixties. I would likely have had an old one of my Dad's to start .

I hope to return to this blog in the future , blood loss allowing , and record my return journey to the shavings of my youth and hopefully back in time to the days of the Old Queen and a wonderful straight razor . Got to get through my lack of a styptic pencil first , can't imagine what a young girl in the chemist will think if I ask for one of those .

Tags: ., DE, Ramblings, Razors, Shaving, Time, Travel

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Comment by John Bamford on April 3, 2016 at 3:02: And , "No Sue I am not collecting razors now " !!

I just received a new(ish) razor , bought on Ebay ,it has been restored with new scales but the blade is sound . I was carried along a little by the other razors that the seller had for auction which were magnificent though a little beyond what I am willing to pay at present . Well this little razor wasn't very expensive at $55 and it is an attractive razor , very sharp out of the box , I have cut myself already and haven't used it yet !

One thing I really liked about it , and this has no real effect on performance is it was bought from Verona in Italy . It sounds sort of Shakespearian to me but then I am easily pleased .

Comment by Jan Carter on February 29, 2016 at 14:19: John,

I admire your beginning this journey. I know you have a love of sharp so I wondered when you would begin to work your magic on a straight edge. I love that you have taken to a basic level, it is an edge on a piece of steel. It just seems to me this is the logical mind set. Find your bevel, keep your angle level and do the finishing touches we may not always do with our knives. The leather strop and a good hone. It is funny that most would not see this as an adventure but I certainly do. An adventure back in time !

Comment by John Bamford on February 29, 2016 at 11:08: Well I am moving slowly backwards and am hovering around 1932 at the moment . At least that was the time when my new , to me , cutthroat razor was made . It is nice to get something made in Sheffield as I don't have a knife that was made there . I got this razor from eBay so that I could practice sharpening without potentially ruining an expensive purchase . I also didn't want to spend too much in case I just couldn't bring myself to use it !

The seller claimed that it had been sharpened , and it would have been possible to cut yourself on it , but it wasn't that sharp . So I have been busy watching video's on YouTube about both using a razor like this and of course sharpening it . Some of the razor forums seem a little bit sniffy about knife people trying to sharpen a razor and seem to want to make out that there is some kind of voodoo about it . I have been told more than once "sharpening razors is completely different to sharpening knives". No it isn't you are putting an edge on a piece of steel , somewhat different edges are needed though , an almost sharp razor isn't good enough ! Then again your razor isn't asked to cut anything other than whiskers , unlike a knife which you could use for a variety of different jobs . Anyway it seems to be pretty sharp now and I am getting used to the feel of it against my face . It is a little daunting the first time that you pick it up , perhaps a bit more like terrifying !!

Most folks say to get used to it slowly and take a few weeks to become comfortable with it , so I do a little every day and then swap to the DE razor to do the tricky areas .

In Memoriam Comment by D ale on February 9, 2016 at 16:04: Here is another version that I have ..TWINPLEX.. specifically designed for double edge razor blades.

Again .. a stock pic I pulled from the internet .. I still need to dig mine out.

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This one has two leather sheathed revolving drums .. that the razor blade is pressed against. With each turn of the hand crank .. the razor blade is flipped & the other side of the cutting edges is placed in contact with the revolving leather drums.

.

The Kriss Kross is a much more clever design.

In Memoriam Comment by D ale on February 9, 2016 at 15:48

They are super cool ..&.. very functional.
I have one complete .. i.e. original receipt / box / instructions / etc. I have another in box but w/o documentation. I have a third .. dysfunctional.
I have a couple other varieties of razor blade sharpeners .. i.e. different approaches. I need to dig them out .. for this forum ..&.. to simply find them.
Thanks for posting the link, Jan.
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Comment by Jan Carter 3 hours ago
.: Kriss Kross

Comment by John Bamford on February 9, 2016 at 12:32: Thanks for the link Jan I think I will need to get one of those ,

Need to wait for a while there have been a lot of deliveries of late ! A viper is on pre order as well as the possible straight razor .

Comment by Jan Carter on February 9, 2016 at 11:45: Kriss Kross

Comment by John Bamford on February 9, 2016 at 10:03: Mr John Kellogg how can you think of putting that lovely razor into early retirement . Think of all the fun you can have planning your new badger brush and which shaving soap to choose , the stuff in cans is thought of as REALLY bad in the circles that I now inhabit . There is endless possibilities for useful expenditure if you put that razor to use , and you will be supporting the US economy .

Comment by John Bamford on February 9, 2016 at 9:57: Dale that is a fascinating machine I have never seen one like it . I will have to look out for one in the antiques shops , I may have seen one in the past but wouldn't have known what it was .

The only thing cheap about DE shaving is the cost of blades ,they are cheap, so the sharpener may not be practical . When you find a way of making a chore interesting , shaving in this case , then there is a tendency to start collecting stuff . For most people at least as far as I have seen so far old razor's are a big draw . Otherwise shaving soaps seem to be a common fetish , you should see the price of some of these things !

Oh and brushes , Badger Brushes to be precise , these things are a big deal to wet shavers . That seems to be the collective name "Wet Shavers" got a bit of a ring about it I suppose . Well Badger Brushes are close to the Holy Grail it appears with endless discussions on the merits of certain brands and the demerits of others , Sounds a bit like knife collecting really !!!

Comment by John Kellogg on February 8, 2016 at 21:49: Dale

That is something I have never seen,

What a cool razor sharpener,I wonder if it could work on some certain knives?