Welcome Home...THANK YOU FOR BEING A PART OF OUR COMMUNITY

iKnife Collector

The online community of knife collectors, A Knife Family Forged in Steel

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

7 members like this

Add a Comment

You need to be a member of iKnife Collector to add comments!

Join iKnife Collector

Comment by John Bamford on July 16, 2016 at 12:59: Oh thanks Dale you are a Star , I will look forward to trying them out in a little while !

In Memoriam Comment by D ale on July 16, 2016 at 12:08: John, I got it shipped today.

.

WOWZA .. there exist major restrictions on what sharpened implements can be shipped to the UK. It took them 12 minutes (I do not exaggerate to make a point) to determine if it was acceptable to ship

..or..

Not

.

Anyway .. it's on its way.

In Memoriam Comment by D ale on July 13, 2016 at 16:46: Jan,
John & I were not "official" iKC friends. When John sent me a formal "friend request" .. he took advantage of the option of sending a message with that friend request. I "assumed" that message would end up in my "inbox". For whatever reason .. it did not. Nor is it present in the "Alerts" , "Sent" , or "Archive" sections ..or.. on my wall. It has simply disappeared. Surprised me too.

Comment by Jan Carter on July 13, 2016 at 8:52: The next only says The Champion Razor Hone. I have done a bit of research on this and it apparently made by the same company that made the Winner and Regal hones. We also have a Champion and it was my understanding it was part of the American Hone Company

Comment by Jan Carter on July 13, 2016 at 8:39: Dale,

Anything sent within the email system here should still be within your reach. Maybe in the sent box?

Comment by John Bamford on July 13, 2016 at 6:52: I have PM ed you my address Dale .

Didn't know if that tradition was used across the pond or not .

With all those stones you have all you need to bring a razor back to life and show the world a clean profile once more !!

I have heard good things about Swaty stones but have yet to see one turn up on Ebay over here , thanks for that .

I am in a raffle for a Japanese Natural water stone on Keith Johnson's Youtube site , these Japanese natural stones are completely bewildering to me at the moment . I like Keiths site though because I like his accent and straight way of talking . I have some Japanese synthetic stones but Jnats as they call them I just don't understand at all .

In Memoriam Comment by D ale on July 13, 2016 at 5:45: John,

I have at least 3 of the "FRANZ SWATY" Barber's Hones & will toss one in for your personal use. They simply sit in a box @ my house. I did some checking last night & the Franz Swaty have a good reputation.

Surprisingly, I found .. not all do .. i.e. apparently the CHAMPION is of questionable quality .. due to inconsistent grain size of the material making up the stone itself. According to the reviews I read .. they've been known to gouge the cutting edge. OUCH !!!

Your brother has an interesting hobby & website.

I am familiar with the tradition you mentioned ..&.. would not want you cutting yourself. As such, I have forwarded my postal address. I embarrassingly need you to <again> do the same ..as.. I did not make a note of it from your original message. I truly thought it would become part of my e-mail system here .. figured it would be transferred to my "inbox" ..and.. I'd reference it when I went to ship. It did not .. show up in my "inbox" .. how weird.

.

Enjoy

D ale

Comment by John Bamford on July 13, 2016 at 2:02: Goodness Dale you have built up Quite a collection over the years , those Barber Hones do sell well on the Bay at least they do over here I don't usually check on the stuff in the States . I guess when straight razor shaving went out of fashion all these things became surplus to requirement .

Thanks for the link I will check that out later today .

In Memoriam Comment by D ale on July 12, 2016 at 19:40: John .. I came across .. this site .. which dates straight razors.

Thought you might find it interesting.

In Memoriam Comment by D ale on July 12, 2016 at 16:43: Rocks

Many have the original "price tags" still on them.

Again .. my interest is in the history of the cutlery industry.

And .. many of these stones have a manufacture's name inset into them.

Then .. there exist the boxes of razor blade sharpening machines.

But .. that's a whole other story.

.

Enjoy

D ale