"Carl's Lounge" (Off-Topic Discussion, Traditional Knife "Tales & Vignettes")

meako said:
Hang on...just to confirm I was in my late 40s...😵‍💫
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Yeah your initial story makes it sound like you were 13 and are currently 23 ;) My favorite part was when you said ... "I was ordered to shave." LoL

I like the idea of using one of these old straight razors or razor jacks... but in no way will I ever allow myself to use something like that to shave my own face 🤣 If I am ever feeling nostalgic and the opportunity is there, I might pay for a shave and feel like Matt Dillon for a half hour. The Marshal Matt Dillon... not the guy with the big teeth that was in "There's Something About Mary."
 
veitsi_poika said:
Yeah your initial story makes it sound like you were 13 and are currently 23 ;) My favorite part was when you said ... "I was ordered to shave." LoL

I like the idea of using one of these old straight razors or razor jacks... but in no way will I ever allow myself to use something like that to shave my own face 🤣 If I am ever feeling nostalgic and the opportunity is there, I might pay for a shave and feel like Matt Dillon for a half hour. The Marshal Matt Dillon... not the guy with the big teeth that was in "There's Something About Mary."
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You are not familiar with the term, "She Who Must Be Obeyed"?

I grew up with "safety razors" and needed enough styptic pen from the usage to satisfy any curiosity about straight razors.
 
veitsi_poika said:
I learned something new today since I had to Google "styptic pen" 😉
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mbkr said:
Me too :thumbsup:
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You've led impoverished lives, you babes in the woods! 😁 🤓
I knew what a styptic pen was (although in my neck of the woods we always called them styptic pencils), but I've never used one since I've never shaved with anything other than an electric shaver (starting with a 2-rotating-heads Norelco in 1968, and after several intervening models I can't recall, I've been back to a Norelco (now a 3-head) for at least 20 years).

- GT
 
5K Qs said:
You've led impoverished lives, you babes in the woods! 😁 🤓
I knew what a styptic pen was (although in my neck of the woods we always called them styptic pencils), but I've never used one since I've never shaved with anything other than an electric shaver (starting with a 2-rotating-heads Norelco in 1968, and after several intervening models I can't recall, I've been back to a Norelco (now a 3-head) for at least 20 years).

- GT
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I had black hair and a fair complexion in my youth. I started shaving about 5th or 6th grade. So, roughly '63-'64. We might have called it a "pencil", but "pen" came to mind when I was writing. I do firmly remember that using one stings.
 
meako said:
Any of you guys ever actually used a cutthroat razor?
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I do, since 45 years with the same razor, a Le Grelot made by P. Hospital. I also use the same Russian Foal strop. The only aftershave i use is an alum Block.
I very rarely cut myself, even now using a blood thinning medication after a stroke.
It's a matter of discipline, let alone the neat result you can get with a bit of experience.
I couldn't anyway tell my wife i don't use anymore the gift she made to me 45 years ago.

DSC_0540.JPG

Dan.
 
knarfeng said:
We might have called it a "pencil"
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We always called it a pencil, and so did the old commercial where the foolish old father is teaching his son how to shave with an archaic safety razor instead of a sensible modern electric.

"The water is hot, very hot. Don't worry, won't melt your face.
...
This is a styptic pencil."

It's refreshing to look for something google AI can't find.
 
screened porch said:
We always called it a pencil, and so did the old commercial where the foolish old father is teaching his son how to shave with an archaic safety razor instead of a sensible modern electric.

"The water is hot, very hot. Don't worry, won't melt your face.
...
This is a styptic pencil."

It's refreshing to look for something google AI can't find.
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But Jer, safety razors are awesome--much better than the expensive multi-blade plastic crap that's popular nowadays. And the electric razor gave me ingrown hairs on my neck.
(I have a styptic pencil, but rarely needed it when shaving.)
Got a beard now, though. (I was ordered to grow one.)
 
Prester John said:
But Jer, safety razors are awesome--much better than the expensive multi-blade plastic crap that's popular nowadays. And the electric razor gave me ingrown hairs on my neck.
(I have a styptic pencil, but rarely needed it when shaving.)
Got a beard now, though. (I was ordered to grow one.)
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I switched to safety razors about 10 years ago - mostly to avoid putting all that plastic into the landfill. I have a goatee, but I also shave my head.
Learning to use a safety razor on my face (leaving out the goatee and moustache areas): super easy.
Learning to use a safely razor to shave my head: I kinda looked like Frankenstein for a while, and definitely used a lot of styptic pencil. But I am stubborn, and eventually figured it out. Based on that, my wife has firmly vetoed me using a straight-edge razor.

The worst shredding the top of my head has ever had was from an electric razor where the mesh had a crack in it - so slight I couldn't really feel the fine network of scratches it was putting all over my head. At least, I couldn't feel it over the general sensation of having all my hair yanked out that happened whenever I used that razor. Electrics didn't last long with me - the brief period where I tried them was deeply unpleasant.
 
screened porch said:
We always called it a pencil, and so did the old commercial where the foolish old father is teaching his son how to shave with an archaic safety razor instead of a sensible modern electric.

"The water is hot, very hot. Don't worry, won't melt your face.
...
This is a styptic pencil."

It's refreshing to look for something google AI can't find.
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HA! I remember that commercial. "And THIS...is a styptic pencil"
 
I started shaving 60-some years ago with a safety razor, and that's what I'm using now. After trying electric, injector, disposable, and cartridge razors; I find that the double edge safety razor is the cheapest & most effective way to scrape hair off my face. And yes, I've used a styptic pencil in the past, but not for many years.

In all my time shaving, I never tried a straight razor. I'd probably hurt myself.
 
I switched to a safety razor a little over ten years ago and won't go back to the plastic disposables. With the right soap and brush I changed from hating to shave to enjoying it.

As far as SWMBO is concerned, she has made it abundantly clear that facial hair is not to be even considered. When I go backpacking for a week and come home with a week of growth she calls me a wino.
 
I've had a full beard pretty much always from the time I turned 20. I had to cut it off down to a mustache for about 8 years when I was a bench chemist because I had to be able to seal a respirator. My wife was the one who suggested I grow my beard back when I changed to a desk job.

But my wife has never seen my upper lip. I credit that for 40+ years of marriage. I think she's curious and won't let go of me until she she's that last part of me. ;)
 
knarfeng said:
I had black hair and a fair complexion in my youth. I started shaving about 5th or 6th grade. So, roughly '63-'64. We might have called it a "pencil", but "pen" came to mind when I was writing. I do firmly remember that using one stings.
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Frank, we're at opposite ends of the beard spectrum, I think. My hair has been white my whole life (until it turned gray) and my facial hair has never extended down onto my neck at all (and I can't grow sideburns). I think I started borrowing my Dad's electric shaver when I was a junior in high school, shaving once a month whether I needed it or not. Even in the prime of my manhood, I never shaved more than 3 times a week, and could usually shave twice a week without anyone seeing much white stubble on my face.

knarfeng said:
I've had a full beard pretty much always from the time I turned 20. I had to cut it off down to a mustache for about 8 years when I was a bench chemist because I had to be able to seal a respirator. My wife was the one who suggested I grow my beard back when I changed to a desk job.

But my wife has never seen my upper lip. I credit that for 40+ years of marriage. I think she's curious and won't let go of me until she she's that last part of me. ;)
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That's quite a bearded life! I've never had a beard. But I grew a fairly luxurious (or unkempt, depending on whom you asked) mustache when I was 25, shaved it off when I turned 50 (quite traumatic for my 13-year-old daughter who had never seen me without it), and when I turn 75 next December I might grow the mustache again to see if I can keep it for the next quarter-century (odds are against me).

dantzk8 said:
I do, since 45 years with the same razor, a Le Grelot made by P. Hospital. I also use the same Russian Foal strop. The only aftershave i use is an alum Block.
I very rarely cut myself, even now using a blood thinning medication after a stroke.
It's a matter of discipline, let alone the neat result you can get with a bit of experience.
I couldn't anyway tell my wife i don't use anymore the gift she made to me 45 years ago.

View attachment 3074928

Dan.
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I'd never heard of an alum block before; what is its function? Does it soothe any "razor burn"?
When I was a kid, my Mom had me put a little chip of alum against canker sores I'd frequently get inside my lips.

- GT
 
5K Qs said:
Frank, we're at opposite ends of the beard spectrum, I think. My hair has been white my whole life (until it turned gray) and my facial hair has never extended down onto my neck at all (and I can't grow sideburns). I think I started borrowing my Dad's electric shaver when I was a junior in high school, shaving once a month whether I needed it or not. Even in the prime of my manhood, I never shaved more than 3 times a week, and could usually shave twice a week without anyone seeing much white stubble on my face.


That's quite a bearded life! I've never had a beard. But I grew a fairly luxurious (or unkempt, depending on whom you asked) mustache when I was 25, shaved it off when I turned 50 (quite traumatic for my 13-year-old daughter who had never seen me without it), and when I turn 75 next December I might grow the mustache again to see if I can keep it for the next quarter-century (odds are against me).


I'd never heard of an alum block before; what is its function? Does it soothe any "razor burn"?
When I was a kid, my Mom had me put a little chip of alum against canker sores I'd frequently get inside my lips.

- GT
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My son was 4 when I had to cut my beard for work. I'd heard stories, so I had him watch me cut it.

(A friend of mine had a full beard and cut it off without telling his family. He and his wife were smooching in the kitchen later that day when his 8-year old son came home from school and broke into tears because some strange man was kissing his mommy.)
 
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