(slightly late) 1000th Post Giveaway!

FortyTwoBlades

FortyTwoBlades

Baryonyx walkeri
Dealer / Materials Provider
Joined
Mar 8, 2008
Messages
26,286
I noticed last night I'd finally hit the big 1000 and after all of the generosity I've received from other members on the forum I figured it's time to spread the good karma! Up for grabs is...(drum roll)...

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A Dovo Best Quality straight razor, new in box!

I know we have a razor forum on here, but I consider straight razor shaving something of an economic survival skill. Take care of this razor and it will last longer than you will and keep giving top-quality shaves after thousands of disposables have bit the dust. Independence and tradition is what we're talking about here.

So, the rules are: Tell me a story of a skill someone of an older generation passed down to you, or an old-world skill that you've kept alive. I'll let the contest run until I think I've found a winner. Thanks for playing! :)
 
my dad taught me the most important skill that there was. He taught me how to sharpen a knife. Without a sharp knife alot of what we do here is impossible. lets see you make a fire with a dull knife. anyway, seeing as my dad was the only man whos ever taught me anything, that is what i am choosing. thanks for this chance fourtytwoblades.
 
My father taught me how to improvise and to take things apart and how to get them back together. How to do plumbling the old-fashioned way,with iron pipes,cutting and threading the pipe. He taught me that with creativity and basic principles you could take junk and make something that was practical and effective. To this day I still use a 1955 and 1967 gravely tractor to do my lawnwork, I still build a great deal of my own equipment,fix my own car and do my own house repairs. He taught me that the first thing I should do is not holler for help,but to grit my teeth and tackle the problem myself. Not sure if that was what you were looking for,but I thought I would share.
 
hey cool giveaway. I just got a straight razor a little while ago, but it turned out to be cheap chinese junk and just hurt to use.


Anyways, in keeping with the Dad threads, my father taught me how to think rationally. I used to be someone who would always just jump into projects or situations without concern for consequences. I would try to build things without reading instructions. I would go hiking without bringing proper gear. He has taught me to think things through logically and rationally. This is not only a useful life skill, but it also applies greatly in the bush. The first thing you are supposed to do when you realized you are lost is sit down, calm down, and think. While its not a tangible skill, I think it is one of the most important skills to have.
 
I have thought about trying out a straight razor from time to time but never have gotten up the guts to try :D

My dad taught me a bunch about how the world worked. In my opinion, one of the best things that he taught me is that no one is more responsible for my actions than me. It seems like so many people in the world these days are quick to point to outside factors for their problems or shortcomings. I was raised that if I made a mistake, it was much better to own up to it, bite down on the stick and take what was coming. I've seen people lose everything from relationships to jobs, not for making a mistake, but for failing to stand up and admit that they did.

Congrats on the 1000 and thanks for the opportunity. This is a pretty cool thread :D
 
Great giveaway. I have been wanting to get back to shaving with one.
When I was a kid my Dad taught me to fish with little more than a stick, a string and a hook. In the places I usually go I know I'll be able to catch food with this experience.
He also taught too keep my eyes open. It's amazing how much you miss before you are taught to watch.
Thanks for the chance!
 
My dad taught me all kinds of things. He taught me how to maintain and shave with a straight razor, for one thing. An old barber taught him the same thing when he was 20.

Dad taught me how to forge, sharpen tools and knives, use a knife, fix stuff, shoot a gun, shoot a bow, how to be responsible for my own belongings and family. All of those, in this day and age, seem to be perishable skills or values.

His dad taught me how to do drywall. While I don't make my living doing that, I also don't hire it done when my house needs repairs or remodeling.

I've got two straight razors, and while I've always wanted a Dovo, I think that someone who hasn't got one should get it and learn this part of self sufficiency. I was just thinking about how long a razor lasts last night while I shaved my neck (I wear a beard). I sharpened the thing and stropped it before I shaved. My wife uses disposable blades, and I was comparing the costs in my head. Both of my razors were paid for 20 years ago. My stone, 25 years ago. The strop, from the same time period. I use commercial shaving cream most of the time, but I can get by with just regular soap. I can use this stuff for the rest of my life and never wear any of it out. That's economy!
 
well I in fact am in the market for a razor (went to antique flea market yesterday but nothing was there)

When I was a younger boy I was in boy scouts. When at summer camp one year I had an interesting experience. The point of summer camp is to earn merit badges and have fun. One of mine that I was getting was wilderness survival. After a few days in the "class room" we had to spend 2 nights in the field with only a tarp, knife, 10ft of rope, flashlight, and the oldest scout get a walkie just in case something bad happened. That was when I realize that I knew what I was doing in the field and that being a boy scout was something I was proud of. I made fire, set up camp and found minimal food even drank out of a stream.
Though interesting and very fun the best part involves another merit badge I was taking for about the 7th time (and yes I earned it the first time I just liked the topic and thought it was worth it to take over each time I could) that merit badge was First Aid. As a larger troop we held 2 camp sites. The 2nd being back from the first and connected by a 1/4mile trail. As an older scout I was responsible for the younger scouts.
I realized that one had been gone for a bit to long (after he complained his stomach hurt) so I decided I was going to go check on him. I found him on the trail with a broken ankle. Apparently he was running in the dark and missed a hole there. I had to splint his leg then carry him to the main site. Once there I had some younger scouts go find an adult with a car so we can transport him to the hospital, I had some others fill in the hole, and the rest try and keep the injured scout calm. Once an adult got there we transported the injured scout to a van and the adult, injured scout, and I went to the hospital. That was a long night and to be honest I didnt think about what to say or do at all it just all happened. I guess thats all that training ahah. Either way Scouting was my great foundation for my skills in the wilderness and how I learned and taught through others.
 
Great stuff so far guys! It's good to hear a lot of this kind of knowledge is going strong. :thumbup:
 
My parents taught me and I taught my kids to be leary and cautious of strangers. This has saved my butt in bigger cities while on buisness and my daughter once while having a stranger come to our door. You always want them to help people but you don't want to be lured in as a victim. Go with your gut.
 
Since I am in the market for a razor, I guess I'll share. I guess the biggest skill I have picked up from my dad..well...and my grandpa was tracking game. We have spent many hours stomping through the Texas countryside looking for a dang gutshot deer. Knowing full well the deer was going to die either way, but my dad always instilled in me the idea of letting them go quick and as painless as possible. He also hated people who would shoot something just to shoot it and anytime we kids did, we had to track it, clean it, and do something with it. Even if it was just put a dead and cleaned crow in the dog's food bowl. He taught me never to waste what I hunt. Lessons I hope to pass on one day.

Outside of that, he has saved me thousands upon thousands of dollars by always making me work on my own cars when I started driving. I picked it up and never take mine in to a shop.
 
My Dad taught me to be me. When I'd do something stupid he would ask me if that was consistent with my personality/ability and remind me not to do anything that stupid again. He taught me that peer pressure should not be considered a reason to act foolishly. Then he would blister my butt.
 
I didnt know my Grandfather well, but there is a very important lesson in which he taught me a long, long time ago. This lesson had been with me ever since and has made such an impact on me that I use this lesson every single day of my life.

The lesson my Grandfather taught me is simple old fashion hard work!! And that the result you end with, is a reflection of the hard work you put in to something. As he would say " If you do something half ass, then thats the result you'll get, Half ass!!

I didnt understand all that at the time, but know that I am older, I understand that when you put your all into something and take pride in your WORKMANSHIP, the end result is a QUALITY one that you can take PRIDE in. And this lesson goes with almost everything I do, and goes with me everyday!!

I never really got to spend a lot of time with my Grandfather when I was growing up but, he taught me alot about life in the one summer I did get to spend with him. And for that I will always be thankful!!!
 
A scout leader told me,"Doing the right thing is a win-win situation."

And I really belive that, and take it to heart.

Very generous of you btw, thanks.
 
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I can clearly remember my dad telling me, on numerous occasions, "if it's worth doing, it's worth doing right" (translation from french). When I work on something, be it a knife or at the office (I'm a software architect), and I'm tired or not too focused, I take a deep breath, and remember my dad and this saying.

Cool contest! I always wanted to try shaving with a straight razor; didn't have to chance to have my dad showing me how to do it. Maybe if I learn to do it right (;)), I'll teach him!
 
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Hah. Thanks for the bump. My guess is there are a lot of bearded dudes hanging around these parts. I've got a little bit of one going but straight razors are great for trimming!
 
My grampa gave me my first pocket knife for Christmas at age 8...who would have known that it would lead to knifeaholic-ism, or a condition my dad calls "knife-brain" :p

Anyway...One of the coolest things my grampa taught me, is how to make a willow whistle. I was amazed at the skill that his old, gnarled, retired farmer hands possessed when he used his pocket knife to knock one of these out for me. I was easily impressed at 6...grampa was the smartest man alive!;) It's been quite a long time since I've made one, but I think it's time I "WOW" my nearly 4 year old daughter with one this spring. Not really a "skill", I guess, but if you didn't have a whistle on you, when you needed one, you could always try to make one! :D -Matt-
 
Thanks for the contest and for the chance. Since you didn't request the most important skill passed on to me, I'll take a slightly unusual approach to your challenge.

I have a 75-year old Italian barber. He grew up in Salermo and immigrated to the US after the war as a young man. He's full of old-world knowledge because he grew up in rural Italy. His entire backyard is a garden, no grass whatsoever, but plenty of pole beans, tomatoes, eggplant, etc. He taught me how to garden and last year I converted a significant portion of my backyard to garden. I grew a huge variety of food, learned how to provide for myself and my family in a different way than just earning money, learned a lot, and got to eat delicious, healthful food all summer. We ate mostly out of that garden all season long.

He also taught me how to grow a fig tree in the cold Massachusetts climate without taking it indoors for winter. He gave me a shoot from his fig tree, which he brought from his family farm in Italy when he immigrated here. I've nurtured it for 2 years and it has already produced wonderful figs. I appreciated that fig tree shoot so much I have him a Case blue-bone pocketknife to match his barber's smock.
 
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