Now that I'm in 'rehab' mode with my recent surgery, I've had downtime which has allowed me to take inventory on my straight razors. Some are shave-ready & I have them in my shaving rotation; others are in desperate need of restoration, others simply need a bit of edge touch-up. My problem is my lack of organizational skills. I have these razors in 4 different locations…. Thankfully, my wife has exceptional skills in this department and is full of good advice in helping me 'organize' my ever-changing inventory of straight razors. I had been keeping my 'shave-ready razors in my top drawer—sort of all jumbled together in a semi-pile. NOT a good idea both for my own safety, but also for the welfare of the blades. This HAD to change and I've been meaning to create a better way to keep them. So the first thing I did was to gather ALL the razors together into one place… A large drawer seemed as good a place as any to start….A temporary 'holding station' until I get my vanity fixed up. This is about 80% of the group….the rest are on the work bench. This one I'm excited about eventually finishing…a unique Böhler-Stahl for the 1930s…gonna be purdy! I decided to empty out the vanity drawers in my bathroom and create some compartments within the drawers that will for an organized layout for all things shaving and other items. I have four drawers to work with, so for the top drawer, I'm building inserts that will hold both SRs safely as well as DE razors. This will help keep the counter clear (happy wife!) as well as keep my SRs safe & dry. Here is a shot of the first 'custom' drawer inserts (no bottoms, yet) that will go into the top drawer. The top 'section' (removable) will hold seven straights, while the lower section will hold DE razors, blades, etc and an additional 8 straight razors. These are made of oak and alder. Still more to do on them, but at least I feel as though I'm resolving some of the disorganization issues I have. Plus its fun to build things, despite limited use of my left hand! This drawer project continued on HERE! (click it!]
Thanks, guys! I just finished putting a poly coat on the whole drawer unit and final assembly awaits. Hopefully I'll have it all together in the coming days.
makes me wish i had drawers in my bathroom looks good so far, definetly want to see the finished product with all the razors lined up waiting to be shaved with
How long is the transitions to Straights? I am a little interested but I am also a little apprehensive of using a straight on my head.
Some say it takes about a year of regular use to get truly comfortable using one. That seems a bit long—maybe 3-6 months to see an improvement in one's technique and resulting shaves. I'm in it about year and I feel quite comfortable shaving with one, and my shaves are all semi-close to BBS, or at least DFS-quality. The first 1-2 months are the most challenging.
So far, its worked out even better than anticipated. I've mainly used straights—only an occasional DE shave, but I really do like the removable upper flat containing the razors. See in the last photo in post#1 See Here Makes it a snap to take a bunch out to the work area or honing table for polishing, clean up maintenance, etc.
I lack the patience to get into it then. I will stick to DE. Besides I do not want to lop my ears off.
