MAYhem!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's anything goes at anytime this month!
Razor - New Deluxe SC "Matthew" (ca. 1934)
Blade -
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Soap - Mitchell's Wool Fat
Brush - Wolf Whiskers Custom Silvertip
Post - Witchhazel
Did you like my surprise "no-shave" on day one of MAYhem? Yep, couldn't resist throwing that in there. Just total chaos. It's time to get the party rolling on my end, though, and I'm way behind reading up on the thread this month but I'll get there. In the meantime, I had to start this month off by doing something nobody else has done. Ever. that I know of. The mysterieous New Deluxe SC that I keep calling "Matthew". This razor came to me via a "double dog dare" from
@Drygulch, and when have I ever been able to say no to one of those? So, you've seen the pictures of the razor. Has all its teeth, yeah it needs a replate but it's not in horrible horrible shape, seems like all the parts are straight, original, and fit, so what's the deal? And why keep calling it "Matthew"? Well, let me just let you read the description from the seller. Word for word - I copied and pasted and didn't alter a single letter.
This is antique Gillette razor and box. It is in very rough condition there is rust on the razor, and the box isnt in very well condition at all, it came to us from a client who said that she bought the item from an estate auction. When the client gave us the razor we were told that the razor belonged to a man named Matthew. Matthew was 34 when he passed away. She told us that she could here talking and heavy footsteps going up and down her stairs, doors would close by themselves, the bathroom faucet would turn on and no one was around. The lights would flip on by themselves and the television channels would suddenly change in the middle of watching tv. I personally decided to take the razor and wanted to do find out about Matthew myself. The first night I had my bathroom faucet come on and heard footsteps down my hallway. The closet door flung open and there was no one home but myself. I decided to to communicate with Matthew. A member of our paranormal group is a medium and I called her over to help me communicate with this very active spirit. Matthew was not shy in telling the medium about himself, almost boastful. He was very proud to say that he was in the Army, and had died by a gunshot wound to the chest. He also let it be known that he had a wife and child that he left when he joined. Matthew has been an active spirit and we would love to find a good home for him.
That's right, I'm going to shave with a HAUNTED RAZOR! Now, let me say a couple of quick things. I know that some of you will immediately think I made this up. I did not. Adam can vouch for that. Some will say it's all a hoax and gimmick designed to overcharge for a beat up old razor. Can't argue about the overcharge (yes, I paid more than I would have otherwise) but hoax is in the mind of the believer. I will say, for what it's worth, that I lived in a haunted house for several years in Southwest Missouri. We're talking footsteps in the night, items moving by themselves, and three sightings of something that looked human but wasn't really there. So yeah, I'm open to accepting the reality of it all. And, when the razor arrived, while we didn't get any of the banging and lights turning on and off and all that, we did sense that it was more than just a razor. Most nights when I've been cleaning it up I've seen shadows flash by me and feel like someone is watching. Someone curious, and happy. And no, I don't drink vodka when I'm cleaning razors.
At the very least I can say this that I think we can all agree on. The razor is a Gillette New Deluxe Short Comb with patent numbers that date it to the mid '30s. 1934 is a common date to be put on this razor. And, it arrived with the last blade that was used in it....still in it. It was a Marlin High Speed blade, properly rusted from being in the head for a lot of years. Potentially 80. So did this "Matthew" who owned the razor use it, leave for the war in the early '40s and never come back alive to it? Perhaps. Whatever the case, it was never used again after that last time. So I consider it somewhat of a privilege to be the one who got to clean it up, put in a new blade, and return it to service.
The setup tonight was a tribute as well. Since it had never had anything but a carbon blade in it I used a fresh Treet Black Beauty. The soap - Mitchell's since it was around back then as well. A badger brush to keep it all natural and it was a setup worthy of either a ghost - or at least of the previous owner, whatever his end.
Two passes, very nice near-BBS and I will say this seems a bit more aggressive than the LC's. That could be part of the feel of the carbon blade, though. No cuts, no screams, no chain rattlings or any other ghostly apparitions. Just a fine, fine vintage style shave with a very cool vintage razor. I'm looking forward to getting it re-plated at some point and restoring it back to its glory days.
So, what about tomorrow? I have no idea! This is MAYhem, and my plan is to have absolutely no plan. Of course, when we decide to use the Japanese shavettes I'm good to go but other than that I'll choose the gear as I go, good or bad, smart or dumb.....with a healthy mix of questionable decisions on both hardware and software! Should be fun.
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