Greetings My wife and I live on a small homestead where we are nearly self-sufficient. I have been shaving with a straight razor for just about 4 years now. I wish this had been something that my grandfathers had introduced me to, but I’m thrilled to be able to introduce many of my students to its discipline and joys. I teach Modern Literature and Koiné Greek at a Classical Christian school. For those of you unfamiliar with Classical Education, it means that most of my teenaged students have a better grasp of Greek, Latin, Logic, History, and Rhetoric, and have read more of the great books of the Western canon than most adults. My job is to help them learn how to learn, and to value truth, beauty, and goodness so that they can grow into moral philosophers and their ideal selves. I have strong feelings about fonts, zero respect for people who refer to their pets as “furbabies,” and a deep distrust of those who eschew the Oxford comma. Favorite razor: Harrison Bros & Howman 5/8, created under royal warrant by Queen Victoria, currently on its 3rd + set of scales (buffalo horn) Favorite Shave Soap: PAA “Twee!” Favorite Brush: Fendrihan “Pure Grey Badger” with faux amber handle Favorite Cigar: H. Upmann “The Banker” or Acid “Kuba Kuba” Favorite Pipe: Baraccini Straturata Ebano 303 My Arcadia Mixture: Arango Balkan Supreme Favorite Whisky: Lagavulin Favorite Fountain Pen: customized Ranga 3C, F nib Favorite Ink: R&K “Salix,” or ESSRI Favorite Coffee: CDM, hamartological: strong as death, black as sin, bitter as iniquity, and hot as Hell.
Welcome to TSD, @Professor S. A lovely introduction, Sir. I apologize in advance for the brief hijack, but I do like to free associate… You’re not the only one Joseph @Primotenore. There are a few of us still around . The first time I saw the word eschew was in my high school drama classroom. The teacher displayed a handwritten sign that read, “eschew obfuscation.” I remember asking her what it meant, and she told me to look it up. Great teaching method, don’t you agree? So I went to the school library and looked it up. I was so impressed with that little phrase, years later when I’d become a speech-language therapist, I made my own poster of eschew obfuscation and hung it on the hall side of my office door, the very first year I was in my school (I was there for 21 years). At some point in year one I was a little disappointed that no one, No One, asked me what it meant. You can bet your bottom dollar that none of the hundreds of students who walked past my door every day looked it up. I seriously doubt any teachers looked it up, because nobody ever commented on it. I mean, come on. Eschew obfuscation is not something you hear or read every day. Am I right? Well after a while it became a private running joke between me and myself. How long will it be? The answer was 5 1/2 school years. One day, one of the brighter young teachers actually asked what it meant. We were in the teachers’ lunchroom. I briefly considered what my high school drama teacher said to me; “Go look it up,” but wisely thought the better of it for fear of embarrassing the young woman in front of her peers. For the next decade and a half the only other person to comment on Mr. J’s office door sign was the principal. “I like it,” she said. Two remarks in 21 years. Enjoy your shaves, Professor
Good evening @Professor S My apologies for not welcoming you sooner, but as with all things; life has precedence over even the most enjoyable hobby. Since you've shared so much I decided to reciprocate. I have been wet shaving for the past twelve years and have amassed a modest collection of razors, though brushes are my real passion. I have enjoyed the greater part of my life with my wife (34 years this August). Though I do posses a bachelors degree; I alway envied those that utilize word with ease. My skill set has been science and construction; I know a strange combination. I've traveled the world with my wife a half dozen times in serving God, though now we've settled down to serve others in a different fashion. My wife as a home health aid and I as the head of maintenance for a non-profit helping those that are visually impaired. Favorite razor: Merkur Progress Favorite Shave Soap: Le Père Lucien Oud Neroli Favorite Brush: tough call, but I do enjoy my butterscotch Simpson #59 Favorite Cigar: Hesitant Pirate ..... What can I say I like an inexpensive mellow cigar Favorite Pipe: I haven't used one in 10 years My Arcadia Mixture: As to fore mention Favorite Whisky: Evans Williams black label bourbon ..... for mixers Favorite Fountain Pen: usually something I found and I enjoy it till I lose it Favorite Ink: the type the stays in my pen til I want it on the paper Favorite Coffee: Wegmans whole bean Columbian ground at home in a grinder I built; brewed in a vintage Jet-O-Matic percolator ..... sounds like an alien screaming in the night. Glad to have you with us.
