Fashion fades, only reality remains

This one is on its way to Germany from Norway. Horween oil tanned horsehide. If it works as nicely as it looks, this one will be another winner. I shall keep you posted.

Have you ever wondered what the term "honemeister" actually means? Look no further, the CTH Crew have spared no effort to bring you the truth. Really !!!!!!1

Becoming a priestess of the Ancient Greek Oracle at Delphi was a lot of work. It was also a racket: only the Oracle could commune with the divine and give you an answer.

Right. So I came across this cutthroat razor related blog about a week ago. Actually, more than one blog, all belonging to the same person. Skimmed their contents, thought it was outstanding. Got to talk with the owner. Suggested to consolidate all blogs into one website using Drupal, which is the same software we use here. We're almost done, having imported his Blogger content, added a shop system, and done some other stuff as well.

Once it's been launched, we'll let you know. But it's the best written blog about cutthroat razors I have ever read.

Chaps, here we go: The best written razor blog, and a very nice site overall - Jim Rion's new Eastern Smooth.

Alright, enough of the history, economics, environmental science, and all that superfluous stuff that only academics really care about. Let's talk shaving for the beginner.

Why should I even care about shaving with a straight razor?

Clearly, I won't be the first or even the thousandth person to pose and answer this question online. I'll offer you my take on the question.

Introduction

By way of introduction and background, I had been shaving with a brush and "real" shaving cream since Valentine's Day, 2007 (thanks to my wife). I received my first double-edge, disposable-blade (hereinafter DE) razor on Christmas, 2007. It came with the mediocre Merkur blades, but the shave was excellent. I quickly abandoned my Mach III cartridges, patting myself on the back for never having purchased an M3 Power or a Fusion.

Where would the straight razor shaving scene be without the internet? A purely hypothetical question whose answer is beyond the scope of this article. A question more easily answered, however, is: Which straight razor shaving forums are actually worth visiting - and why?

Shaving with a straight razor is actually simple. So much so, that all the required information for any beginner, except the brain damaged ones, would fit nicely into a 20 page Beginners Guide to Straight Shaving. But, it is the nature of drug dealers shaving forums to get beginners hooked because most of the shaving forums are waging penis size turf wars against each other, and fighting for silly titles like "the biggest", or "the most popular", or "the most frequented" shaving forum. Bollocks to that, I say. For me, the goal of a forum should be to come up with novel ideas, discuss them, refine them and make them publicly available.

Instead, what we are getting is something like SRP's series of so called "Beginners Tips", a collection of sciolisms in semi-broken English with far too many exclamation marks. I have so far refrained from commenting on them because, in all fairness, what little information they contain is still a whole lot more than what other forums provide. Yet the following remark really, really annoyed me: "So I looked at many of the conversations and the one thing that stood out was the huge amount of information thrown at the beginner much of which is contradictory..." Because its underlying misconception is not only mind-numbingly wrong, but also highly indicative of the way allegedly experienced members mistreat beginners.