Sometimes facial hair grows in such a jumble of confused paths and detours that shaving with a straight razor feels like driving zigzag in rush hour traffic.

Since any attempt to reason with the unruly stubble is like trying to serve a bloody prime rib to a vegetarian, shaving it off requires an arsenal of well-tested manoeuvres in skin stretching and razor angle. In recent weeks, I have improvised a number of such moves to finally defeat the patches of revolutionary fuzz that have plagued me since I shaved with Louis XIV.
Tiny bushes of stubborn hair on my neck, for instance, sweep in a wild burst of misdirection without any obvious reason or logic. They jolly well go wherever they please despite my frustration. Some go this way, some that way. Hello . . . ? Trying to get a good shave down there without cutting your throat makes avoiding a heart attack a miracle.

All this has been cause to scratch my head occasionally and wonder why anyone in his or her right mind would choose a straight razor instead of taking the easy route and chugging along on a plastic cartridge razor. Well, that blasphemous thought has lasted about as long as a wet sneeze.

As if the mischievous neck were not bad enough, I also have a sliver of ornery stubble on the right side of my cheek which arcs like a scimitar northward from about the middle of the jaw to just below the sideburn. I’ve asked the Universe about the reason for such infraction on my Hollywood face, especially since most of the hair on the right cheek heads southward in a civil manner. Thus far all I have from the said Universe is an invisible shrug. Like that really helps. Could be because I generally sleep on my right side. Then again, that might make too much sense for the Universe.

Straight razors are usually made of carbon steel, and therefore attract rust easily. Even if they are made from stainless steel, that only means they will rust more slowly. But rust they will. Rust is the nemesis of every straight shaver, and can be a death warrant for a straight razor. Rust falls into several categories, from red to black to what we refer to as "devil's spit", which is a deep, black pitting that is almost impossible to remove.

When buying used vintage razors, detecting damage caused by rust can be a daunting challenge. The images provided by sellers who do not know what to look for in a razor are often lacking the necessary detail. Moreover, someone without the required background knowledge is likely to under estimate the extent of damage caused by rust. What looks like superficial rust to the untrained eye can be a fatal damage to the edge of a razor, with the edge area usually being the crucial factor when restoring a razor. Rust damage to areas like the spine or tang can be removed without impeding the functionality of a razor.

Below is a particularly beautiful restore by Max Sprecher, one of the senior moderators are The Straight Razor Place. The razor is an Otto Deutsch "Hans". You can see the rust in the left picture, and some residual pitting in the right picture. The razor being a full hollow grind, removing the pits would have rendered the blade too thin.

Scores of instructional videos have fed me invaluable information through the years on the art and the craft of wet shaving with the straight razor. Since I will always consider myself a straight razor pilgrim, these videos also continue to serve as refreshers for me in this distinct form of wet shaving.

The big number of videos I have seen and studied range from gems to clunkers out of gas, with a fair number falling somewhere in between. I have learned some things from all of them. Even those one might consider a waste of time have served as lessons for me — in what not to do.

That I have been a wet shaver for many years has amplified the pleasure and the artistic satisfaction I derive from the straight razor. Those with the most influence on me among my favorite straight razor shaving videos, therefore, have been a good beginning in my continued exploration of the straight razor’s complex characteristics.

Lynn Abrams’ DVD, “The World of Straight Razor Shaving,” has provided me with the most comprehensive course in the straight razor shaving universe. In the DVD, Lynn covers types and brands of straight razors, stropping, honing, lathering up and ultimately shaving.

The video is exceptionally good in its conversational tone. Lynn’s down-to-earth and intimate approach, highlighted by his effective eye contact, takes the viewer along on a detailed yet comfortable educational ride. I recommend this DVD to all newcomers to straight razor shaving.

Lynn’s subsequently condensed version as a U-Tube video concentrates on the shave itself. Here, too, Lynn displays the same quality characteristics used in his DVD. He limits the conversation to the essentials without being abrupt or telegraphic, unlike some videos that drone on with talk, dotted by an occasional shaving demonstration.

If you shave with a straight razor, chances are you already know The Straight Razor Place ("SRP"). If you do not, you probably should. It is the oldest, and largest "straight razors only" online community. I happen to be a developer on the site, ie I work behind the scenes and try to make the site an ever more pleasurable place to be. That means, I devote a good amount of my free to time on the site, either developing it, or posting there.

Of course, there are other shaving related sites, too. There is an excellent German language forum called Gut Rasiert ("well shaven"), and a number of English language forums, too. So why SRP? When I joined back in early 2008, I found the site lacking in a number of respects:

I have been playing around with the gallery here on cutthroat a bit more. Some of the results can be seen in my user gallery:

1. The user galleries are now fully functional.
2. RSS Feeds now work (here is mine).
3. Members of this site have access to a menu to access an image's or album's formatted URLs. As a result, images can easily be shown in other locations via copy and paste. Example below.

The beauty part is that the integration into Drupal, ie the software used as a CMS on this site, works flawlessly. I really like working with Drupal.

Right. So I bought four vintage razors from an SRP member, and some hardware from SRD. Both packages left the US around 30 December 2009. Yesterday, I got two notifications:

1. The vintage razors were snatched by German customs. I have been there before, and it is never pretty. More to the point, the customs officers are easily confused, and really do not understand the difference between a vintage tool, and an antique collectible. Which typically results in me spending between 30 and 90 minutes waiting and then discussing an appropricate customs fee for my shipments.
2. The other was delivered to my door which was closed because I was at work. DHL in its fathomless wisdom therefore decided to deliver the parcel to a shop 300m down the street. Probably the only shop in my street which closes at 19:00, which means that I will be able to pick up the parcel before Saturday. It contains a Wacker 7/8 "Old Sheffield" as well an SRD linen/felt strop with diamond spray, and some SRD soaps. I really want that package. Well, I shall have to wait for a few more days. No love for DHL.

Incidentally, the second package really should have been picked up by customs, as it contains new goods worth enough to warrant customs tax and VAT.

Well, I shall keep you updated on my progress as time permits.

Robin