- Joined
- Monday May 20, 2019
- Location
- Land of the Morning Calm
"Memorabilia" by Robert Browning
Ah, did you once see Shelley plain,
And did he stop and speak to you?
And did you speak to him again?
How strange it seems, and new!
…
Well, I forget the rest.
Ah, yes! The memory fades. Or hides. Or lies in wait.
About two weeks ago, I had the unfortunate pleasure of dropping my Razorock Mamba. It had been my regular for the past three years or so, but alas, the handle no longer met the head at ninety degrees. My efforts to correct this misalignment only served to worsen the condition. It seemed to put things right a new top cap was in order . Italian Barber informed me that, yes they do have replacement caps for said Mamba, but … none were on hand, expected in three to four weeks, check the web page.
Not to worry! I had my arsenal of "vintage" Gillettes. (It feels strange to call something vintage when you had purchased it new. Maybe "old.") Just pull one out of storage, flip in a new blade, and I was ready to mow whiskers. Ho, ho, ho.
As soon as I started, long term memory raised its evil head, and the reasons why I had stopped using them came back with crash. They felt cheap and flimsy. After having gotten accustomed to the Mamba, the noise they produced was shocking, even to the point where I had to check to be certain that I had tightened it all the way. The head on my '76 Super Adjustable was so thick that getting under the nose was beyond hope. Reversing it showed that the bar was also a tad on the large side to do the deed.
Memory was holding one back, waiting. Hey, why not go side to side across the upper lip, use the corner edge of the blade to fit in to the wee area under the wings of the nose? And when that .004 inch thick tab end of the blade gives your nostrils a scrape, you do remember.
Three passes? That's another "Ho, ho, ho!" Down is kind of okay, if you don't count the areas the razor can't reach due to its thickness. Up is better, with fewer of the same restrictions. Across, well, if you don't like your earlobes, the bottom of your nose, or the top of your chin where it meets your lower lip (The mentolabial furrow – I had to look that one up.) go for it!
With the notion that perhaps the fault lie in the particular razor, I tried another from the collection, a '72 Super-speed. My god! What were we used to back then? They are like those rifles from the wars in the late 19th and early 20th century, they may have won wars, but now they're beautiful wall-hangers, but I definitely am not going to try to do anything with one other than look at it. I gave my '64 Slim Adjustable a solid pass.
To all of you who use vintage razors, "You're a better men than I am!"
With the Mamba top cap on the if-come, I ordered a RR BBS top cap and base plate, which was in stock and is on the way. Meanwhile, some purloined complimentary hotel implements will have to suffice.
Ah, did you once see Shelley plain,
And did he stop and speak to you?
And did you speak to him again?
How strange it seems, and new!
…
Well, I forget the rest.
Ah, yes! The memory fades. Or hides. Or lies in wait.
About two weeks ago, I had the unfortunate pleasure of dropping my Razorock Mamba. It had been my regular for the past three years or so, but alas, the handle no longer met the head at ninety degrees. My efforts to correct this misalignment only served to worsen the condition. It seemed to put things right a new top cap was in order . Italian Barber informed me that, yes they do have replacement caps for said Mamba, but … none were on hand, expected in three to four weeks, check the web page.
Not to worry! I had my arsenal of "vintage" Gillettes. (It feels strange to call something vintage when you had purchased it new. Maybe "old.") Just pull one out of storage, flip in a new blade, and I was ready to mow whiskers. Ho, ho, ho.
As soon as I started, long term memory raised its evil head, and the reasons why I had stopped using them came back with crash. They felt cheap and flimsy. After having gotten accustomed to the Mamba, the noise they produced was shocking, even to the point where I had to check to be certain that I had tightened it all the way. The head on my '76 Super Adjustable was so thick that getting under the nose was beyond hope. Reversing it showed that the bar was also a tad on the large side to do the deed.
Memory was holding one back, waiting. Hey, why not go side to side across the upper lip, use the corner edge of the blade to fit in to the wee area under the wings of the nose? And when that .004 inch thick tab end of the blade gives your nostrils a scrape, you do remember.
Three passes? That's another "Ho, ho, ho!" Down is kind of okay, if you don't count the areas the razor can't reach due to its thickness. Up is better, with fewer of the same restrictions. Across, well, if you don't like your earlobes, the bottom of your nose, or the top of your chin where it meets your lower lip (The mentolabial furrow – I had to look that one up.) go for it!
With the notion that perhaps the fault lie in the particular razor, I tried another from the collection, a '72 Super-speed. My god! What were we used to back then? They are like those rifles from the wars in the late 19th and early 20th century, they may have won wars, but now they're beautiful wall-hangers, but I definitely am not going to try to do anything with one other than look at it. I gave my '64 Slim Adjustable a solid pass.
To all of you who use vintage razors, "You're a better men than I am!"
With the Mamba top cap on the if-come, I ordered a RR BBS top cap and base plate, which was in stock and is on the way. Meanwhile, some purloined complimentary hotel implements will have to suffice.