Tuesday, June 19, 2012

A Father's Day Memento

I had a nice dinner with my sister Sunday night. She'd actually been trying to ply me with food since my birthday, but this was the first chance we'd gotten to get together. She'd come across an old box of my Mom's stuff, that we'd cleaned out of her house many years before. As she was going through it, she found a number of things...an old ring that my Mom had promised to a cousin of mine, and this...my Dad's old straight razor.

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You can just barely make out the price on the box $3.50

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It's the "Antelope" model, made by Clauss, I'm guessing around the 1930's. The handle is Bakelite and there's plastic bonded to the tang. My Dad probably started shaving sometime in the 1920's, and while I don't think this was his first razor, I think it was probably his last straight razor, before he started using those new fangled disposable blade razors.

I don't think I ever saw him shave with it, but I was acquainted on a couple of occasions with the leather razor strop he used to keep it sharp. It was applied to my seat of education once or twice, to sharpen me into the individual I am today.

I feel as if I got a little part of my father back on Father's day. A connection. A tangible bit of something to stretch across the years from his world to mine.

I'm a Norelco man, myself. Got my first one when I was about eighteen. Made it a point to get one for each of my sons on their eighteenth birthday. After I'm gone, I don't expect any of my boys to want to keep any old electric shaver of mine. They're disposable. But one of them will probably find his grandfather's razor still holding an edge. Still almost new in the box, as when it cost three dollars and four bits.

4 comments:

  1. I know my father used a straight razor because I remember the strop hanging in the bathroom but I don't remember his razor.

    As a cosmetologist, I had to learn to use a straight razor and still use one for shaving necks and such (only on hubby since I'm retired.) He's always worried I'm going to, as he says, "Go all al queda on his neck."

    I used to have a very large collection of vintage straight razors. Used correctly, they give a wonderful shave and once in awhile I treat hubby to an "old west" hot towel wrap with shaving mug soap straight razor shave. Pure luxery...

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    Replies
    1. Ah, to find a woman I would trust with a blade at my throat! Heh.

      I may actually lather up and use this one one day, but not anytime soon.

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    2. A woman with a blade at your throat? Brave, brave man...Cool stuff Proof!

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    3. Just sayin', nobody ever mistook Lorena Bobbitt for "the Good Wife"!

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