Anachronism

Fountain pens and ink, not blackberry.
Vintage cameras and B&W film photography in the digital age.
Handwound mechanical watches in today's throwaway world.

The newest of my anachronistic hobbies is also the oldest. Try shaving with a one, or even two hundred year old straight razor. It will give you the closest shave you have ever had.

But not before giving you the worst shave of your life. Straight shaving has a long and steep learning curve. It took a couple of months before I started to get really good shaves. Now, this is all I use.

Why do I do it? Lots of reasons.

The obvious - it beats shaving any other way hands down it terms of closeness. Twelve hours later and still not a single stubble.

The relaxation - Thirty to forty minutes at the end of each day, I am focused 100% on the task at hand. Nothing else. No worries, no "to do's," no problems, no regrets. Nothing. There is something about dragging an implement sharp enough to slice just the tip off a single armhair across your face that lends itself to intense concentration.

The cool factor - Not many people can do it. That's why people had their shaves in the barbershop back in the day.

The romance - I shaved with a 200 year old John Barber english razor the other day. It has been completely restored to probably better than new. I couldn't help thinking of whose beards this razor has shaved over the last two centuries.

The tinkering - Buying a Boker Red Injun with excellent Solingen steel on ebay for $3. Then sanding the years of stains and light corrosion (no, don't go buying a rusty razor, that probably is a lost cause) and bringing the fresh steel to the surface. Polishing it to a mirror shine. Honing the steel on a succession of natural Belgian hones until it is sharp enough (now that has an even longer learning curve!) to split a standing hairstrand in two. Then giving it a light coat of oil before tucking it away, it's life renewed for another hundred years. Pretty cool.

The excitement - C'mon, how often is it that you can turn a boring daily routine into something you actually look forward to?

The danger - C'mon, how often is it that you can turn a boring daily routine into something where you can easily lop off a body part with the slightest mistake?

The fulfillment - of learning a craft. A long-lost skill. Mastery... that is another thing.

The list - well, it was on MY list of things to do in this lifetime.

The toys - a boy's gotta have them.

The independence - from overpriced cartridge razors and big business. Look at it this way... if I were alone in a post-apocalyptic New York overrun by zombies (or LA with vampires, if you read the book) with no electricity, I'd be clean shaven. You know I just had to tie this in to today right - have a safe and happy 4th!