I just returned from Kaohsiung City where I spent some time with Tom Blodgett of Jende Industries.
I visited Tom for a couple of reasons not the least of which was he was located in Taiwan as I am (and there aren't many of us shavers here, much less straight shavers). Another is that I was becoming increasingly confused at the differing approaches to honing and straight management and it seems to me that when you live on an island and are somewhat isolated, you want to be able to maintain your own equipment, at least adequately.
Of course I had some misgiving knowing that Tom was a Shapton guy but I decided to approach him with an open mind and explain my needs while demonstrating my (lack of) ability and experience in maintaining straights. So I presented Tom with my needs and limitations, initially on Skype and then in person during my visit.
Wow. He worked out a system for me that is perfect for my perceived needs and that, as it happens, doesn't include a single Shapton. Like a true pro, he focused on the problem and my needs.
I'm impressed. In the past when I chatted with people, most of the responses were centered around the tools of one particular methodology or another rather then getting the job done that I wanted done in a manner that I could manage.
RaRa for Tom and all of you other pros too.
By the way, I didn't neglect to incude the system for me that was developed with Tom today. I need to make a couple of more decisions in the coming days and then I'll post it here or in the honing section.
Cheers.....
--James
PS. There is a photo appended for those of you who are interested. Nothing about razors or honing of course. We're at lunch.
I visited Tom for a couple of reasons not the least of which was he was located in Taiwan as I am (and there aren't many of us shavers here, much less straight shavers). Another is that I was becoming increasingly confused at the differing approaches to honing and straight management and it seems to me that when you live on an island and are somewhat isolated, you want to be able to maintain your own equipment, at least adequately.
Of course I had some misgiving knowing that Tom was a Shapton guy but I decided to approach him with an open mind and explain my needs while demonstrating my (lack of) ability and experience in maintaining straights. So I presented Tom with my needs and limitations, initially on Skype and then in person during my visit.
Wow. He worked out a system for me that is perfect for my perceived needs and that, as it happens, doesn't include a single Shapton. Like a true pro, he focused on the problem and my needs.
I'm impressed. In the past when I chatted with people, most of the responses were centered around the tools of one particular methodology or another rather then getting the job done that I wanted done in a manner that I could manage.
RaRa for Tom and all of you other pros too.
By the way, I didn't neglect to incude the system for me that was developed with Tom today. I need to make a couple of more decisions in the coming days and then I'll post it here or in the honing section.
Cheers.....
--James
PS. There is a photo appended for those of you who are interested. Nothing about razors or honing of course. We're at lunch.
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