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The Irony of Where Nostalgia Has Led Me

A few weeks ago I came across a couple of razors and a brush that belonged to my dad. I was excited to find them, clean them up a little and put them in the rotation.

But something struck me as ironic about that. Daddy had two razors his entire life and only two brushes. He got a puck of Williams Shaving Soap for his birthday in July and one in his stocking for Christmas, along with a package or two of Gillette blades. Those were both gifts from Mom. She liked his smooth face, so she made sure he was well supplied with sharp blades that kept him smooth. I am reasonably sure those were not the only times of year when he got new stuff; if he ran out of soap in September I am sure he didn't "dry-shave" until Santa Claus came. But I am certain he only had the two razors and two brushes. I remember as a little kid waking up early each morning, hearing the water in the sink followed by the klinking of the brush against the sides of the coffee cup while he lathered up the brush. Now, Daddy had thin skin, being of fair-haired Irish descent, and later on in life (sometime in the 1980s probably) he went with the Trac-II and the Mach 3, accompanied by the ubiquitous can of Foamy. He just said they felt better and he had fewer nicks and cuts. Then the gifts were altered accordingly and the old Gillettes and brushes found their way to the bottom of his inexpensive shaving kit. I say it was inexpensive; knowing him and his penchant for keeping something and using it until it was worn to nothing, it MIGHT have been one of the original Charles Doppelt Dopp-Kits. Who knows? It literally crumbled apart when we cleaned out his bathroom after his death.

I learned to shave with one of the Gillettes and I honestly can't remember which one. But being the rebellious teen type it did not take me long to move to the more modern and better (so I thought at the time) multi-blade whisker whackers.

It was a strong sense of nostalgia that brought me back to traditional shaving with a DE razor, a puck of soap in a coffee cup and a brush. But like a lot of things that my nostalgia led me to (pocketknives, fountain pens, baseball gloves) I was bitten by the collecting bug and wound up with numerous razors, brushes, soaps, after shaves, etc.

And it struck me as ironic: Nostalgia for the simplicity that I missed and cherished led me to collect a razor for every day of a fortnight, and enough blades to last a lifetime, not to mention a brush and soap for every day of the week and every mood I am in. I overshot my mark on simplicity, didn't I? These days I have to take time to carefully consider which brush will I choose today, which soap and which razor. My dad's simple choice was whether to shave or not, and that decision was usually made for him because of how much he enjoyed Mom's kisses.

I would imagine that my dad would shake his head with a wry grin and ask me a pertinent question such as how many razors can I shave with at the same time. I would have a hard time explaining the allure of it all, I suppose, but we would both be OK with that, I think. He would just clap me on the shoulder and tell me how glad he was that my life was so much more affluent than his. And I would thank him for all his hard work and sacrifice that made my life so much better, with so much luxury and affluence that I could enjoy complicating even the simple task of shaving.
 
A few weeks ago I came across a couple of razors and a brush that belonged to my dad. I was excited to find them, clean them up a little and put them in the rotation.

But something struck me as ironic about that. Daddy had two razors his entire life and only two brushes. He got a puck of Williams Shaving Soap for his birthday in July and one in his stocking for Christmas, along with a package or two of Gillette blades. Those were both gifts from Mom. She liked his smooth face, so she made sure he was well supplied with sharp blades that kept him smooth. I am reasonably sure those were not the only times of year when he got new stuff; if he ran out of soap in September I am sure he didn't "dry-shave" until Santa Claus came. But I am certain he only had the two razors and two brushes. I remember as a little kid waking up early each morning, hearing the water in the sink followed by the klinking of the brush against the sides of the coffee cup while he lathered up the brush. Now, Daddy had thin skin, being of fair-haired Irish descent, and later on in life (sometime in the 1980s probably) he went with the Trac-II and the Mach 3, accompanied by the ubiquitous can of Foamy. He just said they felt better and he had fewer nicks and cuts. Then the gifts were altered accordingly and the old Gillettes and brushes found their way to the bottom of his inexpensive shaving kit. I say it was inexpensive; knowing him and his penchant for keeping something and using it until it was worn to nothing, it MIGHT have been one of the original Charles Doppelt Dopp-Kits. Who knows? It literally crumbled apart when we cleaned out his bathroom after his death.

I learned to shave with one of the Gillettes and I honestly can't remember which one. But being the rebellious teen type it did not take me long to move to the more modern and better (so I thought at the time) multi-blade whisker whackers.

It was a strong sense of nostalgia that brought me back to traditional shaving with a DE razor, a puck of soap in a coffee cup and a brush. But like a lot of things that my nostalgia led me to (pocketknives, fountain pens, baseball gloves) I was bitten by the collecting bug and wound up with numerous razors, brushes, soaps, after shaves, etc.

And it struck me as ironic: Nostalgia for the simplicity that I missed and cherished led me to collect a razor for every day of a fortnight, and enough blades to last a lifetime, not to mention a brush and soap for every day of the week and every mood I am in. I overshot my mark on simplicity, didn't I? These days I have to take time to carefully consider which brush will I choose today, which soap and which razor. My dad's simple choice was whether to shave or not, and that decision was usually made for him because of how much he enjoyed Mom's kisses.

I would imagine that my dad would shake his head with a wry grin and ask me a pertinent question such as how many razors can I shave with at the same time. I would have a hard time explaining the allure of it all, I suppose, but we would both be OK with that, I think. He would just clap me on the shoulder and tell me how glad he was that my life was so much more affluent than his. And I would thank him for all his hard work and sacrifice that made my life so much better, with so much luxury and affluence that I could enjoy complicating even the simple task of shaving.

Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful story and reflections. I think we can all connect to your thoughts - both in terms of shaving and in terms of fatherhood and generation relationships.
 
Thanks for sharing memories of your Dad. They remind me of how I learned to shave with a Slim that my Dad gave to me. I also inherited his other razors when he passed on. I still shave with them and often think of him when I do.
 
I can only echo - a great story.
My father had a beard and wasnt around when i had to learn to shave so i got stuck into the multi blades - it took me 15 years to find straights and I dont think he would understand how I've made it a hobby, something that brings me some peace and relaxation every day.
 

ajkel64

Check Out Chick
Staff member
Thanks for sharing your father with us. A really nice story that I thoroughly enjoyed.
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
I remember as a young whippersnapper every morning following my papa into the bathroom to watch him shave. I was fascinated with the faces he pulled while shaving with his three-piece DE. Occasionally after he had finished his shave, he would take the blade and base plate out/off and give me the handle with top plate so that I could lather up and "shave" just like my papa.

Unfortunately I lost my papa when I was 14yo. I don't know what ever happened to his shaving gear. I started shaving a few years later with a Gillette Slim that I saved up to buy and a Palmolive shave stick.
 
Thanks for sharing your dad's story. I remember, and fondly so, my dad teaching me how to DE shave in teens.
 
True that! I don't think we miss the old days because of the way of living, we certainly have a lot of advantages and technology makes life certainly easier, but the simplicity of not having to think a million things in one day does the trick.
All my dad did day in and day out was:
Get up, go to work, come home, eat dinner, done!
Payday was a day to buy groceries, pay bills, eat out, go to the park, come home, start all over again. He once told me his only worry in life was having a job, and he was self employed, so no really any worries at all!
 

Old Hippie

Somewhere between 61 and dead
Man, that's beautiful. Thanks for sharing it.

I had to laugh, remembering going over to a friend's house a few years ago. He is a retired pastor -- which is to say he still preaches the Word but not in his old church -- and I noticed a sign hanging on the wall in his living room. It was one of those signs like you see in interior decorating shops, and it said "Simplify."

We got to laughing at the irony of a mass-produced sign shipped thousands of miles at great expense, intended to be purchased for a non-trivial sum and given as a gift. "Simple, it ain't," he said. But a good friend gave it to him, and he didn't want to hurt their feelings. Life is complicated.

O.H.
 
Well written. Those are great memories and I can definitely relate. I don't have a huge shaving collection, but it's definitely more (much more!) than what you are going to find in any non-hobbyist bathroom. I am constantly thinking about simplifying everything and going back to the basics. And for me, that would mean 1 great Badger, Boar, Synthetic brush, 1 DE razor, 2 SE razors and maybe two matching soaps and aftershaves. Which, again... is sort of a collection. See how that works?

Now that I think about it, maybe I should just go with the best and nicest SE (most likely a vintage), one synthetic brush (probably a Simpson) and a Croatian (Pit)Ralon Cream+Aftershave. Next time I go to Europe I have to buy a bunch of these.
 
Bravo Cowboy Blue !!! A beautiful story ! Many of the blessed memories of my Dad are similar to yours.
 
Great story!! Thanks for sharing.

Interesting how seeing your Dad’s shaving kit triggered the memories!! :a29:
 

steveclarkus

Goose Poop Connoisseur
I have similar memories of watching my dad. I started shaving in 1965 and the DE/SE was all there was other than electric. Then I learned to dislike the DE greatly. I use SR now but no nostalgia involved, just comfort.
 
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