Black Powder and Straight Razors

[ThorinNNY]

kwhi43 said ..... just couldn`t get the hang of it with my electric razor.

Thor speaking as Foghorn Leghorn sez "Now let this be a lesson to yer,son. Always use thu right tool for the job,you know electric razors aint gonna cut no patch at the muzzle,boy, ya need an electric chainsaw".

Busyhands said " ....might as well throw in Missouri Meerschaum concob pipes....."
True, but you forgot ter mention a pocket watch.Man oughta have a pocket watch, one with a lid,so he can look at the lovely visage of his wife or daughter that`s on the inside of its lid.. Mine opens to a picture of Little Miss Ha Ha, my grandaughter - so nicknamed for her bubbly personality.Helps a man keep things in perspective.

 

[Busyhands94]

I think I need to keep an eye out for a good pocket watch! That would be splendid! Perhaps I could figure out how to make a watch fob from a Case or a Missouri Meerschaum! haha! That would actually be pretty awesome! Or what about a Zippo, that might be lovely as a watch fob!

 

[Jaymo]

I have over 40 vintage safety razors. Double edge, single edge, and Injector. I also have 7 or 8 straights. One is a new Dovo, the others are early to mid 20th century American, German and one Czech.
I shave with them all. The worst cuts I've gotten while shaving were from my Gilllette Mach 3 and FUsion. Haven't used those 2 in a few years.
My 1962 Gillette Slim Adjustable is a razor I could live with as my only safety razor for the rest of my life. That won't happen, because I like my other Gillettes, Schicks, Gems, Pal, Star, Valet Auto Strops, Edwin Jagger, and Merkur Slant too much to give them up.
I also have a couple of unbranded old Bakelite DEs that shave like a dream.
Then, there's my Neillite 400. Bakelite DE razor with one side designed to be more aggressive than the other. I can use the aggressive side for the first WTG pass, and the mild side for the XTG and ATG passes.
Mug soap, tube cream, boar and badger brushes all the way. No canned goo for me.

I use witch hazel after every shave, because it feels good. As far as after shaves go, I like Old Spice (vintage Shulton-original formula) and Aqua velva, but my favorite AS is Bay Rum.

If you are having problems with your straight shaves, I'd recommend you join www.straightrazorplace.com.
It's a forum for straight razors and shaving. Lots of good info there.
www.theshaveden.com and www.badgerandblade.com are also good shave forums.

Straight shaving has a learning curve, as does safety razor shaving, and requires practice and learning of proper technique.
It takes time. Start out shaving only the sides of your face, and only going with the grain(WTG). Finish the shave with a safety razor or cartridge razor of your choice until your technique improves.
Alum blocks are good for stopping minor bleeding, BTW.

Patch cutting? I wouldn't use a good straight for patch cutting. I use a Mora knife, though I have a Green River patch knife kit. I need to go ahead and finish it.

 

[ThorinNNY]

I sometimes see an old straight razor at a garage sale or flea market.Some are really decent,but many have been ....rode hard and put up wet, in other words they`ve been used, abused, with nicked, rusty blades,broken handles.I`d suggest making a patch knife from one of those poor broken down critters.I wouldn`t do that to a clean,well kept razor.

 

[Busyhands94]

I got my first straight from BudK.com, for a few bucks and it could probably work as a patch knife. It's hollow ground and the blade is high carbon steel so the edge would be easy to maintain.

~Levi

 

[Jaymo]

I saw a Paki straight razor at a pawn shop for cheap the other day. I guess it could make a decent patch knife.
I have a couple of cheap Chicom stainless steel straights that would be decent.
To be honest, I'd just as soon use the clip blade of one of my US made stockman pocketknives. They take a good edge and are well made.

 

[Busyhands94]

I sometimes forget to get my case knife from my pocket and open it, if my hands are full I usually go for my switchblade knife in my back pocket. I know I don't need a bigger blade for patches, but it's always sharp and does the job excellently. I figure a good switchblade would be great for a patch knife, I don't see why not. The only problem is if you live in a state where they want to be like your parents and say that you can't have one. Nevermind California, I'll just do my little jig right outside the law. I'm moving to Arizona anyway, and they recognize the Second Amendment.

~Levi

 

[ThorinNNY]

Busyhands
I think a lot of the old timers preferred a patchknife they didn`t have to open.It`s quicker to pull a knife out of a sheath,ready to go than to pull a knife out of a pants pocket, open it, then cut the patch. In the old days,a few seconds could mean the difference between eating meat or going hungry.
Many of them had a sheath on the outside of their shooting bag. Their fixed blade patch knife went into the sheath.

 

[drsfmd]

drs,use an aloe sunburn product after you shave like banana boat aloe vera gel

Bay Rum when I want to smell nice, Porters Lotion (witch hazel base) when my skin needs a bit of relief.

 

[StrawHat]

Busyhands94 ...I think I need to keep an eye out for a good pocket watch! That would be splendid! Perhaps I could figure out how to make a watch fob from a Case ...

Not a Case but a pen knife makes an excellent watch fob.

 

[ThorinNNY]

Straw Hat
Nice, very nice. Your watch looks like it`s really old,very good condition.I see it is NOT stem wound but key wound.Any idea when it was made?
I`ve got a really nice gold Hamilton I inherited. It lives under a glass dome in my display case.On rare occasions, I`ll take it out & wear it.
I have a watch with a hunter case-ie press on stem lid opens- for everyday use.On the outside of the lid is a raised American Eagle clutching an olive branch in one talon and arrows in the other talon. On the inside of the lid is a photo of my youngest granddaughter.

 

[arcticap]

In our public schools a pocket watch with a chain is considered to be weapon so they are banned.

 

[StrawHat]

Mine is a Ryerson Model by The National Watch Company. National eventually changed their name to Elgin Nat'l Watch Company but mine is from the earlier company. This is a key wind and key set watch and was built in 1870. It is my everyday watch and keeps good time. Not a "railroad" watch but a common watch of the time. It is somewhat of a franken watch as the case is not the one it was originally sold with. The case and chain are both nickel and wear well together.

It pairs nicely with the Richards conversion of the 1860, also from the same time frame. (The watch is origianl, the revolver is not.)

 

[Busyhands94]

That's ridiculous, so a kid can't carry a freaking pocket watch with a watch chain? It's ridiculous that they'd even consider that to be a weapon, I mean they allow pencils in school, I bet with a sharp pencil you could kill somebody. And then there's the typical middle class white teenagers in their dopey cloths that are always acting stoned with those hats that have the gold stickers and flat brim, and those rings that occupy three or four fingers. You know the one's I'm talking about. Those are a lot like brass knuckles, just clamp onto something and there you go... brass knuckles. But they don't want to offend anybody so they keep mum. When I was in middle school I never saw anybody get in trouble for that. Course I never dressed like that, it's silly and I don't want to make a fool of myself.

Course I asked campus police the other day at the college if I could carry a knife, They said it was totally fine as long as it folds and that we're all adults here. And we all know that adults can't kill eachother with a watch chain, wallet chain or a case knife like I've got. Maybe carrying a pocket watch would be fine, I don't see any obvious problems with it. Heck, it's not like I'm wanting to carry a straight razor.

As far as patch knives go, I make my own knives. I have made a few out of antler tips, they seem to be most excellent for cutting patches. I do want to try and get some more supplies to make them with. I just finished this one, I put it down for a while then got back to it after a while. I used a propane torch to toast the antler handles, I think it came out looking really nice!


And here's the knife next to a Zippo for size comparison, I hope you guys can see the nice color the heat gave the antler!


The sheath is for a roach belly knife I sold to somebody, but it fits this knife (and my other roach belly) just fine as well. I'm going to make a nice sheath for it once I find the leather to do so. All in all I think I did a nice job on it. All I need to do is engrave the tang with my maker's mark and she'll be done.

~Levi

 

[ThorinNNY]

That`s the ticket,Levi. Well done!

 

[Dellbert]

I use a electric razor. Shaving sn't as fun as it use to be. I use my buck knife for everything. My first one got broke bake in the 80s and they sent me another. It's my do it all knife. The small pocket bucks are the same way. Well the older ones are. I don't have any new ones to compare with. Oh they do a good job on patches to. If I had to pick a second one it would be a Swiss Army knife. They are good all around tools for the pocket.

 

[ThorinNNY]

I carry a Swiss Army knife in my pocket also.Theyr great knives, for sure.

 

[Busyhands94]

That`s the ticket,Levi. Well done!

Thank you! This knife is actually for sale, price is $75. I will be making a sheath for it to be worn around the neck. I'm saving up for another 1858 now. I think that I have waited too long to get a steel framed gun.

~Levi