Sam

I have had too many razors for far too long. So says my wife. She considers this a fact; I consider it an opinion. Nevertheless, "for far too long" she has suggested that I "thin my herd" to ensure its survival. Fearing that my peculiar predilection for collecting all things tonsorial might be threatened, I agreed. So about 15 years ago I began to sell razors at a craft and antique market in Rockland County outside of NYC. This lasted less than a year. Why did it stop you wonder? The same irresistible force that set the plan in motion. My wife put an end to it. In an ironic twist, I bought more razors than I sold. Meeting people wanting to buy razors eventually connected me to people who wanted to sell them. What followed was inevitable. 

Which brings me to Sam. Sam was one of the people I met. He was an older gentleman whom I soon realized was suffering from some neurological disease. He and I met when he proposed a trade of his straight razor for one of my old Gillettes. His hands were too shaky to continue using a straight.

His straight was made by Clauss, an old and proud Ohio company that had seen better days. One scale was black, the other a dark olive. He had done this himself because he said it helped him to avoid confusion over which side of his face he was shaving and how he should be gripping the razor. I never quite understood how that helped, but he did. He was obviously quite proud that he was able to outsmart his brain.

I am going to list the razor for sale on OpenRazor, my Etsy shop.It has sat in a box in my study long enough. It needs to breathe, to be useful again. I hope whoever obtains it, uses it well and appreciates it for the fine razor it is. I left the scales as they are. As it is, the razor took care of Sam for a long time. It will do the same for someone else.