Stropping, a Forgotten Ritual

Who said stropping is a skill reserved only for professional barbers? Who said  ordinary men cannot learn the art of stropping? Although stropping is a learned skill that is developed over time, having the right set of tools will make the job much easier for you. Reliable and high quality strops will make stropping simpler and far less complicated. 

Stropping is a tradition. It is a testament to the way gentlemen of the olden days used to live (way before the electric shaver or the disposable razor). They went to their good old barbers to enjoy the pleasant experience of wet shaving. Of course, during those days men did not have to strop their own razors; their barbers did the work. They weren’t really into the do-it-yourself lifestyle. Today, everything is DIY; including stropping and honing. 

To cultivate the art of stropping you need to start with the right tools. What better way to learn and practice than to use the very same tools that barbers have used for generations. Strops manufactured by Thiers Issard, Premier Strop Co., Heirloom or Dovo are simple, easy to use, and give today’s wet-shaving enthusiasts a piece of tradition and history. 

Wet-Shaving Supplies: Strops, Razors and much more...

Style in Portland, Oregon (and elsewhere)

There's certainly a return to quality and tradition happening out there. And style might be back as well. 

As we weather a tough economy, I've found a sort of trend that looks back to the iconic Great Depression and tries to borrow something from it in the way of behaviors, coping mechanisms and even visual clues. I know nobody wants to hear about recession anymore, but hear me out, I won't go on a gloomy rant. Instead of the initial panic, now we can look at the possibilities, look at these times with more of an upbeat spirit and a little humor too.

Canadian artist Royal Wood putting vintage-style rules to practice

This past winter, I took my wife to a local artist's concert, where the band was all clad in suits "in honor of the recession". I thought it funny, but I thought it wise too. 

Nowadays I don't think that I shouldn't necessarily spend my money. But I know that I should spend it wisely. In the clothes arena, I've found myself purchasing less crap and spending my money instead on a few good quality pieces that will keep me for longer and not go out of style. 

With that in mind, here are a couple of stores in Portland, OR, at the forefront of the re-birth of the stylish male.

Duchess  specializes in custom-made suits. Check out their site for inspiration; they have a great suit style guide here. Winn Perry specializes in shirts, but carries men's grooming products such as Baxter of California, Taylor of Old Bond Street, Edwin Jagger, shaving brushes, razors, strops, you name it. Their website won't give you an idea of what's inside the shop's walls, but go to this article on Design*Sponge for (almost) a virtual tour. 

These two stores are just down the hall from one another, so if you're in the area, don't forget to visit them for a treat.

Close to perfection

Times have changed for sure. Most of the things we do and the way we carry them out nowadays resemble little or not at all how they were done in the past. It is difficult for your car, your toaster, or the clothes you wear to trigger a remembrance; to take you back in time to better days. There's just not that sense of keeping things around and keeping alive old habits. 

Trumpers by Wolfiewolf

Granted that today most of us shave by ourselves, when in the olden times we would go to a barber (and make more of an occasion of it). Still I take some comfort in recreating a ritual that my grandfather carried out in the same way before me. I just started shaving with Geo F Trumper's shaving cream and this just added a new dimension to the whole wet-shaving idea. 

Geo F. Trumper Violet Shaving Cream by joebeone

I can't shake the thought of the amount of tradition that Trumper carries. That a guy (OK, a gentleman) in the late 1800s was getting the same shave (only exponentially better because he actually got it at Curzon Street) as I get today is a rare treat if you really think about it. 

Of course, it is only natural that we should crave these things; more meaningful rituals, grounded in the past, going back to our roots. We have become too focused on progress, too cynical, too impersonal. 

I have had the pleasure of eating fresh fruit, straight from the land, of drinking raw milk. Shaving with an old-style double-edge and a shaving cream with a formula that might be older than me feels close to that; taken from another era, close to perfection (because, hey, I'm still not on Curzon Street).

Geo F Trumper Shaving Creams, Shave Soaps, Aftershaves, Colognes & Skin Food at Fendrihan

DYI Shaving Cream and More Green Stuff

not there yet... by scottfeldstein

Surfing the web for things shaving, I happened across this article at Feelgood Style. It is a three-part series on green shaving. Part one here has tips on how to get the best out of your shaving soap and even a DIY shaving cream (you'll find a recipe right there and a link to this other one on care2). Part two here is all about razors; straight, double-edge and even recycled plastic ones! (with a well-placed Crocodile Dundee reference).  There should be a part three coming out sometime and dealing with aftershaves. Nice introductory series.