First Straight Razor Shave and Karate

Well, I had my first straight razor shave last night.

It wasn't too bad. No blood. No nicks or cuts.

I stropped it for a bit and then went to work.

I don't think my blade holds an edge very well, but it was still semi-successful.

I did the hanging hair test - you pluck a hair, then just pull it across your blade. If it cuts the hair, the blade is sharp enough. If not, keep stropping, or off to the hone with it.

Anyways, the hard part about shaving with a straight razor is that your arms get in the way of your line of sight, so you have to contort your body to see what you're doing. You don't want to hack off an ear or anything. It actually resulted in a lot less irritation than the normal DE (double edge) safety razor shave, but it took a lot longer and was more difficult. With practice it will get better and faster. The shaving cream was drying out before I could get to it I was so slow!

Other than that, we took Keegan to karate tonight. He did really well! We're going to sign him up!

Welcome to Dapper Daddy!

Many of you may know me as the husband of Amber Waves of Grain ! :)

Well, she convinced me to start a blog!

So, here I am!

What will dapper daddy be about? Well, the life I've been given, of course! Am I dapper? Maybe. Am I a daddy? Certainly!

Dapper Daddy isn't really because I'm all that dapper - it just sounded cool so here it is! TTTAAAAA DAAAAAAAA!!!!

A little about me:

• I'm a daddy, but I don't know that I'm a super-daddy. A 3 year old boy and a 1 month old baby girl :)
  
• I'm married to amber waves of grain (AWOG)
  
• I'm not really that dapper, but I have come a looooong ways in my sense of style, thus the self-proclaimed dapper in my title. I was well known for the purple suit in high school. (yeah, you're laughing aren't ya....) AWOG likes to tease me about how my entire wardrobe was solid colored Ralph Lauren golf shirts when we first married. I have slowly evolved with a ways to go, but I like to think I'm doing ok right now.... :)
• I like outdoorsy stuff

• I'm currently into shaving.

What's this you say about shaving? You mean the mundane task every guy has to endure on a daily basis so the boss doesn't think he's the missing link? No, REAL shaving! REAL shaving is an art. An experience. A never-ending, olfactory - inspiring, masculine ritual that has transcended generations of men and will endure forever. In not too distant history, being well-shaved was for high-class society, and now, I understand why.

You see - it's not just any shaving - not the cartridge junk with can of goo you buy at the mega-store or 'lectric buzz - REAL shaving with old-school safety razors that get changed out every other shave, luxurious shaving creams/soaps and lathering techniques, tangy aftershaves, and soothing post-shave balms.

This shaving, my dear friends, is an art. It has transformed my routine from a necessary evil to an anticipated event that invigorates the soul!!

I even have a straight razor on the way with old-fashioned strop. But that my friends, is a story for another day.