Shaving notes of the MaineYooper

I have been reading Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings almost yearly since 1978 or '79! I own at least 4 copies as paper backs, oversize paperback with jackets, slip cased slender hardbacks, and several audio recordings. Currently, I am "reading" on the way to work and back, listening to the recently released narration by Andy Serkis. If you are a fan of the movie adaptations, you will know Serkis as providing the voice and movements of Gollum/Smeagol. The man is truly gifted both as a physical actor (crawling through ice-cold springs in New Zealand in nothing but a green suit so the cameras could capture realistic movements for Gollum) and vocally, being able to do a wide range of "voices". His narration is of LOTR is stunning, to me. It feels like there is a huge cast doing all the characters, yet it is one man. His throat must have ached after certain scenes!

Anyway, all that to say, I have decided to try some LOTR naming for some of my Trotter Handcrafts wooden handles. I like them, but we'll see if they fit!

Fangorn: Dark, somewhat scary, but not evil. And if you get to know it, you find it is actually wonderful. Cocobolo wood handle. 


The Old Forest: bent, twisted, and gnarled. But Tom Bombadil keeps it in check, so it is safe, mostly. Eucalyptus burl handle. 


Lothlorien: the Golden Wood. This maple handle is full of light, and goodness. 

I have been reading Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings almost yearly since 1978 or '79! I own at least 4 copies as paper backs, oversize paperback with jackets, slip cased slender hardbacks, and several audio recordings. Currently, I am "reading" on the way to work and back, listening to the recently released narration by Andy Serkis. If you are a fan of the movie adaptations, you will know Serkis as providing the voice and movements of Gollum/Smeagol. The man is truly gifted both as a physical actor (crawling through ice-cold springs in New Zealand in nothing but a green suit so the cameras could capture realistic movements for Gollum) and vocally, being able to do a wide range of "voices". His narration is of LOTR is stunning, to me. It feels like there is a huge cast doing all the characters, yet it is one man. His throat must have ached after certain scenes!

Anyway, all that to say, I have decided to try some LOTR naming for some of my Trotter Handcrafts wooden handles. I like them, but we'll see if they fit!

Fangorn: Dark, somewhat scary, but not evil. And if you get to know it, you find it is actually wonderful. Cocobolo wood handle. 


The Old Forest: bent, twisted, and gnarled. But Tom Bombadil keeps it in check, so it is safe, mostly. Eucalyptus burl handle. 


Lothlorien: the Golden Wood. This maple handle is full of light, and goodness. 

Nice Eric! I’m loving how people are naming the early, wood handles.

Lothlorien: the Golden Wood. This maple handle is full of light, and goodness. 

(Oops. You've got at least one upside-down hair there, near the razor handle.)

Be careful. When you shave using the Mirror of Galadriel, you only see what your shave might end up looking like.

Lothlorien: the Golden Wood. This maple handle is full of light, and goodness. 

(Oops. You've got at least one upside-down hair there, near the razor handle.)

Be careful. When you shave using the Mirror of Galadriel, you only see what your shave might end up looking like.

Good eye, John! Photos may not be a bad idea for finding the odd bristles. This one is super soft, whereas I had an older (4 years?) SynBad that was actually very pokey. Andrew (at AP Shave Co) said there was a batch received where some knots had a larger number of inverted bristles. I worked for a bit to remove around 30 or more, and eventually PIF'd the brush.

I like the Mirror reference, well put! There have been those shaves where I felt like Sam looking into the Mirror, for I wanted to stop shaving immediately and swap out pieces of the kit, thinking it would be better if I switched! And if I did stop, it wasn't outstanding enough to make up for running late!

Medical Update

At Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center this morning for an early morning procedure. We expect it go well. This is to confirm no cancer. As the doc put it,  guilty until proven innocent!

Sitting in the waiting area now, reading the forums. 

Thanks for the support!

Update: in recovery already, and will be able to see her in a half hour!

Medical Update

At Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center this morning for an early morning procedure. We expect it go well. This is to confirm no cancer. As the doc put it,  guilty until proven innocent!

Sitting in the waiting area now, reading the forums. 

Thanks for the support!

Sending prayers for you folks.

Try to keep as busy as you can in the meantime. We'll try to bump up the irrelevant mumbojumbo we usually type, so you have more to read.

So hey, mrdoug was telling me about a Sir Henry’s soap you should check out.

So hey, mrdoug was telling me about a Sir Henry’s soap you should check out.

He did more than talk! This arrived as a mystery package, from the very generous Paul D!

PS: now there is a dusting of snow outside!

Everything went well! We'll get results of biopsies in a week or two.

Traveling home now, about half way there. Stopped at a "service center" for over priced snacks, and mostly clean restrooms!

Everything went well! We'll get results of biopsies in a week or two.

Traveling home now, about half way there. Stopped at a "service center" for over priced snacks, and mostly clean restrooms!

Good deal, now get some rest