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An Unexpected Journey: A Newbie's Walk In Wet Shaving

Glad you could identify the swage block KJ. Something else you might want to know is it is pronounced "swedge" even though it looks like "swaage". Many of them go 300 lbs or more when they are that big. Being cast iron they really needed to be beefy so they didn't break. Shipping is definitely off the table. The one I have only weighs about 60 lbs so it wasn't bad to ship. They also go for big money so if you ever see one at a garage sale, flea market, side of the road, scrap yard and can pay less than $100.....scoop it up and then relist it on Craig's List for more or contact Shawn and I as we may take it off your hands.

I took yesterday off to put up gates on my new property. I live in gravel country so digging the post holes was fun but I got it set in concrete and hope to hang the last gate Friday.
 
I've been just super busy lately, so much so that Shawn checked up on me to see if I was still fogging an mirror :LOL: TSC is a good family for sure! I took a couple of days off last week to get the new property secure. I installed a farm 12 foot farm gate to shut down a trail that quads and dirtbikes have been using that is now my property. I had a good talk with the motocross track owner and he understood when I let him know I was gating it off. This way I don't need to go and talk to him every time some dirt weasel strays off his track and onto my property. I think it will actually help us to have a better neighbor relationship. The second gate installation was a little more complicated. Wiring the coms box and stringing razor wire was tricky.......just kidding, it was labor intensive. I had to dig a 3 foot hole to get below the frost line here, then set the post and fill around it with concrete. That was day one or actually just 2 hours of the morning and then an hour or so after lunch. The second day I took of I installed the farm gate. I got everything on there and all be danged if I didn't nail it the first time with my 4 foot level showing the entire gate was level. I spent the rest of the day trimming brush along the road with my chainsaw and tree limb saw. A little weed whacking and the road looked great.

Remember the cabin on the property, well I've assembled a group of 9 guys to help me dismantle it and move it 100 yards into the woods. That's happening late July. I'm a stubborn fool and hate to ask for help, but with the hip surgery I just can't do it all so my friends are coming to my rescue. In the meantime I have to finish cutting a trail into the woods so a truck can easily get in and out. I'll feed them all well and remember them when it's time to make things. It's a rain or shine event, so I'm really hoping for more shine than rain. Up here we've not had a week without several days or rain. Yeah that's right, not one week since winter. It's hard to get the lawn mowed or anything else done outside. My SUV is getting in some mud work on the road going up in and out of my new property!

In the midst of it all, I had some great shaves. with two days of skipping shaving while working on the gates, I got great shaves the day after. Saturday I did one pass with the imitation feather and I was dang close to BBS. What a fine shave that was. I'd put a new blade in and it cut through the 2 day scruff so smoothly. I'd forgotten the last time I'd put a new blade in it so I think it was overdue.
 
Sounds like things are coming together for you with the new land. Good hearing from you
 
Excellent update man!

Were the cyclists tearing/trashing up the property, is that why you closed it off?
 
GearNoir said:
Excellent update man!

Were the cyclists tearing/trashing up the property, is that why you closed it off?
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My apologies to anyone here who might responsibly enjoy motocross, dirtbikes, or quads but yeah up here there's a culture of "all land is my canvas to ride on." There are responsible ones, but from what I see most just don't care and see it as their right to drive on the land you pay taxes on and yes they tear it up. There's a gorge on the adjoining property that I used to hike in (after asking the farmer for permission to hike and hunt) and enjoy the creek running through it. They've torn it all up and it's unrecognizable now. The gates were a necessary evil to keep the peace. The track owner can't be expected to know what every person who pays to run on his track is doing so the gates keep his riders honest and I don't have to go over and complain 5 times a month. The more I explore the new land the more evidence I find of trash being thrown in the woods from the motocross people. Some of it is recent and some of it is from the "hay-day" in the 90's when it was a big deal. This property never had anyone looking after it all those years so that's what happens I guess.
 
Blade-meister said:
My apologies to anyone here who might responsibly enjoy motocross, dirtbikes, or quads but yeah up here there's a culture of "all land is my canvas to ride on." There are responsible ones, but from what I see most just don't care and see it as their right to drive on the land you pay taxes on and yes they tear it up. There's a gorge on the adjoining property that I used to hike in (after asking the farmer for permission to hike and hunt) and enjoy the creek running through it. They've torn it all up and it's unrecognizable now. The gates were a necessary evil to keep the peace. The track owner can't be expected to know what every person who pays to run on his track is doing so the gates keep his riders honest and I don't have to go over and complain 5 times a month. The more I explore the new land the more evidence I find of trash being thrown in the woods from the motocross people. Some of it is recent and some of it is from the "hay-day" in the 90's when it was a big deal. This property never had anyone looking after it all those years so that's what happens I guess.
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Around here if I hike, I get permission too. Sometimes people use a rifle instead of a fence to enforce property rights and boundaries
 
Blade-meister said:
My apologies to anyone here who might responsibly enjoy motocross, dirtbikes, or quads but yeah up here there's a culture of "all land is my canvas to ride on." There are responsible ones, but from what I see most just don't care and see it as their right to drive on the land you pay taxes on and yes they tear it up. There's a gorge on the adjoining property that I used to hike in (after asking the farmer for permission to hike and hunt) and enjoy the creek running through it. They've torn it all up and it's unrecognizable now. The gates were a necessary evil to keep the peace. The track owner can't be expected to know what every person who pays to run on his track is doing so the gates keep his riders honest and I don't have to go over and complain 5 times a month. The more I explore the new land the more evidence I find of trash being thrown in the woods from the motocross people. Some of it is recent and some of it is from the "hay-day" in the 90's when it was a big deal. This property never had anyone looking after it all those years so that's what happens I guess.
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All good man, just curious. Those are pretty valid reasons. I knew it wasn’t just because you were the curmudgeonly old fart type. :p
 
Dave in KY said:
Around here if I hike, I get permission too. Sometimes people use a rifle instead of a fence to enforce property rights and boundaries
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In NY we'd be jailed for even thinking about doing anything like that. Heck I'm surprised I can legally possess a SR without some sort of license where I had to take an 8 hour class on blade safety and the proper use of shaving soap.

GearNoir said:
All good man, just curious. Those are pretty valid reasons. I knew it wasn’t just because you were the curmudgeonly old fart type. :p
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I did get a hip replaced so maybe that notches the section of my man card that details curmudgeon status :oops: Naw, I'm generally an agreeable person and laid back but I have a strong dislike for those that ruin other people's stuff rather that be graffiti on someone's wall or tearing up their land with a dirtbike. I actually enjoyed watching the dirtbikes zip around the track when I was putting up my posted signs. Heck, when I was young and foolish I probably would have tried riding one and hitting the jumps.

Speaking of man cards, since Chris is now the keeper, maybe you should make a prototype man card and post a picture of it here and start handing them out. :D
 
Blade-meister said:
My apologies to anyone here who might responsibly enjoy motocross, dirtbikes, or quads but yeah up here there's a culture of "all land is my canvas to ride on." There are responsible ones, but from what I see most just don't care and see it as their right to drive on the land you pay taxes on and yes they tear it up. There's a gorge on the adjoining property that I used to hike in (after asking the farmer for permission to hike and hunt) and enjoy the creek running through it. They've torn it all up and it's unrecognizable now. The gates were a necessary evil to keep the peace. The track owner can't be expected to know what every person who pays to run on his track is doing so the gates keep his riders honest and I don't have to go over and complain 5 times a month. The more I explore the new land the more evidence I find of trash being thrown in the woods from the motocross people. Some of it is recent and some of it is from the "hay-day" in the 90's when it was a big deal. This property never had anyone looking after it all those years so that's what happens I guess.
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I have a rule of mine when I go hiking or just a nice walk in the woods. First and foremost...I always take out with me what I bring in. Secondly, I try to pick up a little of what isn't mine. I know I shouldn't have to...but unfortunately...there are just those that don't respect the land.

My brother and I charted some boats for some fishing in the marshes a while back. The Louisiana marshes are their own type of beauty and I love them. While we were out I noticed the guide took out his lunch and began to eat it. Then promptly discarded his trash into the water. I couldn't believe it. Here is a guy who actually makes his living off the environment and he still makes a choice to dump his trash into it.
 
dangerousdon said:
I have a rule of mine when I go hiking or just a nice walk in the woods. First and foremost...I always take out with me what I bring in. Secondly, I try to pick up a little of what isn't mine. I know I shouldn't have to...but unfortunately...there are just those that don't respect the land.

My brother and I charted some boats for some fishing in the marshes a while back. The Louisiana marshes are their own type of beauty and I love them. While we were out I noticed the guide took out his lunch and began to eat it. Then promptly discarded his trash into the water. I couldn't believe it. Here is a guy who actually makes his living off the environment and he still makes a choice to dump his trash into it.
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That INFURIATES me and we would have had words !!!! I'll never understand when hiking in beautiful areas and others there to enjoy it will disrespect it that way too. Makes NO sense to me. Sorry for venting but it's a pet peeve.........
 
dangerousdon said:
While we were out I noticed the guide took out his lunch and began to eat it. Then promptly discarded his trash into the water.
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Dang! Wow I just can't believe someone would do that in this day and age. Even when I was an 18 yr old punk racing my Old's Cutlass around town I didn't throw trash anywhere but in the trash can with the exception of an apple core or banana peel. I never saw the sense in it. I'd save my trash and the next time I was near a garbage can in it would go. I'm not an environmentalist by any means, but I believe in taking care of stuff and tossing trash anywhere but in a trash can is just laziness.

I too try to leave areas better than I left them. When I'd be in a farmer's field looking for arrowheads and see that some dude had been there before me smoking cigs and tossing the butts in the farmer's field or plastic bottles, etc., I'd pick them up too. My fear would be that the farmer would think I was the one doing it.
 
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