bad news :(

[Bart]

Well. What can I say?

Last night, I was building a paddle strop for my comrade Robin. I was trying to come up with this new idea I had for producing a loom type paddle with good tension, and replaceable surfaces.

I was so preoccupied with the design of prototype, that I lost perspective off good common practice.

To cut to the chase: I had a kickback accident with the jointer. One day in hospital later, I'm typing this with one digit less at my left index finger. Obviously, my left hand is packaged in thick bandages, so I'm typing right hand only for now.

So, you guys have to excuse me that it will take time to answer to all the engrossing stuff you all were posting last night and on Thursday.

Kind Regards,
Bart.

 

[Smythe]

My goodness man! This kind of news is not good at all, really sorry to hear that. You said “… typing with one digit less…”, I hope the digit is still attached… please tell me this is so my good friend.

 

[tat2Ralfy]

Sh!t Sir Bart!
at least you wont be picking your nose for a while! :O

Seriously that's bad to here. I hope you are feeling ok my friend? as said on the finger, you didn't take it off did you?
Does that mean time off work sick? and if so I hope you are covered, and can find a way to shave, hone and, still do the things in life you enjoy
I wish you a very speedy recovery and all the best
I know we are not exactly neighbours but if I can help in ANY way please let me know
best wishes to you and yours
Ralfy

 

[justin]

So sorry to hear this Bart. Please tell us you only lost the tip!

Don't be too hard on yourself. I know I would be hating myself for it, but it wouldn't make it any better.

Your right handed, hopefully?

Best of wishes to you and your family
Justin

 

[Bart]

My goodness man! This kind of news is not good at all, really sorry to hear that. You said “… typing with one digit less…”, I hope the digit is still attached… please tell me this is so my good friend.

Unfortunately not.

When my left hand (I am right-handed, Justin) hit the cutterhead of the jointer, it took some skin off my thumb and middle finger, ripped the nail and part of the flesh off my index finger. The bone of the last digit was completely shattered. I called an ambulance and arrived at ER about half an hour after the accident. They had no other option than to remove what was left of the last digit of my index finger. They used my fingertip as a flap to seal the wound. I was put on an IV-line with antibiotics for 24 hours, to prevent inflammation of the wound. (Let's hope it goes well)

Now you know all the sanguinary details. :scared:
It didn't hurt one bit when it happened, but it sure as hell hurts right now.

In case you guys wonder what caused the accident, I've been thinking about it:
This is what happens when you try to cheat on life itself. I am very passionate in the things I do, and for the last two years I have been refusing to face that a day only counts 24 hours. I slept an average of 4 to 5 hours a night and combined (takes a long breath): fatherhood, being a husband, the rebuild of our home, a full-time job as graphical designer, being a sound engineer and record producer, a deep passion for woodwork, a rich social life, a few loose projects, and last but not least: my straight razor craze.
I have been chronically sleep deprived and absent-minded, preoccupied with a loss of focus on very plain but primordial things.
A few weeks ago, while driving back home from Ardennes, I unintentionally ignored a red stop light. Nothing happened, buy right now, I realize is was not just that light I ignored, but also a warning that I was not doing justice to myself. The prize I eventually paid, was a finger digit. I am lucky. Lucky in the way that it was just one digit (could have just as easily been one digit of my thumb and middle finger and two digits of my index finger). I am also lucky in the sense that I only directly hurt myself (could have been different when I ignored that red light).

It is time to get some priorities straight and accept that I cannot do everything worth doing in this life.

Sorry to bother you guys with it. It does help to write.

Thanks,
Bart.

 

[justin]

Sorry to bother you guys with it. It does help to write.

Your not a bother. It feels good to get it all out no matter who you tell, just as long as you get it out.

Sounds like you need to take a breather dude! I know it's sad that we sleep 1/3 of our lives away, and you can ever have enough time to do all the things you want to do.

I always try to get at least 9 hours of sleep preferably 10. I lose a few hours every day because of it, but I prefer to go through the day feeling at my best. I don't like that insomnia feeling you get from too many nights of not enough sleep. It really shows in the things you do, because you start to make silly mistakes. This just means that you have to prioritize the things you want to do.

Hope your injury heals well. And remember to take a breather every now and then. Whether it's a nap or just sitting down and doing nothing but enjoying a cup of coffee, or something.

Justin

 

[Bart]

That's a lot of wisdom for a young fellow B)
You are right of course: sleep is essential to life and he who tries cheating his way out pays for it in the quality of his time awake.
If I could only find the self-discipline to get to bed on time...

Maybe the finger will remind me. I have to find a way to turn this whole experience into a good thing, and that can only be accomplished by turning it into a lesson and learning it well.

By the way: honing a razor on a Coticule, really has a relaxing, zen-like quality for me, certainly the Dilucot procedure. It combines well with a good cup of coffee, or whatever beverage. And it also combines well with listening to quiet music, or even with the beauty of silence. I absolute love honing in the stillness of the night, when everything and everyone in the house in sound asleep and it's just me, a little water, a stone and a couple of razors... Finding the discipline to go to bed will call for a lot of reorganization in my way of life.:-/

Thanks Justin,
Bart.

 

[tat2Ralfy]

accept that I cannot do everything worth doing in this life.

Sorry to bother you guys with it. It does help to write.

Thanks,
Bart.

Sorry to have to say this Sir Bart, but those last 2 lines! What the F@ck?

first off, its never a bother you have made us all so very welcome and I for 1 feel that we have through coticule.be and to a lesser degree SRP become friends, shit you know that right? we have had the odd "off forum" chat and stuff, me and you are friends, we have a mutual respect. as Justin says better out than in, I see this place just like a Caf'e we drop in and go out again, how can we expect the Bart-ender to always be there for us, answering questions, giving advice, keeping the ship afloat etc.etc. and then consider His feelings a "Bother"?

second off, You and I both know that "things worth doing" come from oneself, is it not more important to enjoy the things one does, rather than only do the things one enjoys?

O.K. heavy sh!t over

I hope the hand heals fast and friendly, I hope your spirit still is high, and I hope those close to you are tolerant loving and understanding, because I hate being out of action due to injury and fthose close to me know it!...lol
Now is there anything I can do to help out, ANYTHING

 

[Bart]

accept that I cannot do everything worth doing in this life.

Sorry to bother you guys with it. It does help to write.

Thanks,
Bart.

Sorry to have to say this Sir Bart, but those last 2 lines! What the F@ck?

first off, its never a bother you have made us all so very welcome and I for 1 feel that we have through coticule.be and to a lesser degree SRP become friends, shit you know that right?

My feeling exactly Ralfy. I have made several friends with this shaving hobby. I even have been know to plan my vacation trips in function of meeting some of them. Because no friendship is complete without grabbing a beer together. You know that, I hope.

we have had the odd "off forum" chat and stuff, me and you are friends, we have a mutual respect. as Justin says better out than in, I see this place just like a Caf'e we drop in and go out again, how can we expect the Bart-ender to always be there for us, answering questions, giving advice, keeping the ship afloat etc.etc. and then consider His feelings a "Bother"?

That's indeed the spirit of our little "Cafeteria" here.

second off, You and I both know that "things worth doing" come from oneself, is it not more important to enjoy the things one does, rather than only do the things one enjoys?

That's of course so very true. But I have always struggled with too many interests in my life. I doubt it will ever change.

I hope the hand heals fast and friendly, I hope your spirit still is high, and I hope those close to you are tolerant loving and understanding, because I hate being out of action due to injury and fthose close to me know it!...lol
Now is there anything I can do to help out, ANYTHING

Thanks, Ralfy. I'll keep it in mind. You don't happy to tattoo fingernails, do you? :

 

[tat2Ralfy]

I could do a woodscrew, to the untrained eye they look like nails....:

If you play "cowboys and indians" now will you have a sawn off shotgun??

 

[maro]

Bart,

That's really bas news. :scared:
You've got so many good advises from your old friends on this forum (and have come yourself to the right conclusions) that I will spare you next ones.
I just wanted to wish you to recover quickly.
I also hope you will find your way to do the most worth things without risking your health or life in the future.

And, as mentioned already, you have NEVER been a bother.

 

[AlanII]

Jeez, Bart. Been wondering where and what to post as my first but, here and get well soon are as good as any. Hope it's not giving you too much trouble now and many thanks for setting this great place up.

Alan

 

[Matt]

Holy cr@p! :scared:

That's a really sad news.

Bart, I'm a newbie here, however let me join with wishes of quick and painless recovery as possible.

Matt

 

[JimR]

Oh Bart, I'm sorry to hear it...I know I'm late, but the feeling is genuine.

I appreciate your attitude, though, that this is a lesson learned comparatively cheaply: Take care, take care...For yourself, your family, your friends need YOU, not the things do or say. It's a lesson that took me about 31 years to learn myself (my wife is learning it now, I fear), and very nearly too late.

Be easy, and remember that the peace you get honing does not come from the hone, but from you.

 

[tat2Ralfy]

Lovely words Jim, and so so true

I have just realised, there lots of ways to sharpen a razors edge, those synthetic pyramid boys could almost watch a film whilst doing it, why do we choose the coticule, apart from the superior edge?

Its because we are all into the Zen factor, is it not?

"When you can walk on the rice paper without leaving a mark, you are ready to try the Dilocut method" hahaha

 

[justin]

By the way: honing a razor on a Coticule, really has a relaxing, zen-like quality for me, certainly the Dilucot procedure.

Its because we are all into the Zen factor, is it not?

I noticed this the other night, after getting home from a long day of school at 10pm. I was sitting there in my room, doing x-strokes on water, with nothing but the sound of the steel edge against the Coticule. Oh, and my blasted computer. That thing is as loud as a dump truck. :

I also noticed this Zen with stropping. I remember when I first started out with a straight, a few months back, I was thinking a lot about stropping, it's something so mysterious to a newbie. Anyway, I usually can't fall asleep because I'm thinking about all kinds of stuff, and this one night I was thinking about stropping, practicing it in my head, and before I knew it I was sound asleep! :

I think it really comes down to being so focused on one seemingly simple task (pushing the razor across the stone), that is actually so complex. All the while your focusing on the weight of the razor, the x-stroking motion, the waters movement against the blade, etc.. Kind of like zazen! where you focus on the seemingly simple tasks, breathing, and body posture.

Justin

 

[tat2Ralfy]

Its being "in the Moment" dude, a state of mind that is calm and focussed no chitter chatter just peaceful

 

[Bart]

Exactly.

Taking a razor successfully through the Dilucot procedure is all about focus and state of mind. You need to want that edge to become wickedly sharp, otherwise it won't happen. I'm not talking about tele-kinetics or some other form of magic. I have often compared honing to pole vaulting. You need the skills and the training, but ib the end, passing the 6m mark is all about focus and the willpower to make the jump. There has to be unity of all parameters and that unity must manifest itself in the mind of the one holding the razor and the hone or in case of athletics, the one holding the pole.

Thanks to all for the kind words of consolation. It really means a lot to me and Stumpy.

Bart.

 

[tat2Ralfy]

F@ckin Stumpy! Bwhahahahahahah :


Ok back to Dilucot, when the unicot method is so simple and effective, what are the advantages of Dilucot? I have yet to master it to any degree, and my attempts so far have resulted in me taping and finishing ala unicot, so are the results worth the effort?

 

[JimR]

Being in the moment...

You know, I don't use a coticule (sorry guys...don't hate me because most of my hones are man-made!) but I too have a sense of being in the moment when I hone, especially lately.

I've been getting honing lessons (I call them honing lessons, but they're more like life lessons) from my barber. He's taught me a little about pressure, and some strokes and the like, but his greatest emphasis is on two things: your body's relationship to the hone, and your mind's relationship to the hone. You have to center your body, the hone should be aligned with the core of your body--and you have to center your mind. Be free of anger, irritation or frustration, and just hone. He actually said to me the other day, he said "Hone happy, and the edge will cut happy." Of course he is right, as any fool can see--after they've been told that, of course.

Now, if you're honing thirty razors a day for money, that might be what you need. But when you're trying to get this razor, in this hand, to shave this face well--then hone happy.

And Bart, give my regards to Stumpy.