Old Time Shaving

   I recently decided I wanted to try my hand at shaving the way my grandfather used to shave.

   He used an old CaseXX Straight Razor. I can still remember watching him stand at the sink with his shave mug, shave brush, shave soap, straight razor and of course some aftershave.

   The smell of the aftershave filling up the house is a memory of mine that the years have not faded in my mind.

   I don't remember what aftershave he used so I decided to try several different brands of shave soaps and after shaves.

   One shave soap and after shave that I found I liked was Ogallala Bay Rum.

  
   It has a very soothing smell that is not like other Bay Rums I have smelled. It is one of my favorites so far. Great product and it has an old time look to the packaging that it comes in. I was very pleased with the shave and smell that came with it.

   Another shave soap that I tried was Sir Hare. I was very happy with this product also. It has a very clean barber shop type smell. The soap lathered nicely and shaved well.

   It came in a well mad tin container much like an old shoe polish container. I like the packaging very much along with the way it performed and smelled.

   The next I tried was a four pack from Colonel Conk. It came with Bay Rum, Amber, Almond and Lime. Out of all the "flavored" I would say that the Bay Rum and Lime smelled the best. The soaps performed well and made a good lather. They allowed for a smooth close shave.

   The packaging was less desirable. Being plastic, it did not have a nostalgic look or feel to it which I find enriches the shaving experience for myself. That said, it was much cheaper than the others and the packaging did its job.

   I am no professional when it comes to old time shaving. Just a guy who enjoys things of yesteryear. I will continue to try out new shave soaps and aftershaves. Undoubtedly I will cross paths with smells that I like and dislike. 

   It takes a chore of shaving and makes it into a new hobby. If you are thinking about trying some old time shaving pick yourself up a straight razor or safety razor and try it out. Don't be afraid to try new smells and find what you like. In the end I feel that you will enjoy the task of shaving more than if you were to just keep on buying expensive disposable razors. 

Good luck and have fun shaving. 

CASE XX , American Family Tradition

   In today's times you have to really search to find that tag that says Made In The U.S.A. Even many American companies that have been here for what seems like forever, have in recent times started making their products in other countries. Its hard to look around your house and not find something made in China or Japan or some of the other countries out there that are producing things for the states. Go ahead, try it in your own home. Not an easy task, is it?
  
   Obviously since its very hard to find and use purely American made products we have to do our best to use things made here when we find them. If I can help it, I try to buy American made products when I can. I'm always looking for labels that say Made in the U.S.A.

   When it comes to knives many American companies have followed these trends of sourcing out their product to other countries and once proud American companies are now having their products made in other countries.

   That is not the case however with W.R. Case & Sons. They have been making knives in the United States since 1889. That is 125 years of excellent U.S. made knives and they don't show any signs of this changing any time soon. They have a strong presence in the knife industry and they are one of the most well respected and collect knife companies in existence.


   For many of us Case XX is the brand that our fathers carried, our grandfathers. For some of us our great grandfathers may have even carried a knife. I know personally that my grandfather carried a Case XX and so has my father. At any given time throughout my childhood I could ask to borrow a knife and you can bet your bottom dollar that they would pull out their favorite Case XX knife that was deep in their pocket.

                                          Grandfather's Knife

   I am lucky enough that even my wife's family were big Case XX knife people. My wife's grandfather pulled me to the side one day a few years ago and gave me one of his own father's Case XX pocket knives. I was shocked and of course very happy to accept the knife. It is now one of my prized knives in my collection because it belonged to my wife's great grandfather. That is pretty neat in my book.

                                                    Wife's Great Grandfather's Knife


   The argument could be made that there are not many knives that are passed down from generation to generation intentionally because of what tradition they have instilled within the brand.

   My everyday carry knife is a Case XX Stockman 63032 CV that fits perfectly into my watch pocket in my jeans.  I will carry this knife till it cannot be carried any longer. I want my kids and eventual grand kids to know without a doubt what I will pull out of my pocket. I want them to have fond memories of seeing me with this knife for years and years.

 

                                          My every day carry Case XX Stockman 63032 CV

   When we take trips we try to find the small general stores or hardware stores that carry Case XX knifes. The big stores are wonderful also but for me I really love the small hole in the wall shops because they have some of the best knives. I wish I could afford everyone of them that I see in these types of stores. You get a good mixture of old and new when you find one of these places.

  In Townsend, Tn. a couple of weeks ago while on vacation I found one of these stores. This old general store had just about every thing you would need to get by but what I was looking for was the Case XX knives and boy did he have plenty. He is a Case XX master dealer and had plenty knives to choose from. I ended up going back there several times before our trip to the Smoky Mountains ended. Here are a few knives that I picked up from his store.

My wife even got in on the fun and bought me this beautiful Case XX Canoe with Damascus metal and Stag handles. My first every Stag/Damascus combo.

   I will show you now a couple of the other knives that were handed down to me from various people such as my Father, Father-In-Law and others. The craftsmanship on these knives are always top notch and each a beauty in their own way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Case XX is an American Family Tradition. That is one of the things I love about this company. If you love good American Traditional Knives then you will love what W.R. Case & Sons have done over the past 125 years.

 

   Here's to another 125 years or making great knives.

 

 

 

It just don't get more American than Case XX.......

 

 

 

Okay, maybe Case XX and Watermelon is more American.

 

 

Thank you W.R. Case & Sons for still making a Traditional pocket knife that I am proud to still inherit and will be proud to pass down for generations to come.  

 

Respectfully,

Joe Wheeler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more info on W.R. Case & Sons knives and info on where you can purchase your own Case XX knife please check out their website at http://www.wrcase.com/index_en.php

 

I am in no way affiliated with W.R. Case & Sons. Just a fan of theirs for as long as I can remember.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



The Journey To Find My 2x Great Grandfather's Photograph

   I have some very exciting news! Like many times before, I was at my 91 year old grandmother Charlene Wheeler's house. I decided to go through every one of her photo albums to make digital copies of any photo that she had and could remember who was in the photos so that those photos would not be lost to memory once she was gone. I made over 200 digital images of her photos. Some, she could not remember who was in the photos and some were labeled, which helped. Sometimes she is forgetful in her young age of 91; however that night something triggered in her and her memory was awesome! She and I sat from 4pm till around 2am going through her old albums. I could tell she really enjoyed herself. I know I enjoyed myself.

   The highlight of that day for me (besides spending quality time with her) was turning the page to find an old tintype with a label underneath the photo that said "Check's grandfather, Grandfather Wheeler". Check is what they called my grandfather, William Chester Wheeler. I knew right away what I was looking at because I have searched for many years in hopes to find a photo of this man, my 2 times Great Grandfather. I was looking at a tintype photo of Jesse Wheeler and his wife E.C. Wheeler and their child.

   A little back story if you will......... When I first started in my family research there was one name that really stuck out to me. Jesse Wheeler, from Hall County, Ga. Jesse was born in Hall County, Ga. but moved to Lamar County in the 1850s. His headstone says that he was in Company D of the 26th Alabama Infantry during what many now refer to as the Civil War. Jesse is buried at Mt. Zion in Lamar County. The first time I visited his grave was a very emotional day for me. I was standing at his grave in amazement that so many years after he was laid to rest I was meeting him (so to speak) for the first time! I envisioned him going to church there a few feet away from his grave in the little church building. I envisioned so many things that he would have lived through in the 1800s. I thought about what he may have looked like. I could just see these things in my mind and felt compelled to learn more about him and also the 26th Alabama Infantry.

   As it would turn out information on him was limited. I searched everywhere for a photo of him but could not find one anywhere that I looked. A local book about the first settlers had his parents wrong and sent me on a 3 year wild goose chase. I eventually figured out that the book had his parents listed wrongly and once I figured that out many doors started to open. I was able to track him back to Hall County, Ga and found photos of some of this brothers but never much on him.

(Photo of Me at Jesse's Grave)
  
 

  Over the years of researching my family and obsessing with Jesse and also the 26 Alabama Infantry I started to realize that I had a rather large collection of photos and documents from the 26th Alabama. I started a facebook page dedicated to the men of the 26th in hopes that I could help others find photos or documents on their ancestor, and admittedly, I hoped one day someone would come to my page and have a photo of my ancestor. I can tell you that I feel a great deal of joy when someone comes to my page and tells me that because of my page they have seen a photo of their ancestor for the first time or the final resting place of their ancestor.

   For years I have added things to that page as I found them and have tons more to add from my records as I have time but I was starting to think that I would never find a photo of my ancestor, Jesse Wheeler. Maybe a photo of him  didn't exist. Maybe it did but was not labeled and I would never have a way of knowing. I won't say I was losing hope but I will say that I felt like my chances were slim. My only hope was the advances in technology on the internet with websites such as ancestry.com and other sites where users are always adding new photos and information.

   Now, here I was this weekend with my eyes and mouth wide open! Looking face to face with a man I have researched for many many hours. I was in amazement all over again even more than when I stood at his grave. I found it!  There he was with his wife and child!

   I will say here that I was beyond happy that the photo was labeled underneath it because right away I had a question about the child. The child appeared to be in a dress of some sort. The child's age was too young to be the last girl child of Jesse. I had heard about boys wearing "dresses" or "gowns" back in the old days. I even have a photo from the 1920's of my grandfather on my moms side wearing what appears to be a gown of some type. I guess this was common practice among young children due to an ease of changing them. That said, I wanted to be sure so I sent copies of the photo to three different people whom I consider experts in styles of the day, photos of the day and just experts in general when it comes to old photographs such as this. I did not give them any information on the photo and all three came back and dated the photo as being late 1860s through very early 1870s. That fit in perfect with the age of the man in the photo along with when he died, around 1871.

  What about the child? ..........Well all three said they felt it was a boy. One said the boots appeared to be that of a girl but still felt it was a boy due to a side part in the hair rather than a middle part which was common in girls of the day and which can also be seen on the woman in the photo. I was also told that poor families would use hand me downs and that the boots the child were wearing could quite possibly be left over from the child's sister a few years earlier.
With everything checking out with the photo I was very happy. I just wanted to be sure, even though it was labeled.
  
   On top of all of that, my grandmother seen the excitement that I had when finding the old tintype so she told me I could have it. It is now one of my most prized possessions. I will cherish it from now till my dying day. (Thank you Maw, Love You)
  
If you made it to the end of this long post I want to thank you. I had to share my joy and excitement and let it also be known that if you are looking for something on an ancestor to NEVER give up that search. You may find what you are looking for and it may be right under your nose somewhere like this photo.

(Me holding the tintype photo of my 2x Great Grandfather Jesse Wheeler, Wife E.C. Wheeler and Child who is thought to be either Thomas Nathan Wheeler, my Great Grandfather or Wesley Carl Wheeler, their last child)