How To Sharpen Your Philishave

Science without guidance is doubly madness.
Baltasar Gracian, The Science Of Success And The Art Of Prudence, Sec. 16

The Oracle of Ottawa is discovering that his "Thinking About Thinking" project was one of the wisest little undertakings that the Oracle of Ottawa has ever undertaken. It is an ever ongoing project where by the Oracle of Ottawa is seeking wisdom, methods and algorithms to solve any big and/or small problem. It has been quiet useful with some big problems and much to the Oracles surprise it also works very well on the little aggravating problems.

Philishave - 1962, and yes you can sharpen the heads!!

If there is one thing that the Oracle of Ottawa truly loves, it has to be quality. There is hardly anything left in the Oracles secure bunker remaining that is made in China. It has all been replaced with the best domestic made goods. Sometimes these can only be replaced by a very careful search at the local thrift stores. When was the last time that you owned a really good can opener that was stamped Made in the USA?

With personal use items the Oracle of Ottawa is even more obsessive. The Oracle only uses the best he can buy and he uses them forever. As I pound this little missive the Oracle has realized that he has used the same hairbrush daily since about 1975! I paid nearly ten bucks for the darn thing, Made in Germany, and the bristles are still as stiff as the day of purchase. Even more amazing is that the Oracle still has roughly the same amount of hair to daily pull the brush through!

It was about two weeks ago that the Oracle noticed that his wonderful Philishave was starting to miss some hair on the craggy places of my neck. It is a 3000 series rotary three head, that is going into at least it's second decade. Although money is no object the Oracle realized that the parts have probably been long discontinued. Then the "Thinking about Thinking" lessons kicked in. Let the Oracle of Ottawa share the solution with you Dear Reader...

It is common knowledge that the steel in the Philishave rotary heads is the best. The damn things last forever. Top quality. It would be a shame to throw it out, it just needs a strop! If I could just get some fine scouring agent into the heads for a minute the Oracle was sure that the problem would be solved. Then the Oracle spotted the tube of Crest toothpaste on the counter! That is all there is to it Dear Reader. Take a small blob of toothpaste and place it in the center of the three rotors. Then with your finger rub it directly into the separate rotary heads, as it is running. (No awkward dis-assembly required...)  Then wet your finger and gradually apply water until the toothpaste foams up. Rinse the heads and then dry.

And it works like a charm! Why the Oracle of Ottawa totally shocked himself. It is all just critical thinking and logic applied left to right, and sometimes right to left. Results will vary, but the Oracle of Ottawa is very pleased that he will be keeping his Philishave for at least another couple of decades...