DIY: The Deer Antler Razor

I've been pretty lean on the DIY posts as of late, and let me tell you why. One can only cut up and metallicize so many shorts and paint-splatter so many shoes before it just gets old; I can't sew, and neither can so many of the creative, stylish men who read this blog. This is why I've decided to branch out into do-it-yourself projects that go beyond just fashion and bring you easy and charmingly odd DIY projects that help you embody the dandy lifestyle. Today, I thought I'd give a facelift to one of the items a well-groomed man makes use of everyday: the razor.

small deer antler from Evolution, Gillette Mach 3 razor

Shaving is one of the everyday activities that makes us feel manly; it is in the upkeep, or lack thereof, of facial hair that reminds us that our bodies produce hormones that make us grow beards, and not breasts. And so I thought manly.. huntsman.. taxidermy.. antlers---let me make a shaving razor handle out of deer antlers! I purchased a piece of deer horn at the Evolution "Natural History" Store in NYC, took my old Gillette Mach 3 razor, and got to work.

I went to the nearest hardware store and had the kind fellows there saw the antler and the razor handle at points I marked. (EDIT: You can very easily do this step yourself with a clamp and a hacksaw.) As you can see, I had the antler cut on two points. I mocked the razor connector up on both the thicker and the skinnier segment, and decided I liked the heft and the organic detail on the thicker base piece so I decided to go with that.

Sawing left the edges rather rough,

so I sanded the ends of both pieces. On a rough emery cloth first to get rid of the splinters,

then on finer sandpaper to smoothen everything out.

I then applied Super Glue to the cut end of the razor connector. It would be wise at this point to have removed the razor blade cartridge from the connector; you wouldn't want to be holding on to the sharp blade during the quick motions of applying the glue and pressing the pieces together as the glue quickly dries.

To strengthen the bond, I added a little more glue to the edges of the razor blade connector.

I re-affixed the razor blade cartridge, and behold, my handsome new urban-huntsman deer antler razor. I love how the wild, organic shape of the deer antler flows into the iconic smooth steel lines of the metal razor.

with my two new favorite bathroom products: Buckler's Chapped Skin Remedy--a thick, hearty skin moisturizer perfect for combatting winter dryness, and Lab Series Root Power Restorative Style Wax--the lightest, subtly shiny hair wax for those days when you want to give your hair a break from heavy product and just let it hang loose with minimal control

Happy shaving.

Special thanks to Ivy for her words of encouragement and her abundance of taxidermy.