Digital Generation Rediscovers Analog Wristwatches 505
Hugh Pickens writes "As recently as a half-decade ago, time seemed to be running out for the wristwatch; the mechanical device was declared to be going the way of the abacus. But now the NY Times reports that the 'sundial' of the wrist is experiencing an uptick among members of the digital generation, particularly by heritage-macho types in their 20s and 30s who are drawn to the wristwatch's retro appeal, just as they have seized on straight razors, selvedge denim and vintage vinyl. 'A cool machine that is all moving parts has got to be intrinsically interesting to someone born into this generation,' says Mitch Greenblatt, an online retailer of design-forward watches who is seeing a surge in business, 'because there's just nothing like that in their life.'"
Sadly... (Score:4, Interesting)
...reading an analog clock is a lost art with many of our young people. I often find my high-school students asking me "Mister, what time is it?" while staring directly at the analog clock in my room. It took me a while to figure out that they do not know how to read time on a clock with hands. So now, at the start of the year, we have a clock-reading activity that I stole from a 3rd-grade workbook.
Seriously.
Re:Sadly... (Score:5, Interesting)
'Arts' get lost as progress happens. I'm sure most people don't know how to make a fire, because we don't need to anymore (not unless we like camping or whatever and don't carry matches).
I dunno, maybe in a few years' time, people who know how to read analogue will be the 'weirdos who hold onto outdated stuff', as opposed to 'everyone except these young 'uns'
Faster and Easier reading. (Score:2, Interesting)
I'm an old guy - 46 - and I prefer dial/analog watches - although most are quartz.. I can read them faster. With just a glance, I know the time. And, I can't find it, there was a study that showed most people can read the analog time faces faster. IIRC, it has to do with seeing the digital numbers, interpreting them, and it requires extra thought. Try it. Compare the digital readout with the analog readout on your computers clock.
Re:Steam-punk appeal (Score:5, Interesting)
This really isn't much of a surprise. The Steam-punk genre is quite popular with the 20-40 crowd.
Nah, steampunk is a faux-Victorian genre loved almost exclusively by the irredeemably nerdy. This, like the straight-razor comeback, is more "Mad Men" '60s (or even '40s) nostalgia; it's people borrowing symbols from a time when "men were men" -- a way for men to assert their masculinity in a way that they see as intelligent and sophisticated, rather than uncultured or brutish. Since, for a while in the 90s, the latter seemed to be the only conception of masculinity being promulgated, I appreciate the trend, albeit with reservations.
Re:Don't buy the macho routine with straight razor (Score:4, Interesting)
In addition to the superior performance (at the admitted cost of vastly increased hassle) there is a sense of pride in learning to do something inherently difficult and potentially dangerous. For more information check out my tutorial videos on youtube, username = jockeys41
I'll also add that it's easy to spot a strait razor poser as he/she will only have one razor, whereas someone who actually shaves with them every day (as I do) will have at least half a dozen in rotation to reduce the honing burden.
Watch can get wet, plus hands free operation (Score:5, Interesting)
Cell phones are known for having other functionality as well as being able to tell the time. I've never seen the point of strapping a somewhat functional piece of jewelry to my arm when I have a small device in my pocket that tells the time, as well as doing a hundred or more other things that I find useful.
My analog display watch enables hands free operation and is water resistant to 100m. Its a far better choice in the rain or when scuba diving. When hiking/backpacking/camping my cellphone is generally powered down and in a dry bag, reserved for emergencies. "Never seen the point" is taking an otherwise reasonable argument too far.
Re:Steam-punk appeal (Score:2, Interesting)
Well, since the topic is "retro" here's a lumberjack song that's over a hundred years old iinm:
As I sat down one evening,
'twas in a small cafe
A forty year old waitress
To me these words did say:
"Well, I see that you are a logger
And not just a common bum
'cause nobody but a logger
Stirs his coffee with his thumb.
"My lover was a logger,
There's none like him today.
If you poured whiskey on it
He would eat a bail of hay
"Well, he never shaved his whiskers
From off of his horny hide
He'd just drive them in with a hammer
And bite them off inside.
"My lover came to see me
One cold and freezing day.
He held me in his fond embrace
And broke three vertebrae!
"He kissed me when he parted
so hard that he broke my jaw;
I could not speak to tell him
He'd forgot his mackinaw.
"The weather, it tried to freeze him.
It tried its level best.
At a hundred degrees below zero,
He buttoned up his vest.
"It froze clean down to China
And up to the stars above.
At a thousand degrees below zero
It froze my logger love.
"And so I lost my lover
And to this cafe I come
And here I wait 'til someone
Stirs his coffee with his thumb."
Re:Don't buy the macho routine with straight razor (Score:4, Interesting)
I have 8 razors I cycle through and although whichever blade I shave with must be stropped each morning, collectively I only have to hone them (with japanese water stones, barber hones, and finally paddle strops pasted with chromium oxide) about twice a year. When I was first starting out I only used one razor and it had to be re-honed after three dozen shaves or so, a little over a month. Even then, the honing is more of a minor blade refresh (start out on a 15000 grit stone and move up) than a proper honing. Once the razor is sharp it is inclined to stay that way unless misused.
Stropping, strictly speaking, isn't honing at all (unless a pasted strop is used, and that's still more akin to deburring than actual honing) it's more a straightening of the edge; the steel along the edge can become wavy after use, this is amplified by poor shaving technique. Myself and several of the others on Straight Razor Place have undertaken many studies of razor's edges via microscopy and there is a general consensus as to what makes a razor sharp and what makes it dull. I'd invite you to head on over to the website and learn and ask questions. From the sound of your experience it sounds as if you've been given one of the metallurgically deficient blades from China, perhaps a Double Arrow or similar, and have erroneously concluded that razors have to be honed every time they are used, which is very much not the case with a correctly tempered and hardened blade (over 60 rockwell) that will hold it's edge.
If you have any further questions or misconceptions please ask, I'm happy to evangelize on the subject