A Sense of Nostalgia with Dr. JB Lim

Nostalgia is like a grammar lesson: you find the present tense, but the past perfect! ~Owens Lee Pomeroy

The blogger wishes to share the following interesting emails from his most-learned e-buddy Dr. JB Lim talking about traditional shavers and other nostalgic stuff.  

From: Lim Juboo

Sent: Friday, 28 March 2014 2:57 AM

To all friends from the Japanese Occupation,

I was surprised you can still get this traditional cosmetic (RM 3.50 now) our grandmothers paint all over their faces white at night before going to bed. See photo.

 

China-made shaver



You also can get this two metal piece shaver with a metal handle made in China for only RM 3.00 that comes with a box + one extra shaving blade + a small mirror, a small brush, and a box.

All for just RM 3.00!  But it is lousy as the blades cannot align properly with the two piece metal piece holders to clamp tight.

I bought both the HK cosmetic and the China shaver from a small shop 0.8 km outside my house just today.



Indian-made shavers which according to Dr. Lim are better than the China-made ones

 Recently I also bought several of these old-fashioned shavers from one of the department stores in Batu Pahat. But they were British designed but assembled in India, and costing RM 8.50 each inclusive an extra blade. 

But the Indian ones I purchased from Batu Pahat was very good and can shave cleanly needing to change the blades only after at least 6 shaves. Boxes of these blades are also still readily available everywhere.

I can now shave the old-fashioned way as I did long, long ago in the 1950's using the recently bought Indian shavers. But I don't think I want to use the China-made one I bought today.

The Indian ones is more expensive, and comes with just the shaver and an extra blade, but no mirror, a small brush plus a box to keep all inside like the China one.

I share this to let you know a lot of these long-forgotten products are still available today.

Now I am looking for a Butterfly brand kerosene pressure lamp, an acetylene lamp used by street hawkers at night during the Japanese time, plus a charcoal stove used by an old hawker in Jalan Siam in Penang to fry Penang best koay tiow.

But where can I get kerosene now - all use butane-propane gas stove now. Maybe I try Subang Airport or KLIA where they sell kerosene for jet liners (seriously, aviation fuel IS high grade kerosene, and not benzene or petrol). 

(An old-fashioned traditionalist from the Victorian Era)

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On Sun, Mar 30, 2014 at 12:29 PM, Tai Onn Lau wrote:

Dear Great Sifu,

Nostalgic, Doc, nostalgic!  This shows how sentimental a person you are about the bygone days. This is absolutely respectable.

By the way, I noticed you have not shaved clean the beard around your chin in the photo of you holding Captain KH Lim's latest book entitled "Life in the Skies" that you have circulated and shared with us the other day. I bet if you keep moustache and beard, that would make you look more scholarly, LOL!

.

Incidentally, I went to Popular Bookstore in Cheras Selatan, Balakong yesterday evening thinking of buying the book "Life in the Skies".  But it was nowhere to be found.  It must be sold like hotcakes.

Cheers,

Lau

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From: Lim Juboo

Sent: Sunday, 30 March 2014 7:18 PM

Dear Sifu Engineer The Great,

You make me smile. You make my day about the 'beard' around my chin.

Just to let you know I have neither used the China or the Indian shaver for at least 5 days after I last shaved with the Indian one. This is because I am now jobless, and shall not be shaving, wear a coat and tie anymore to go for a job interview. I now only wear shorts and slippers and eat in a mamak shop.

You remind me some 20 over years ago of a school mate of mine who asked me to formulate some medicated oil for him to make business. He suggested that I put my "old sage doctor" with a long white beard and whiskers photo on the label as a trade mark to be called "Chap Dr Lim medicated liniment". He told me this will sell like hot cakes because people will trust a "wise old man" formula with a long wisdom white beard on it.

.

Ha! ha! ha! I did formulate the oil for him which smells exactly like that "Chap Tiga Kaki medicated oil", or Tiger Balm. But I do not know if it works as an embrocation to relieve muscular pains.

I then gave it to him absolutely free-of-charge after 3 days working on it in his house, except he paid for the initial experimental ingredients. I also gave him the formula how to do it, and also how to manufacture it on a large scale.

But told him to put his own photo inside the label. Ha! ha! ha! I do not know if he did that, or what he did with the oil - some 10 kg of the oil.

Ha! ha! ha! he must have gone bankrupt using my formula and his pictures inside.

That's life in the business world.

Cheers to all the entrepreneurs!

jb 

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From: Tai Onn Lau

To: Lim Juboo

Sent: Wednesday, 2 April 2014 7:19 AM

Subject:  Photos

Dear Dr. Lim,

I wonder if you can be so kind as to send me again the photos of your China-made and India-made shavers, because I have inadvertently deleted them.   I wish to post them into my blog (as you know I have just retired and I am now as free as you are).

Thank you.

Cheers,

Lau

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From: Lim Juboo

To: Tai Onn Lau  

Sent: Thursday, 3 April 2014 7:53 PM

Dear Ir Lau,



Okay. Here are the photos of the China "Tycoon" shavers (RM 3.00) and a box of grandmother's face cosmetic (RM 3.50).
    

China-made shaver

   

Indian-made Super-Max Bola shaver

 

Indian-made Laser Ultra shaver

The Indian-made "Laser Ultra" and "Super Max Bola" are much more expensive than the China "Tycoon" shaver that came with a small mirror and a tiny brush, and a box to contain them. The whole box cost only RM 3.00. But it is very lousy and the blade gets rusty easily. The blades also cannot be aligned properly in the blade holder. So I have not used it at all. What can you expect from China products?

The Indian-made ones (Laser Ultra) which is British-designed using their technology (expensive skills) but made and assembled in India (cheap labour) cost RM 8.90. This is the best one as it is made of steel, heavy duty, and gives very good, close and smooth shave. It has the traditional two pieces of metal blade holders and is quite heavy.

The other also Indian-made one is called Super Max Bola is made of black plastic and to insert the blade you need to flip open the top cover to put the blade inside. This one is not so good as the steel Laser Ultra one. It cannot shave well with it, and you need to shave many times on the same area to remove the hair.  But it also cost about RM 8.50.

 

So the best is the Laser Ultra one, followed by Super Max Bola. The worse one is of course the China-made shaver where you cannot even align the blades into the metal holders properly and screw it in tightly. That's why it cost only RM 3.00 with a box, small mirror and a brush inside.

The morale of the story is: "Good things not cheap, and cheap things not good".

juboo lim

(Note: All the photos of the face cosmetic, shavers and blades as shown above are provided by courtesy of Dr. JB Lim himself and the blogger wishes to acknowledge with much gratitude)