A Bit of Trivia

Last night on TV I saw a man sharpening a straight razor. With precise strokes he vigorously moved the steel blade across a leather strap, reminding me of the way my grandfather honed his razor. When I came to Jordan and met my husband’s grandfather, who had a full beard, I learned that he had never shaved. In fact, I think most photos taken of Jordanian men before the 1930s show them with full beards. This must have been the fashion by default, since owning a good razor was probably rare.

Some years before I came here, Syria, Egypt, and Israel had opened factories to produce razor blades. To protect their local industries the respective governments prohibited the importation of blades. Jordan had no such restrictions, so businessmen imported top quality Swedish steel, double edged razor blades. In fact, the number imported equaled one blade per day for each man, woman, and child in the country! Their quality was far superior to any produced in the region, and although they were considerably more expensive, the demand for them was ENORMOUS. By the time I arrived in Jordan, the supply in the market was so unreliable that razor blades were on the list of things to stock up on whenever one went shopping or traveled abroad. Why weren’t there enough blades in Jordan to satisfy the local market? You’ve probably guessed by now. At least six truck loads of razor blades were smuggled into Israel and Egypt every week, the amount going to Syria was never clear. The Jordan businessman was happy. The government was happy; it was collecting customs on all those blades. Who would have thought that not too long ago, trafficking in razor blades had an impact on Jordan’s economy?

ASH