It's a beautiful razor but I think it over priced. I applaud them for not undervaluing their work but am I wrong to think it too much?
Attachment 160507
Printable View
It's a beautiful razor but I think it over priced. I applaud them for not undervaluing their work but am I wrong to think it too much?
Attachment 160507
Well, value is in the eyes of the beholder now isn't it?
That is the very reason we don't do valuations on SRP.
So, while you might have an opinion on the value of that particular razor, based on it's design and/or maker, others might see it totally different.
Perhaps someone who has actually shaved with one would care to chime in?
I'd love to hear their take on it..
A maker or seller is free to price his razor as he wishes. The market will determine the valid selling price.
You're paying for the artist, not the materials.
You can collect all the materials, and that might not cost very much but then there's equipment, knowledge, and I'm sure a great deal of skill involved.
You, could finance it ;)
The stamp on the "other" side of that tang, tells you who made that razor & why it's worth the asking price.
Fendrihan did not make that razor, they are selling it.
I'm not putting that pointy pointed thing to my face without some subtle "de-pointing" that is assuming Hirlau was going to send me one for tryouts.
I've been "spiked" enough already geez!
Definitely would have that muted, too pointy for me too.
If I get one Wade, you can test it.
Nobody here own one? Spend all your money on a $2K dubl duck razor or $600 brush, or maybe a $4900 Kamisori I was just looking at?
I agree about the pointyness. So many custom razor makers feel the need to take designs to such extremes that they end up making something that you might get if you asked a 14yr old to make something cool. They look fascinating and impractical at the same time.
Much as I'd like to own one of Max's razors, for that kind of money I'd want a unique one, made to my specifications. And that blade scares me.
But the stitching on the pouch is pretty good work for a bison. I suspect it's hard to sew with those hooves.
I've asked max about this, because these guys were spamming me.
They set that price so high because they are targeting the rich crowd.
Yeah, i've found in nearly every area of endeavor where craftsmen are still making things--that yet have corresponding mass market products. That a ONE off can be had for about the price (sometimes less) than a semi-special, made for everybody product from the big mfg. Drawback is that you MUST know the product well enough to not be hornswaggled. I really dig stuff made by people with names over stuff made by companies with departments. AND I"M NOT commenting directly on the OP razor, I know nothing of the maker/company/seller. General terms as sparked by the text i quoted is all.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ecl
I'm all for a fellow or two making a buck. Sooner or later it may trickle back into my economy.
built-in thimbles eh? Just a matter of lining up the gooves. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Ecl
I suppose it is only too expensive to those of us who, if we had that sort of money, wouldnt buy it based on the price.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hart
I have no idea what they are asking for that razor. But let's say they are making a 50% markup (no idea what kinds of markups people work on, this is just a rough figure).
So divide the asking price by 1.5. Then guesstimate the materials costs for scales, steel, pins, on-costs (electricity etc) and subtract that.
Then take a guess at how many hours work that particular razor would have taken to make, and divide the figure above by that. That's the estimated hourly rate of the maker.
I honestly do not know what that comes out to be as there are a lot of variables and unknowns (to me) in that calculation. Who knows, these custom guys could be raking in hundreds of dollars an hour for all I know. But I doubt it.
Anyway, of course that's just the really pragmatic way to look at custom prices. When you start adding rarity, collectibility, artistry, desirability, some may even argue stupidity (on the part of some buyers) etc on top of that you enter another world entirely. A lot like art in fact. One man's finger painting is another's Picasso and so on...
James.
Yup, with you on that one Ed....what's that old saying, "if you have to ask how much it is, you probably can't afford it."Quote:
Originally Posted by edhewitt
If you don't like the price of that one don't even look at mine when they come out :<0)
There are several members here who own a custom razor from this individual & I have yet to hear anything but good about them. There is even a thread here that showcases the razors that members buy from him.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hart
Though the point on that razor does not interest me, you can rest assured there is a market for that point. My last conversation with this custom maker included a discussion on this very topic. I had seen another razor with a point like this & expressed my feelings about using one. He gets requests from veteran shavers for this style of point.
The listed price on that razor & the price you would pay, if you had him make it just for you, is not that far off.
In 4 years that I've known him, I've never read, or heard of, anyone who got one of his custom razors & did not think they got their money's worth.
Would I pay that price for one of his customs , made to my specs, you bet I would.
Jimbo, if you click on the picture it will open up the site, the picture IS the link, I found the thread very confusing until I realized this.
Just in case you're feeling extra lazy today and can't bring yourself to move your mouse and click(I'm not judging):
A retailer called Fendrihan is selling a Max Sprecher for 1050 Canadian dollars, that'd be 1029 Australian dollars to you.
I love spike points, not only aesthetically but for the function as well...they are definitely my preference!Quote:
Originally Posted by Hirlau
Max is a world class craftsman. I have enjoyed his work product with a couple of his customs and his beautiful restorations. Not to speak out of turn but I seriously doubt Max has any control whatsover of how vendors might price his product and I do not believe it need concern him. I appreciate the fact that this level of craftsmanship attracts $ for these gentlemen and that allows them to continue their work and support themselves. The fact that I cannot afford very high priced razors does not mean I cannot appreciate the workmanship that the product evolves from. If I was uber rich I would probably have a 7 day set of Zowada damascus, Max's customs, Jeness customs, Brian Brown's work, Robert Williams work and on and on. : )
If there is one downside to customs, its that you'd better be in love with it, truly in love with it. Cause if your not (and it happens) you will probably not get back what you put into it.
Same applies to a woman,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,:beer2:
Indeed my friendQuote:
Originally Posted by Hirlau
I don't have that model, but I do have one of Max,s razors and I'm not sure about pricing , but mine is an excellent shaver and quite nice to look at , I did however mute the point on the heel, what is paid I thought was fair considering the craftsmanship My two cents , Tc
If you click on the pic it takes you to the site, it was around $1100 though not sure if canadian or us dollars, or if there is a difference exchange rate wise, however still too many unknowns for your equation though.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jimbo
It's $967 US. You can pretty much charge anything you like if you add carbon fiber.Quote:
Originally Posted by edhewitt
Seriously though, more power to them. This is how you build exclusivity and perceived value.
That razor looks very modern in a basically conservative world. You either love it or really
don't care for it ... aesthetically. As far as price, isn't it a matter of supply and demand? If other
people are willing to pay "a lot" for the razors, why not charge what the market will bear?
Royalshave has it for $895. For the price of the one at Fendrihan, you can get the razor and a load of flowers for any joint account-holder who might discover the transaction. Just putting that out there.
Yeah, I'm still not convinced on the "overpriced" front. Sure, it appears the Fendrihan place is overcharging compared to Royalshave (based on Ecl's post above), but I remember several years ago seeing a custom razor by a knife maker that I absolutely would have bought if I'd had the $1500 USD. From the point of view of my marriage, it worked out well that I didn't have a spare 1500 laying around, but I'm just saying....
I'd be really curious to know how long a complete razor (just even a "plain jane" custom) takes to make. I remember talking to Alex Jacques, back when he was a participating member here, about it. I hesitate to actually put a figure on it, but the way he was talking at the time (he was relatively new to making customs then) it sounded like at least 20 hours work and that was just grinding steel blanks to shape and not "blacksmithing" it like I know some custom makers do.
Anyway, I guess my point is that custom razors cost whatever the maker charges. That may be too much for some but there are others for whom it's fine. Of course, it appears from what Ecl has found that it would pay to shop around "on-sellers", but I for one have never argued with a custom maker about what price they want for a razor they've made me.
James.
Ah well, I can help with that question. :)
Design takes some time, communicating back and forth. As does the part where the razor is packaged and shipped. Let's put that at an hour. Assuming for the moment we do stock removal, let's take a couple of hours for the file work, shaping, preliminary hollow grinding, tapering the tang, etc. HT is also taking some time. Firing the forge fire takes some time and getting it hot enough. Let's just say half an hour. Tempering takes a long time but you don't have to do anything so let's ignore that for now. The we get to the post-HT grinding. With grinding, setting the bevel, and then grinding again, put that at 2 hours, assuming nothing goes wrong.
Making the entire razor has taken 6 or so hours. Ballpark figures for course, and highly depending on design, size, resources available, which tools you use.
That was the easy part. Now comes the sanding and polishing part. If you want a spotless blade without any stray lines, This can take a long time. Say 4 hours or so. Making scales will take another couple of hours, depending on the materials involved. Usually I work with tropical hardwood. Making the actual scales only takes an hour, but I need to apply umpteen layers of CA. This is a time consuming process. We'll just ignore the special cases where someone might come up with something as bizarre as requesting scale inlays made from crushed coticule or some such fancy. ;) Then the final honing.
All in all, making a complete razor start to finish, I'd say 15 hours. Iirc someone once posted about spending a day in robert Williams' shop while robert was making a razor for him, and that was a full 8 hour day. Of course, Robert does have some pretty impressive powertools at his disposal, and a lot of experience.
In other words, making a razor takes a lot of time.
When you are talking a custom razor the price from a 'what did it cost to make" standpoint means little. It's all about the name on the blade. That's why a Zowada will go for the price it does and you can resell it for a good price too. If you buy from an unknown or someone with little rep if you go to sell you will take a bath.
So are You going to buy one Bruno ? :brunoisright :rofl2:Quote:
Originally Posted by Bruno
A poor slob like me?Quote:
Originally Posted by JimmyHAD
:)
Custom razors are just like art, the more renowed the maker is, the more expensive they get!
But the reality is that MOST artists are only "hot" for a short period of time. The value of their work plummets after that. So cheap going in (before they make a name for themselves), gets pretty expensive and then far less expensive.Quote:
Originally Posted by Martin103
