Thread: The Wall Of Shame

I cannot believe there is that much money being thrown at razors, must be a very very very serious (and cashed up) collector.

Not really. Butchers aren't really..... Models of consistency

Some people, usually new eBay users with low feedback, are throwing big money at the large bladed W&Br's & a few others these days.
I need to check with a friend of mine who is a member on the B&B forum & see if there are some guys showing off some big blades there.
Whoever it is, they're really screwing it up bad. I just looked & now that seller is hiding his buyer id's but I'd be willing to bet they are ones who post lots of consecutive bids trying to manipulate others to become discouraged from bidding but instead they're driving the prices way up because if someone wants it bad enough, it's going to sky rocket! It used to not be that way. This has really gotten out of control lately............

It does create a false value and market bubble so to speak. I really do hope people start doing homework before throwing money at stuff that isn't worth it. A lot of the razors posted on here are going for silly amounts even if they were in decent condition. But unfortunately, we are stuck with the situation. I do like the old razors because once cleaned up they really are great shavers but perhaps it's time to invest in a new one or a custom one (Tim has some really nice stuff) if the money permits. SWMBO can be convinced from time to time that I really need stuff

Butchers over 8/8 in a meaningful way aren't the most common 1"+ sheffields at all. You will come across a gb, Rodgers, el and co, wostenholm at least before you see a butcher. Not greaves or marshes scarce but scarce enough given the popularity of the maker to create dumb prices.

I think this one went too high just in the sense that I personally don't consider a stabilizer model of a huge Sheffield anywhere near on the same level as a proper near wedge. There was a lot of brand factor going on there... Too much

The W&B FBU is a fine razor to be sure, but things have gotten a bit out of hand.

Remember the Chronik?

Originally Posted by entropy1049

The W&B FBU is a fine razor to be sure, but things have gotten a bit out of hand.

Remember the Chronik?

JimmyHad posted a photo of one recently, what was the story there entropy?

Originally Posted by Grazor

JimmyHad posted a photo of one recently, what was the story there entropy?

Kind of controversial.

A noted straight razor guy proclaimed his newly acquired, somewhat obscure "Chronik" straight to be the finest straight razor he'd ever shaved with, bar none, head and shoulders above all, like being kissed by angels. Suddenly they became the Flavor of the Week, and people were loosing their minds trying to find these and paying CRAZY amounts of money for the few that turned up.

Those who managed to find these after paying the super inflated prices suddenly said "Hey, these are nothing special...even kind of substandard craftsmanship for a Solingen straight, certainly no better than any other...what gives?". Many came to suspect "what gave" was clever marketing.

So some VERY knowledgeable folks conducted a pretty detailed analysis of these Chronik razors from some samples loaned for this purpose by some other folks who'd recently paid way too much for them as a result of the hype. They determined that what they had was basically a Solingen straight of questionable finishing quality.

The noted straight razor guy maintained his position that his was the Greatest Straight Razor on Earth (which it may well have been for whatever reason as a singular anomaly), and everybody else got stuck with lemons.

It became a bit of an embarrassment, and Chronik Fever died a quiet, ignoble death.

The point in my mentioning this, is that to get caught up in Flavor of the Week hype frequently results only in burning through cash muy pronto.

This being said, in the interest of full disclosure, I did just buy a W&B FBU .

I don't buy any razor until I hold it in my hand, I guess that leaves E-bay out, too many times the sellers on there will only show you one side of the blade.