It depends on how you define "down turn", I think.
Everyone (no exceptions) uses Herckenrath blanks.
Wacker used to have some old blanks, but as far as I have heard, he has run out of them. The razors on offer certainly look commonplace. Quality has gone up again after a massive slump a few years back. Personally, I do not like their designs, or scales, but if you like those, Wacker is a safe place from which to buy.
Revisor still have, and use, old blanks. They also employ a few retired craftsmen, which is why you stand a fair chance of getting an outstanding razor for reasonable (by eBay and fan boy standards) money. Their service certainly is top notch.
Ralf Aust is a one man operation with massive skills. I have yet to see a razor whose edge could be improved out of the box, and I have seen a few.
Then there is Dovo with its mostly machine made 5/8 razors, and the odd larger model. I do not like them for a number of reasons, the main one being shoddy QA, and often a lack of actual shave readiness out of the box. Mind you, I am talking about "needs a few swipes on Chromium oxide, or a finishing hone", not "needs a completely new bevel", but still - at the price point, I had much rather buy an Aust or a Revisor.
And then there is everything else. And I mean everything (except those elusive Cowboy and Sanssouci razors on German eBay which are made by an OAP from old blanks - horrible scales, but very nice razors): Puma, Giesen & Forsthoff, and by now, possibly, Böker. All outsourced and made by a small outfit with questionable skills. That razor from the beginning of this thread? The Chinese can do better than that, really.
As for reputation, there are a number of issues:
- We are living in a filter bubble here. This is a highly specialised forum. And horribly cluttered from an outsider's perspective. Even I sometimes have difficulty finding things in "the library", and I wrote major parts of it. So, a convoluted forum, plus bias, equals information over
- There are very few meaningful reviews. I wrote this five years ago: Reviews, or it really is personal | Cut Throat Chronicles | Fashion fades, only reality remains. Things have got a lot worse since then.
- One must not say a mean about manufacturers. Case in point: If a rank amateur tells you that "heat treatment" may be a problem with a certain Solingen razor, he's apparently out of his depth. If someone with 10k or more posts and a razor honing service on the side tells you that "judging from the pictures" the razor needs a "re-honing", he's only in it for the money. Somewhere in between, there are a few members who actually know what they are talking about. Unfortunately, under the current guidelines, they are not at liberty to tell you that a specific manufacturer produces nothing but shite. By association, they are not at liberty, either, to tell you that a specific vendor is in cahoots with said manufacturer, and therefore sells shite - with a massive markup. Personally, I believe that it would be incredibly beneficial to most users if such opinions could be voiced. But that is just my opinion.
So there. Short question, long answer. I hope it helps.
Robin