Thread: Popularity of 'hot' razors

Originally Posted by nessmuck

It's all Lynn's fault for the Wonderedge going through the roof....LOL

Case in point. I have one of the more rare Wonderedges, and though it's a great razor I can't say it's my favourite by any means. Just goes to show that hype isn't commensurate with performance.

Originally Posted by Ryan82

It's mostly due to word of mouth. If you hear enough times that Brand X is the best razor in the world your curiosity will be piqued enough to want one yourself. You and a few thousand others. Voila, within the span of a few months prices are through the roof. Those of us who have been on the scene for awhile have seen these cycles over and over.

Ain't that the truth, after I read that review I had to fight with myself to keep from buying a Muhle 41 ......

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Ain't that the truth, after I read that review I had to fight with myself to keep from buying a Muhle 41 ......

and here I thought you were old to know better Jim.

Diamond hayashi 8000..... Hot.... Worth it.... Sure... Better shaver? Wouldn't you like to know!

W&B celebrated hollow 8/8 near mint.... Beast.... Worth it? You tell me... I say sure it is... Best shaver- that's subjective


I personally have no use for fillys but #14 s are pretty damn fine looking.

People swear by ducks- I like mine peaking style

some of my best shavers are cheap ebay finds, 20 bucks or less. I did just get a 6/8 Hartsteel. Shaved once with it. Didn't pay near the $300.00 price tag for it though.

You know what's hot right now Gold Dollars!

I have mostly plain Janes, a few fancier ones, but am drawn mostly to the style of the blade itself, scales if they have three pin's, and maybe some metal decoration on the scales, bolsters for the most part I rarely find a style I like.
Now if a razor says FBU or something of that nature or is a larger blade than I'm use to seeing in a certain brand, I'm interested. W&B, Genco, Torrey, Robeson seem to be typical finds in my area - DD I hardly can find so I'll snap them up, all two so far in three years.

Originally Posted by ScienceGuy

... I'm very curious to hear your motives / opinions.

For me at first, because I didn't know what I didn't know, it was chasing that magical razor that some more experienced people were saying just wiped the whiskers right off your face. So I acquired some Filly's and so on and so forth. Of course over time you figure out that as your technique becomes competent any reasonable piece of steel made properly sharp will remove whiskers in a satisfactory manner. Then, for me at least, it became about finding razors that that pleased me for more personal subjective reasons but at least they were my own reasons not fallacious reliance on external authorities. You figure out over time which razors feel best in your hand, what sizes you prefer, which grinds, which type of tails. The combination of factors that create the subjective shaving experience which I prefer can be found in razors both cheap and dear. But I wouldn't have found out what I really prefer without trying some different things. When you are new and trying things out what are you likely to gravitate to? The razors that are getting the hype or the razors that aren't hitting your radar because they aren't getting any hype?

I like Ducks because of the way they shave. The fact that they look cool doesn't hurt either. There is some variety of blades to this brand. The fact that they seem to go up in value doesn't make me cry. The hunt for something different satisfies the collector in me. By this time next year I should be able to sell them all and buy an island at which time I will only need 2. Wade and Butchers (which I already own) :<0)

Originally Posted by 10Pups

I like Ducks because of the way they shave. The fact that they look cool doesn't hurt either. There is some variety of blades to this brand. The fact that they seem to go up in value doesn't make me cry. The hunt for something different satisfies the collector in me. By this time next year I should be able to sell them all and buy an island at which time I will only need 2. Wade and Butchers (which I already own) :<0)

I live on an island, you wanna trade?

I sort of like the "hot" thing, it puts some brands and models in the spotlight.
We get reviews of them, a little biased perhaps but still.
Some people find it worth digging up lots of info on that brand and after a while it's of to another brand.

I can only speak from experience. I have honed more than a few blades for others and in those, many were the "hot" items you speak of.

Aside from my preferences (certain aesthetics, sizes and weights) the shaves were all similar. There were a few standouts...but some of these standouts were razors I have never seen mentioned on SRP.

I can only suggest value is often based on speculation and "cool" and being "cool" is expensive and sometimes silly (look at bell bottoms).

If you like vintage, look for good razors, not good names...that is my advice.

PS I have seen an inordinate number of "hot" razors that were badly damaged or corroded past usable. This demonstrates to me that some are focusing too much on names