Thread: Ebay and well known brands

Fellows,

I have come to the conclusion that we spend to much money and effort chasing name blades. Let me make my case, I bought two razors from a vendor on ebay a 7/8 Rudolf Schmidt and a 4/8 Fermarud both unused and almost shave ready(Just a quick touch on the paddle) In addition I also bought a NOS 6/8 Dorko also in excellant shape also needing just a little trip on the paddle. I spent more for the Dorko than the other two combined. Is it a better razor than the other 2, NO! They are all great razors. I have also just puchased a 7/8 NOS Dorko which I am waiting for. I got that for a very good price but still more than either of the other two No names. They are all Soligen Blades. There are razors out there that are not name brand that are much more reasonable and very good to boot. Just mt 2 cents.

My thoughts are the name brands have a better resale potential than others, but doesn't mean that they shave better than all other razors. I had a little Black Diamond that shaves just as good as the DD Dwarf does. They look similar and maybe even made from the same steel.

Glen

I have a black king that I picked up off eBay that shaves great. Joe touched it up for me and it's one of my favorites. I also have a DD, a revisor, a W&B, a Dovo, etc and while they all shave well the revisor is noticeably one of the best shaves of my rotation so there may be a little something to be said for brand names.

-- Gary F.

I think another point to consider is that brand name in this context only means "a brand that is highly regarded in the razor community". Dorko and Puma are said to have excellent razors, but they also exported their stuff all over the world and gained worldwide recognition this way.
Some smaller German manufacturers (and some were really small) didn't have the numbers or the export, but may have had the quality. You just never heard about it.

Redwoood

some of the best deals are on the razors that apprear to have been made by American companies. Many are in very very good shape but get very few bids. I don't know enough of what I am looking at but I have wondered how many of these might be absolutely fantastic shavers.

Originally Posted by EnGarde

some of the best deals are on the razors that apprear to have been made by American companies. Many are in very very good shape but get very few bids. I don't know enough of what I am looking at but I have wondered how many of these might be absolutely fantastic shavers.

Most of my favorite shavers are American. Shumate, Torrey, Waterville made the best razors I've used. C-Mon, Henckels, and Wester Bros. are probably my favorite German brands. W&B, though, is in a class by itself. For me, they define what a straight razor should look, perform, and feel like.

This thread brings up some very interesting points. Its a given to all of us (I think) that any quality razor of German, American, English French, Spanish or Swedish ancestry (did I leave any out?) is probably quality and will give a great shave when honed to its potential.

The point to me is that I have noticed that amongst my 40 or so razors though all give great shaves some are a cut above the rest. Now you could say that I haven't honed some to their potential and you can say some are just harder to hone than others. Personally, I believe that some will not hone equally well as others no matter how much effort you give them. So the point here is how do you know which will be the really superior shavers and which won't. I have found from my own experience that DDs, Puma's,W&Bs just to name a few consistantly give superior shaves.

Now does that mean that an unknown brand will not perform the same? No not at all. It just means that if you buy a brand that is known to give consistantly great shaves you know what to expect while with the unknown its more of a crap shoot.

Of course if you spend $150 for a puma you have a right to expect the best in performance. If you buy a schekelgroover for $10.00 and it turns out to shave as well as the puma then you've really done well.

Oh and the point about American razors, I think that most American branded razors were actually made in Germany. Probably a tiny percentage are truly American made and yes most of them are great shavers.

schekelgroover !!!! I love it where did you come up with that..

I guess what I am saying is if you are bidding on ebay don't limit yourself to just the brand names (except you Bigspender of course) if the picture is clear and it comes from a reputable area give it a look. I have also purchased two Aevos which I have never heard of and they are superior shavers.

Actually it comes from an old 3 stooges movie where moe looks like Hitler and he refers to Hitler as Schkelgroover.

Actually I agree if the price is right go for the obscure brands.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Actually it comes from an old 3 stooges movie where moe looks like Hitler and he refers to Hitler as Schkelgroover.

History lessons by the 3 stooges, interesting.

Adolf Hitler's father was born Alois Schickelgruber. He changed his name to Alois Hitler later on under false pretense. That's why "Schickelgruber" is sometimes used synonymously for Hitler.


Redwoood