Thread: Wondering why these brand are expensive?

I think thebigspendur just tipped his hand, he started this thing with razor collecting.

Originally Posted by Hayzee

From a newb perspective, my only reviews of old razors and what to buy has been the internet, namely this forum and a couple of others. So far every purchase iv made is with a search here and after seeing "great shaver" from a few apparently independent sources it does go a way to deciding whether to go ahead with a purchase. W&B and Filarmonica are repeatedly mentioned as being great vintage razors. IMHO it's similar to "non car people" knowing that Ferrari's and Lamborghini's are good cars from popular reputation. "Car people" know that there's LOTS of great cars out there and which make and model are truly magnificent although our personal preference leaves us biased.

Exactly, I couldn't have said it better. Every straight razor I purchase is researched here at SRP long before I pull the trigger. Every razor I listed was given a big thumbs up by multiple veterans at SRP like Lynn, Gary and others. I have a few others that were included with the intended razor I bought and have had pretty good luck so far.

The ACME razors were an exception, because there was little information on them. I figured that if they sucked I would mount them in a shadow box and make conversation pieces out of them. I own two and they have both fall in to my 'quality of the period' statement. They match the quality of my Henckels, Puma, Dovo and Dubl Ducks.

It's getting harder to find the known quality brands. That being said with a little research here at SRP you can find that some of the lessor known names are still quality razors. Sears was a crap shoot because there were a few that were not please with theirs.

Originally Posted by RDM2

Collectors come in two groups (1) from the investment, I'll pay the price it doesn't matter, I'll make a profit on it when I resale it. (2) I want, love it, need it to complete the set, etc.. and depending on how you feel about it, got to have it, I can go without it, watch and see if the price comes down, then that can also determine how much you are willing to pay. I have 9 straights and have never paid more then $10 for any one of them and they all take the hairs off my face, some of them need more kind words (and work) then the others to been used a second time and that is were quality and knowledge come in to play. IMHO.
Rich

I'm a collector with an eye for the deal. My most expensive straight was a Wade & Butcher Barber Only that I picked up for about $60 about a year ago, when a W&B Barbers Only was going for over $100. That was because the seller did not mention it in the ad. I spotted it in the pictures.

None of my purchases are NOS because I can get a user quality or even a little rust, chips or broken scales, and I do a full restore. Some I polish the blade to a high shine, others like vintage W&B Carbon Steel blades I leave the patina because it actually protects the steel. Also It's aesthetically pleasing to me on big 8/8 W&B meat cleaver with horn scales.

All of my razors are collectible in some way. Reputation, Blade etching, Nacre scales, hard to find razors, etc. Most of my razors have doubled in price or greater. I have never sold any because it would be like parting with my children (man am I sick). I have considered selling a few, but it's still just a consideration.

Hobby, Collection, Obsession? I'm not sure, but I do know that SRP helped me to make better purchases each time.

Originally Posted by KindestCutOfAll

Hobby, Collection, Obsession? I'm not sure, but I do know that SRP helped me to make better purchases each time.

I grant SRP full rights to use my endorsement in any commercials for SRP directly.

Ok, spent two days looking for the reference where I read the Genco imported Germany made razors. I Can't find it! Living only about 1 1/2 hours from their old manufacturing site , I tend to read what's written about them. This time I may be wrong. Thanks for correcting me.