Shops in London selling straights?

Did the rounds yesterday truefitts/trumpers/tobs in order to get a real life look at different sizes and types of straight.

Very disappointed saw all 5/8s apart from one 6/8, none of them had a clue when the would have more delivered.

All were pretty much tied in to DOVO from what i gathered.

Is there anywhere in Central london to find a wide array of sizes and styles without taking a blind punt on the web?

Hi Rowdi,

I think the answer is, unfortunately, no. I did the same trips when I started out. I am unfortunately not in London at the moment, otherwise you could have come and had a look at my (limited) rotation.

Keep in mind too that there seems to be a limited supply coming from the few current manufacturers, they can't seem to keep up with demand. It might be no matter where you go in person or on the net you won't find a huge huge variety.

Bob

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Originally Posted by BobH

Keep in mind too that there seems to be a limited supply coming from the few current manufacturers, they can't seem to keep up with demand. It might be no matter where you go in person or on the net you won't find a huge huge variety.

Bob

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One would hope they don't see it as a flash in the pan and increase production to match eh?

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Originally Posted by DaveTheGeordie

One would hope they don't see it as a flash in the pan and increase production to match eh?

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I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it, unfortunately. It's a business and being stuck with excess production capacity is unprofitable.

Bob

i can understand that its probably off putting for a little of people through lack of understanding, but i would have assumed that the big players would have kept one of each style no matter

Yea, I know it is frustrating but again they are in business to make a profit and stay in business. There is no profit in keeping one of each just in case someone wants to see it. There is a saying "this place is not a museum, everything is for sale for a price" or something similar. OTH it bothers retailers to not have stock because you can't sell what you don't have so they are at the mercy of the makers too. Not a fun situation for either.

Bob

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Originally Posted by BobH

Yea, I know it is frustrating but again they are in business to make a profit and stay in business. There is no profit in keeping one of each just in case someone wants to see it. There is a saying "this place is not a museum, everything is for sale for a price" or something similar. OTH it bothers retailers to not have stock because you can't sell what you don't have so they are at the mercy of the makers too. Not a fun situation for either.

Bob

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Actually it would be wise of the rep to make sure the stores always have one of each, the importance of good stock in a store must never be under estimated.

You will lose that customer to a competitor perhaps for life as the perception is that buying elsewhere/ online worked out

I don't disagree one bit but a retailer is a that mercy of the manufacturers who control the supply, which I am given to understand is not up to the demand. If all retailers are suffering from the same shortage the chance of losing a sale to a competitor diminishes also as they are thin on stock too.

Manufacturers are selling all they can make and it is costly to expand production capacity to meet a demand at present levels that may or may not be there in the long run. It is a small niche market the cater to. It is just the way it is at the moment.

You can get a cart razor anytime anywhere but then that is the big market and that a the difference too.

Bob

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Originally Posted by BobH

I don't disagree one bit but a retailer is a that mercy of the manufacturers who control the supply, which I am given to understand is not up to the demand. If all retailers are suffering from the same shortage the chance of losing a sale to a competitor diminishes also as they are thin on stock too.

Manufacturers are selling all they can make and it is costly to expand production capacity to meet a demand at present levels that may or may not be there in the long run. It is a small niche market the cater to. It is just the way it is at the moment.

You can get a cart razor anytime anywhere but then that is the big market and that a the difference too.

Bob

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Totally agree they are at the mercy. And absolutely supply and demand do not match at all. My point is they'll lose to the web

From what i gathered yesterday they are at the mercy of suppliers who are unreliable an order could come anytime in the next 6 months!

a small niche market indeed but one i have become a part of! hahaha

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Originally Posted by rowdi

Totally agree they are at the mercy. And absolutely supply and demand do not match at all. My point is they'll lose to the web

From what i gathered yesterday they are at the mercy of suppliers who are unreliable an order could come anytime in the next 6 months!

a small niche market indeed but one i have become a part of! hahaha

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It's not just brick and mortar stores, it the entire supply, the web stores as well.

Dovo, Thiers-Issard, all of them are back ordered, in some cases years! I know of one place, that has over 800 razors on order for the last year, and they maybe get 6-10 at a time. And when they arrive and are made available, they're usually gone within hours, at the most a couple of days.

One web store had a nice TI Wolf and Sheep 6/8 that I have, they got a few more in a couple of day's ago, they were sold out in hours. Even the Dovo Best Quality razors come in and they're gone fairly quickly.

I waited 8 months for a new Dovo Bismarck, gave up and found a virtually brand new one with a 3" strop on E-Bay. So, as the saying goes, I wouldn't hold your breath.

So, this isn't a local phenomena, it's a world wide thing, and quality control issues for the big makers have become an issue.

One place though you're sure to get a blade, and they make nice ones, is Revisor...my two cents!!

Cheers!

fair enough i can imagine haha

ill check em out

thanks

Sounds like a trip to the Scottish Highlands are in order for you guys! There MUST be some out of the way shops up there that have tons of outstanding and overlooked blades. Of course, a few rounds at St. Andrews and a few nights in some town pubs is always a good way to pass the time when the shops are closed. Call it a business trip for sure but one has to find a way to spend the "down time".

The last time I was at TOBS in Jermyn street they had about 25 straights on display.
But as you have already seen, mostly one size and one brand.
None of them have been honed, more than what the maker did, the lady told me..

same thing except about 10 haha

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Originally Posted by AirColorado

Sounds like a trip to the Scottish Highlands are in order for you guys! There MUST be some out of the way shops up there that have tons of outstanding and overlooked blades. Of course, a few rounds at St. Andrews and a few nights in some town pubs is always a good way to pass the time when the shops are closed. Call it a business trip for sure but one has to find a way to spend the "down time".

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sounds good I'm in

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Originally Posted by rowdi

sounds good I'm in

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I just found out a guy at work sold his grandfathers razors, some still new, about 20 in all to an antique shop for a pound a razor. I nearly hit the floor and I no longer speak to him :)

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Originally Posted by DaveTheGeordie

I just found out a guy at work sold his grandfathers razors, some still new, about 20 in all to an antique shop for a pound a razor. I nearly hit the floor and I no longer speak to him :)

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Damn him! haha

Definitely not one of those horror stories you want to hear unless you are the Antique store.

Bob

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Originally Posted by DaveTheGeordie

I just found out a guy at work sold his grandfathers razors, some still new, about 20 in all to an antique shop for a pound a razor. I nearly hit the floor and I no longer speak to him :)

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They might have been gold dollars, you never know.

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Originally Posted by edhewitt

They might have been gold dollars, you never know.

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Or they could be the rare, exalted Kreigar's???

Makes sense, you buy gold by the pound don't you? :chapeau

Bob

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Originally Posted by edhewitt

They might have been gold dollars, you never know.

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Originally Posted by BobH

Definitely not one of those horror stories you want to hear unless you are the Antique store.

Bob

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Originally Posted by rowdi

Damn him! haha

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The chap I'm referring to is pushing 60. I can only imagine the treasures in that shoe box he gave away if they belonged to his grandfather. If I'd have been in the antique shop I would have doubled the owners offer. Seems like a bit more than sharp practice if there are new old razors amongst it.
I could have cried, I'm not afraid to admit it. The bottom lip was on it's way to a wobble lol

Yea, I can almost visualize that faint tell tale quiver of lip. Can't say blame you either. Man, I am 60 and you won't see me flogging straights for a pound a piece anytime soon. That is if I remember.

Bob

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Originally Posted by edhewitt

They might have been gold dollars, you never know.

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Originally Posted by BobH

Definitely not one of those horror stories you want to hear unless you are the Antique store.

Bob

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Originally Posted by rowdi

Damn him! haha

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Originally Posted by BobH

Yea, I can almost visualize that faint tell tale quiver of lip. Can't say blame you either. Man, I am 60 and you won't see me flogging straights for a pound a piece anytime soon. That is if I remember.

Bob

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The wobble was because he said he'd have given them to me if he'd known I used them. One week earlier and I'd have been rolling in razors (not literally, that would be dangerous :D)

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Originally Posted by DaveTheGeordie

The wobble was because he said he'd have given them to me if he'd known I used them. One week earlier and I'd have been rolling in razors (not literally, that would be dangerous :D)

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I was about to ask how long ago it was, if it had been 40 years then £20 would have been a lot. But in this case he could buy 2 meals and pints from weather spoons.

The situation as far as Dovo is concerned is mainly one of demand far outstripping supply. When we first became Dovo dealers some six years ago waiting time for orders was about four to six months. As time went on this went up and up until last November (2012) -ish it stood at eight to ten months. A couple of things then happened. One of Dovo's main master grinders died suddenly - and a certain James Bond ('Skyfall') showed us that secret agents too like straights. Demand went up through the stratosphere and by the end of january 2013 we had sold EVERY single Dovo razor in our stock - and believe me, we had a few! Similar things happened to most other dealers and everyone promptly screamed blue murder for razors from Dovo, piling in orders in spadefuls. Dovo then announced that the wait was going to be fourteen months, leaving a lot of dealers up the proverbial creek.

Things got worse. Dovo told us a couple of months back that the wait was now knocking on the door of two YEARS. How anyone can plan for stock with this kind of lead-time is beyond me - it's a hair-tearing nightmare. We have just now started to get anything like the amount and, more importantly, the spread of models we had in late 2012.

TI and Boker have also been affected but not quite so badly, Boker is at about 4-6 months and TI maybe a bit less. As my Dovo contact put it - "we'd love to train more grinders and get the wait down - but it takes five years to train them".

SO really there is no easy answer - and if staff at those London shops say they don't know when more stock will arrive it is because they simply don't - Dovo flatly refuse to give lead times for individual models as it all depends on the cumulative order size for any particular model as to when it will be made. This can also give rise to the situation where we put an order in and get it within a fortnight - we've been lucky and picked up a bit of Dovo's overproduction or (and maybe more likely) cancelled orders.

This makes us as dealers look silly but we can do no more than order and hope. We have over £20,000 of razors on back orders with Dovo alone and no-one wishes more than us that we could have them in stock right now!

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Originally Posted by blueprinciple

The situation as far as Dovo is concerned is mainly one of demand far outstripping supply. When we first became Dovo dealers some six years ago waiting time for orders was about four to six months. As time went on this went up and up until last November (2012) -ish it stood at eight to ten months. A couple of things then happened. One of Dovo's main master grinders died suddenly - and a certain James Bond ('Skyfall') showed us that secret agents too like straights. Demand went up through the stratosphere and by the end of january 2013 we had sold EVERY single Dovo razor in our stock - and believe me, we had a few! Similar things happened to most other dealers and everyone promptly screamed blue murder for razors from Dovo, piling in orders in spadefuls. Dovo then announced that the wait was going to be fourteen months, leaving a lot of dealers up the proverbial creek.

Things got worse. Dovo told us a couple of months back that the wait was now knocking on the door of two YEARS. How anyone can plan for stock with this kind of lead-time is beyond me - it's a hair-tearing nightmare. We have just now started to get anything like the amount and, more importantly, the spread of models we had in late 2012.

TI and Boker have also been affected but not quite so badly, Boker is at about 4-6 months and TI maybe a bit less. As my Dovo contact put it - "we'd love to train more grinders and get the wait down - but it takes five years to train them".

SO really there is no easy answer - and if staff at those London shops say they don't know when more stock will arrive it is because they simply don't - Dovo flatly refuse to give lead times for individual models as it all depends on the cumulative order size for any particular model as to when it will be made. This can also give rise to the situation where we put an order in and get it within a fortnight - we've been lucky and picked up a bit of Dovo's overproduction or (and maybe more likely) cancelled orders.

This makes us as dealers look silly but we can do no more than order and hope. We have over £20,000 of razors on back orders with Dovo alone and no-one wishes more than us that we could have them in stock right now!

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thanks for that, i understand. I have yet to see Skyfall but i hear Bond did good things for straights haha

Do you yourself carry other brands? are the smaller manaufacturers more reliable suppliers?

I've heard what Blueprinciple is saying from several vendors...huge backlog with Dovo and TI, some are better....

As I've mentioned, if you're looking for a brand new razor, Revisor makes some really nice blades, pretty much all sizes, I have an 8/8 and it's great. They also sell some nice vintage blades...

Just an idea if you're looking for new and good quality...there's been lots of threads on them here...good luck!

Thanks!

my aim by going to the outlets was to educate myself without buying blindly, the search goes on

I just don't understand why anyone would expect to walk into a high street shop and get a decent choice of razors from one manufacturer let alone different manufacturers - it just doesn't work like that. All the main manufacturers are still nothing more than cottage industries that are reliant on the same few staff for whatever quality they turn out.

If you want choice, the internet is the only place you will find it - and even then no-one has the stock they would like. In my opinion, you are much better off buying something on the classified section of the various forums or a half decent blade from EBay or wherever and having it restored - and I'll bet the restorers are quoting a lead time as well.

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Originally Posted by UKRob

I just don't understand why anyone would expect to walk into a high street shop and get a decent choice of razors from one manufacturer let alone different manufacturers - it just doesn't work like that. All the main manufacturers are still nothing more than cottage industries that are reliant on the same few staff for whatever quality they turn out.

If you want choice, the internet is the only place you will find it - and even then no-one has the stock they would like. In my opinion, you are much better off buying something on the classified section of the various forums or a half decent blade from EBay or wherever and having it restored - and I'll bet the restorers are quoting a lead time as well.

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Excellent point! That's why I was saying aside from Revisor...it's just pure luck with any vendor having stock. Now to qualify that, there are new blades out there, just not popular models or sizes!! Currently, Revisor is pretty much you're only place for new blades...even then it's a wait.

And then you're right, there's E-Bay...and if you look carefully, there are some nice buys out there...I just grabbed a beautiful W&B 7/8 Celebrated Hollow Ground from E-Bay so less than half the cost of a new blade...was a gem, you just have to look!

I know you've been looking for a bricks and mortar store to actually see a razor that you want to buy but as previously mentioned here you will be severely restricting your choice.
Why not look at a couple of reputable online stores, particularly for maybe a really good vintage razor which will have its own bit of history.
The two I'd be happy to recommend would be Steve's Invisible Edge and Neil's the Strop Shop, they also give great advice and would be able to recommend a suitable starter razor for you.
Hope this helps

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Originally Posted by UKRob

I just don't understand why anyone would expect to walk into a high street shop and get a decent choice of razors from one manufacturer let alone different manufacturers - it just doesn't work like that. All the main manufacturers are still nothing more than cottage industries that are reliant on the same few staff for whatever quality they turn out.

If you want choice, the internet is the only place you will find it - and even then no-one has the stock they would like. In my opinion, you are much better off buying something on the classified section of the various forums or a half decent blade from EBay or wherever and having it restored - and I'll bet the restorers are quoting a lead time as well.

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Because I as yet do not know better

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Originally Posted by Anthony1954

I know you've been looking for a bricks and mortar store to actually see a razor that you want to buy but as previously mentioned here you will be severely restricting your choice.
Why not look at a couple of reputable online stores, particularly for maybe a really good vintage razor which will have its own bit of history.
The two I'd be happy to recommend would be Steve's Invisible Edge and Neil's the Strop Shop, they also give great advice and would be able to recommend a suitable starter razor for you.
Hope this helps

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Sorry guys it appears I haven't really made myself as clear as I thought i had.

I was after a bricks and mortar store

1. To see what it actually looks like in real life
2. Hold it in my hand
3. To feel weight differences
4. To see clearly the difference between a 5/8 a 6/8 a 13/16 etc etc etc
5. And to get an all round better idea for myself

That was my reason, as per previous posts I understand that the wonderful world wide web offers significantly greater choice and now have learned that there are significant wait times.

rowdi

I can well understand where you are coming from unfortunately that maybe nearly impossible to do. Physically seeing and handling a straight in a store may help a little in deciding on a razor but you never really know how it will feel in actual use even then.

Bob

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Originally Posted by BobH

rowdi

I can well understand where you are coming from unfortunately that maybe nearly impossible to do. Physically seeing and handling a straight in a store may help a little in deciding on a razor but you never really know how it will feel in actual use even then.

Bob

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Thanks Bob

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Originally Posted by rowdi

Sorry guys it appears I haven't really made myself as clear as I thought i had.

I was after a bricks and mortar store

1. To see what it actually looks like in real life
2. Hold it in my hand
3. To feel weight differences
4. To see clearly the difference between a 5/8 a 6/8 a 13/16 etc etc etc
5. And to get an all round better idea for myself

That was my reason, as per previous posts I understand that the wonderful world wide web offers significantly greater choice and now have learned that there are significant wait times.

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Your welcome to pop around to my place (London N1) to have a browse.
I have razors from 4/8 upto 8/8. Near wedges to full hollow grinds. Barbers notch to square points.

Unfortunately, none are for sale but your welcome to browse :)

With the exception of custom razor makers and the US Hart razors, most of the current manufacturers that I can name are in Europe - Dovo, Revisor, Wacker, Thiers Issard etc. I'm deliberately leaving out the Chinese, Pakistan and Indian razors on the grounds of quality. Shaving with a straight is still very much a niche activity, consequently high street shops will not find it economical to have a wide selection of razors and those that they do carry tend to be from the same manufacturer as you found out.

I can understand your desire to see and feel before you buy but the range of possibilities is just so big that it's not going to happen. Consider just these variables - blade width, grind, toe shape, spine thickness, overall size, type of scales etc. and then ask the staff in the shops you looked in just how many razors they sell a week. I'd guess there's no way they stock everything.