Thread: Vintage vs modern straights?

I think of some of the higher quality razors, TI for example, the steel may be of a better quality than that of the razors made in the 1700s, 1800s, but when we get into the 1900s advances in metallurgy were already beginning. Kayser-Ellison, Bohler, among others were modern steels that were probably purer than the stuff that was being produced in the earlier days. OTOH, I'm no expert on steel quality. Someone like Mike Blue could probably give a better perspective on this.

Years ago he and Josh Earl, a custom razor maker at the time, got a bunch of old damaged blades donated for the purpose of analysing the steel. I donated an old Cattaragus with a large chip, but I can't recall exactly how far the project went in terms of coming up with any conclusions. I do think that the workmanship on some of the vintage production was more consistently better than what is coming out today.

From what I hear through the grapevine TI is sort of hit and miss in terms of the grinding. The old grinders are dyeing away and younger people are seemingly not coming in to take their place, or so I've heard. OTOH, I've go a dozen TIs and they are some of my favorite razors. From a cost standpoint if you go with vintage that is not a 'hot' collectible, such as Filarmonica, or some of the dubl ducks, but an obscure Solingen, Sheffield, or Swedish brand, you'll bet a fine shaving instrument that is going to be less expensive than a new TI in many cases.

Razor brands can take on a cult status and when they do the prices can become astronomical. The main thing with any of the vintage razors is to look for as good a condition as you can get. The closer to new the better.

My first razor was a New Dovo (I have since sold that) all mine are now vintage and the odd NOS, I do have a Bruno blade on order so I suppose thats a modern lol.
As mentioned its a nice feeling restoring and putting a vintage razor back into use.

Originally Posted by Deerhunter1995

To answer Your question vintage razors are desired because quality went into there making and everyone likes holding a piece of history that has a storybehind it. Great starting razor s btw

You mean, like this old Torrey?

On the box is written in fountain pen,

“Used by Roosevelt in the Badlands-lands Madora 1883-4.

Teddy Roosevelt went to the North Dakota, Badlands in 1983, to hunt Bison, fell in love with the land and bough a ranch, following the death of his mother and his wife, who both died on the same day on Febuary 14, 1884, he returned to Madora for solitude.

The razor is of the period, and while there is no provenance other than the writing on the box, it quite possibly could have been used by T. Roosevelt.

I paid around $15.00 for the razor and did not notice the inscription on the box until getting it home.
In many cases we are holding in our hand a piece of history a hundred, two hundred or more years old that can still be shave with well.

With the exception of a handful of custom makers, one has only to compare the quality of modern razor to vintage to see the detail of vintage razors, that cannot practically be produced today. Look at TI, Boker and Dovo, then compare price.

As has been said about antiques, “They, just have been better… longer.

Vintage all the way. Never tried a new production razor, but if I was going to, I think it would be a Ralf Aust, don't think I have heard one bad word said about them here.

Style shape and materials used. Many things have evolved/changed. Some things haven't changed. Do you want a tool that does it's job or something with a lot of Bling to brag about to someone else?

I can validate Jimmy's point about old steels. Unfortunately that "study" was here and gone fairly quickly and has others have pointed out, if the razor removes hair, the metal doesn't have a great deal of influence.

Modern metallurgy has developed alloys that are interesting in their refinement. For the day and knowledge they had, the old steel makers did very well producing a pure product that anyone making razors was willing to use. The analysis Joel got shows that the alloys were very clean steels, basically a carbon iron alloy with very little else in it. Modern steel production has refined the use of stain resistance and toughness while retaining good hardness characteristics but the steel ladles also get used for making rebar and construction or fabrication materials too. My best friend had to change his heat treatment regimen because the steel he ordered "met specifications" but contained so many tiny percentages of odd elements. The steel company didn't care about Californium because they didn't rise to the level of changing specs. In the end, we know more than "vintage" smiths, but have a different potential set of problems because of the industrial scale applied today.

If the edge geometry and honing are good, the blade will shave hair. Still a blade with a story, like the Roosevelt blade, wow, that gets my attention...more than being made from unobtainium.

If I might add to the original question and state, it's not just the shaving tool but the skill set that comes with a vintage blade. Bit of time travel in a sense when we can reach a 100+ years into the past, bring forth tools and knowledge to create a present day experience. Pretty damn awesome!

I would like to put a plug in for vintage Revisors. I have 5 or 6 and there ain't a bad one in the bunch..............

Originally Posted by mrsell63

I would like to put a plug in for vintage Revisors. I have 5 or 6 and there ain't a bad one in the bunch..............

Some weeks back, I asked good Obie to recommend me a third razor and he told me to visit the Revisor site. Admittedly, I spent more time in their vintage section vs their current production offerings.

When I first started I bought 2 new Dovo's. One lower end and one upper end, the difference was the scales. I have sold the upper and the lower end is getting sent to the give away guy (Str8razor) as soon as I get back from vacation. The only modern razor I will own after that is a Hart (don't really care for it) and a portland razor that I have not received yet. Out of 25 to 30 razors they are all vintage except those 2.

Something about using a razor that is 30-100 years old that can't be replaced. My personal take is vintage all the way. I like looking at the customs but I don't really care for all the crazy scales and blade designs so I avoid the as well. I like my razors very plain so vintage suites me well.