Thread: Etiiquitte - To speak or not to speak

Originally Posted by Moonshae

I think this is quite true. People looking to make razors just for shaving have some hefty competition...why should anyone buy from you? It's a tough question to answer. But if you can craft something that is more of a work of art and less of a bathroom tool, the question doesn't need to be asked, because the answer is obvious: someone will buy because the art speaks to them in a way that others' doesn't.

That's not to say that art and function can't be combined, of course; I'm just saying that function doesn't need to be the primary concern for something that may be mostly for show. However, it should function, or it's just a pretty RSO.

There is a reason that vintage straight razors are pretty much similar. They have evolved over a long period of time to be a very efficient tool for shaving. You can dress them up with embellishments to make them a work of art and still be practical shaving tools. They still need to conform to the basic blade geometry required and scale construction to be effective.

If you want to buy a non functional show piece with outlandish/exaggerated design features, I would buy any of the numerous RSOs on offer for cheap. That will impress anyone who does not know anything about straight razors. Personally I would not go the custom route to achieve that.

Yes, it is hard for a custom maker to distinguish themselves from other makers given how refined vintage straight razor design became after centuries of development.

Bob

This is a public forum; a ton of new guys are perusing the messages here all the time. If a newb (or anyone for that matter) posted a picture of a razor they just bought and they are crowing about it then all these other newcomers are looking at that cool looking blade thinking 'I want one!'. If you the reader of that thread recognize a badly made razor that is going to cause problems with the person shaving and maintaining it then you should state it diplomatically. Earlier someone stated how you state something is important; that is not a load, it is a fact. You can say the smartest, most reasonable thing but if it comes across wrong people will tune you out.
Paul

Glen to your original question, I I believe you know me well enough to know , tact is not in me , if asked you will get the truth good or bad, and you my brother are another honest guy, so go with your gut, can't please everyone, and it's good some people want to make nice with everyone, but in my mind crap is crap and you shouldn't say otherwise. Maybe this is why I worked where I did for 40 years I never had to worry about other people's feelings. Besides if you tell them they won't do it again. Kinda why I always ask you to tell me the truth when you get one of mine in, cause you know more than me. Thanks for the truth. Tc

I would remain silent unless asked. However, Glen's OP and SolitarySoldier's (#10) sound very much like a description of a Sheffield stubtail chopper, which I've always thought of as the pipe wrench of straight razors - heavy, not well balanced, and frequently with wide uneven bevels. I know this statement will be controversial, JMO.

Cheers. Steve

I too was going to comment on S0LITARYS0LDIER's post 10. I think I know who the seller was & he no longer is making straight razor blades but ax heads. He asked to be removed from this forum also & didn't like what some people had to say about the blades he was making.
I also like what JimmyHAD said in post 6, what Tom said in post 4, what tcrideshd said in post 53 & many more. This has been a very interesting thread.

Just to stop the speculation

The razors were not on SRP they were both posted on a FB page that should actually have more veteran members not a bunch of newbs

Another person I know to be an actual razor expert mentioned the size of the bevel after the herd said "Nice Razor"

I mentioned the off grind on another custom in another spot,,, so then I stated the thread here to get some opinions, seems like most of the posts here trend toward letting people spend $400-$500 on a new custom with issues and not saying nutin, not seeing nutin

Just kinda wanted to know what you guys thought

Originally Posted by Thug

....of..... ?

Advanced psychiatric wisdom

If a person wants to spend that much on a custom and doesn't ask for advice prior to making the purchase, I can't help them. And now that they did? Well, I'm not going to ruin their parade. For all I know they think its the best thing in the world and are giddy like a child with candy. I will also assume that if you are willing to spend like that with little knowledge, the blow of finding out that its not all you thought it was will be minor.

Where are we?
Telling others what we really think about their stuff?
Being narrow minded about the contemporary razor maker?
Gathering a group of haters who think the wildly cool historical razor design known as a stubtail is a pipewrench?
Who cut the cheese BTW?

There is some sense in saying there appear to be defects in a razor if somebody is asking prior to buying. After the fact there is not much you can do except burst their bubble.

If it is on a makers site with a section for comments then by all means say what you think. If the maker can't handle it tough.

In either case a lot of the time you are just whizzing into the wind. They just don't want to hear it.

Bob