Thread: The addiction is real

After reading through the forums, watching the videos I decided to pick up a second razor. I opted for a Dovo 5/8 Gentlemen from our sponsor SRD. Looking forward to furthering my experience with my 6/8 hollow and the new 5/8 for many years to come.

Originally Posted by Atlas1911

After reading through the forums, watching the videos I decided to pick up a second razor. I opted for a Dovo 5/8 Gentlemen from our sponsor SRD. Looking forward to furthering my experience with my 6/8 hollow and the new 5/8 for many years to come.

Welcome, you should join us in the SOTD (shave of the day) then.
And we all like pics, you should post some pics of your razors. [emoji6]

There are so many different grinds and sizes out there. After a very short while I wanted to try something different, and wound up with many different types and sizes and grinds of razors. They are all great. I love the collecting.

So many choices in this sport. Different razor sizes, grinds, vintage vs. modern, and then the customs. Plus you have all the various choices between brushes, strops, soaps, shaving creams, pre-shaves, aftershave balms, etc.

Lord help you if you get into honing and develop hone acquisition disorder (HAD). Don't leave your wallet unguarded!

Where can you go to find out the collectability of razors? I've seen the book on e bay, is it any good?

In the beginning, I ended up with more razors than straight razor shaves. I was about 5 shaves in, and had 8 razors. I tend to jump into things head first...

I'll say the addiction is real. I always wanted to learn to shave with a straight razor. About six months ago I surfed into SRP and started reading the forums. I had no idea how addicting this could be, and my wife is still upset about that. Learning to use a Straight razor wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it would be. After a half a dozen cuts and 911 on speed dial I was good to go. I already had a bunch DE and SE safety razors (Sorry about that, I didn't mean to get vulgar...It was just a slip.) Thanks to you guys and all the great post on SRP today I have a some nice vintage straight razors as well. I decided to join today so I could thank you all and say Hello from St. Louis MO.

Originally Posted by Aerdvaark

Where can you go to find out the collectability of razors? I've seen the book on e bay, is it any good?

I think there are a few different ways of looking at it. Some razors are rare, and hard to find, which from my perspective makes them very collectable. Razors from the late 17's is a good example. They are not easy to find in reasonable condition, but typically are not worth a lot of money. There are others that are relatively easy to find and there are a lot around but they sell for crazy amounts of money. There are newer blades that are hard to find that do sell for a decent amount. With collecting all this ebbs and flows. I have not been collecting for very long but have definitely seen some trends. Puma razors were hot hot hot not that long ago. They seem to be available for a little less now than a couple years ago, but still have a fair value. Fillis seem to have never really come down. Some of the models you hardly ever see for sale anymore. I think if you wrote a book about razor market values it would be out of date by the time it was printed. Just watch and see what is rare. Some thing become hard to find. Guillermo Hoppe razors used to be fairly abundant but I have not seen many in the usual spot for a while. It all changes.

Originally Posted by Aerdvaark

Where can you go to find out the collectability of razors? I've seen the book on e bay, is it any good?

I don't have any straight razor books, so I can't comment on that. I agree with RezDog, rare razors can be very collectable if you can find and afford them. About six months ago, being a newbie to the straight razor seen I had no idea what I wanted to purchase. So I decided to learn as much as possible about the history of straight razors and the company's that made them. I also wanted to learn what people were collecting and why. Doing this has been very time consuming but not really all that difficult. I started reading through all the the straight razor forums and websites starting with SRP. If you have the time to dig for it, there really is a lot of free knowledge out there. You can also check out online Razor stores and ebay. On ebay you can put things on your watch list and see what other people are buying and not buying, and what their willing to pay for it. Granted, just because someone drops $500 -$1000 on a vintage 1 inch + chopper doesn't mean that it was worth it, but it was to them. Enough time spent doing all of this you know will eventually no what razors you want in your collection and why. Also you will have a good idea what you will have to pay to get them. I realize that I'm just a newbie here and have much to learn (So to all you veterans out there, if I'm wrong about something feel free to call me out.) but for me a collectable razor is one that I have put on my short list for whatever reason. Vintage or new custom, sometimes I just see a Razor and know right off that I have to add it my collection. I mostly collect vintage straights 6/8 and up the older the better in very good to excellent condition. If a razor is stamped with the country of origin (Eng. or England for Sheffield razors) then it was made in or after 1891. Here is list of my personal favorite collectable sheffield razor manufactures you probably can't go wrong with as long the price and condition is right. Wostenholm, George Wostenholm & Sons Washington Works, Rockingham Works or before, Wade and Butcher, William Greaves, William Greaves & Sons before or after Sheaf Works, Joseph Rodgers & Sons, Joseph Elliot & Sons, John Nowill & Sons, John Barber, Clark and Hall, Bengall. My knowledge is mostly limited to English straights, but here is a short list of Solingen-Germany manufactures that you might be interested in. H.Boker & Co, Zwilling J.A. Henckels, Pearlduck, Puma, dovo. Anyway, If I understood your question correctly, this should help. If not, maybe it will help someone else.

My name is Garnerpw and I'm an addict.

I can account to the addiction. Before my first straight razor shave I owned two. Two weeks in and I now own 5 razors.