Thread: A deeply personal question.

Originally Posted by Geezer

I know of a couple members with over a thousand blades. One with 3K+!

~Richard

What condition are those blades in?

Oh well...when i was in London, in Picadilly acade i stumbled across a barber shop...owned by an old barber...he still ran the shop.
Also had a pritty big collection of vintage English and Spanish blades...he said over 1000...and from what i saw there i belive him...shelves full of blades...BUT and here is wher the twist is...every one i asked about he knew the story)....most english blades were realy old and in exceptional condition...most of them ivory and tortoise shel or carved scales...lots of 7 day sets...nothing cheap looking....the spanish razors were Filarmonicas...i stopped counting at @ 70+i guess there were @ 100 filas there including @ 20 or more EPBD....i think i saw a few Solingen razors but he specificaly said Solingen razors were not his favorite...

Me for instance i'm not obsessed by numbers...i always tried to test as many blades and manufacturers i could. I was lucky doing restores for ppl on the local forum and abroad...got to test lots of blades this way and used the funds to get what i loved most from what i tested...

I have @ 30 NOS or mint rare/high value blades in my personal reserve i rarely use...most of them are only honed once to test the geometry and shave.

Then there's the rotation razors...@ 10-15 blades i use every day....and those are subjected to trade/sale regulations)

I wouldnt know what to do with more razors...hell...it takes me @ 1 hour to check and oil the reserve razors once every 3 months-4 months. I had more at one time near 100 total but i honestly hated the quantity thing and sold most of them and bought nicer / more collectible stuff.

Originally Posted by ovidiucotiga

when i was in London, in Picadilly acade i stumbled across a barber shop...owned by an old barber...he still ran the shop.

Care to share the name of the shop? I'll make it out there sometime in the near future and I'd love to track that place down!

sure...i have a card i think...

Carlo Anichini if i remember correctly.

The shop is at the left side when you enter from Jermyn Street.

Piccadilly Arcade.

60+ for me. But like was said im still im quantity mode. I need to do like bouschie and sell of some. But then i wouldn't have as many. Its a horrible circle. Got to have more! Still have 12 that need work that i havent touched yet.
I seen a pic or two from one of our members that had plastic tubs full of razors.

Only 16 or so razors here, so I’m probably an oddball.

I haven't gotten an official count in a while but last count was most of my blades which was 200-250, then I did some purchasing and a little selling but likely took in far more than I sold. Then the past two months I've purchased another 90 so far. I don't purchase razors in usable condition, only ones in need of restoration, which is the current condition of the vast majority of what I own. That figure should be somewhere north of 300, but I also have dozens of custom blades of my own that I am not counting.

Been up to 30 or so in the past.

Now that we are downsizing, I'm left with 2 Germans, 2 French, 4 Americans, and 2 Japanese.

I choose quality over quantity.

Originally Posted by kelbro

Been up to 30 or so in the past.

Now that we are downsizing, I'm left with 2 Germans, 2 French, 4 Americans, and 2 Japanese.

I choose quality over quantity.

This is the place I wish to arrive. At this point I've got 50ish. And the fact I really don't have a firm count is a bit troubling. In time I want to pare my razors to a few superb ones and perhaps have a project blade, or so.

Originally Posted by silverloaf

should be somewhere north of 300

oops! Just did a quick look thru all the boxes at home, did a little counting.......647 so far, didn't bother counting cracked blades that need to be tossed. Still some more blades tucked away at my other shop, maybe a couple dozen at most..... I think.
As far as quality vs quantity, I always try to buy the best quality of quantity I can find, and make sure that what I'm purchasing can be turned into quality if it isn't there yet. Like some of these

I have not counted the buggers. They reproduce too fast!

I can safely say I have 'scads'.