Thread: How has your collection grown?

Maybe you should think more about grinds as opposed to makers..
I say go vintage

I second what Job15 says.
Try a variety of grinds and widths. See if there is one '"type" of razor that suits you best. Then you can zero in on the size and grind you prefer.
Then watch out for those on the BST or the bay.
My "type' is extra hollow 6/8-7/8 blades.
I have several American makes. Genco,Burrell,Case,Allegany Instruments,Felt Pad Razor Works,Robeson,Torrey.
German Makes, Boker,Worldmaster,Dubl Duck, Charles Coates BS made in Germany,ERN. And One Stainless german one a Fisher.
English Makes, W&Butcher, Greaves,Bengal.
Japanese Makes, Gold Rex,Hayashi Diamond,Tanifuji, Scheon Burg, Aiku,
Spanish, Filarmonica's An 14 Doble Temple and a 14 Especial.
A couple of Stiz Russian razors
One North Korean razor.
One Italian razor.
One Chinese Double Arrow.
One new manufacture razor. A Korrat 14 2.0.
All of these are great razors. Some I like more than others. But I enjoy using them all. Other than the Communist made ones.
They are all extra hollow grind and larger than 5/8th.
Some I paid premium NOS prices others got for cheap. Pretty don't do the shaving. But like monkey's I like shiny things I guess.
The vintage razors in good condition are hard to beat.
Ulrik's 14 2.0 is a top notch razor. And he is a excellent to deal with. I would not part with it.


Have fun finding your favorites.

Ken

Got my first at a UK flea market - no manufacturer indicated. Still shaves great.

MY one new purchase was a TI le Dandy, also a great shaver.

Since then, I have acquired (RAD) about 35 vintage razors and brought them to shave ready condition. That was fun.


Now, I want to start making scales, but without power tools of any kind. More fun!

Mine has grown...Exponentially?

Originally Posted by sharptonn

Mine has grown...Exponentially?

+1

Started sampling a couple of 'well known name' razors from each of the historical production centers: e.g. France (Le Grelot, TI), Germany (Henckels, Puma), Sweden (Heljestrand, SSA), UK (J.R. Rodgers, Bengall), USA (Torrey, Clauss), Japan (Iwasaki, Tanifuji). Exponential growth came as I realized that a) I liked them all b) many lesser brands were equally good c) I liked shaving with all grind types and d) I needed a constant supply to feed the restoration/honing habit. Did I mention I enjoy modern customs with their super steels too (when I can afford them)?

It just keeps growing. And as long as i keep restoring i may need to build a bigger cabinet to hold them all. Aint RAD grand?

Mine started out when I got my late father's straight, a JA Henckels 401. I think it had been my grandfather's. I always loved that thing and shaved with it as a teenager. He had had a sharpening business when I was a kid and had some hones including a couple of barber hones which I used for a while before getting a set of Norton's of my own. Backing up a few years, I started cutting my own hair. I wear a flat top and it seemed like I always had to fix it after I went to the barbershop so if I were going to have to fix it I might as well learn to cut it myself. I've been doing that for 25 years now at least. I can also shave my own neck. It's a trick but you need three mirrors. Well I will do that with a DE but I'm not doing that with a straight. I had my wife do it with a straight razor but it makes her nervous so I got a shavette which she was a little more comfortable with. Who the hell knows why. From there I decided that I liked the straight razor shave better than the DE shave so then it was on like Donkey Kong. Segway forward a few years, I decided that I wanted to start a tradition of my own. My wife had been to an antique store and saw several of them there. We went back and I found a Robeson Shuredge NOS and bought that. Well you know how that story goes. The rest is history. I decided one day to look on eBay and made the mistake of saving a search or two for vintage straight razor / straight razor lot / Wade and Butcher Special. Between the notifications I get from them and wheeling and dealing with antique stores I'm now approaching 150 and I shave with most of them. There are some that come in lots which are unshaveable for one reason or another or just plain junk that belong on a wind chime but over 90% are shavers. Along the way I decided that I could get some that needed some love and clean them up which only added to the RAD.
I've discovered that I like the look of the old wedges, especially notched ones but I just don't like the feel of them. They shave fine but are a little stiff for my liking. The hollower (If that's actually a word) they are the better I like them. The big three are my favorites Solingen, Sheffield and Northeast US. I'll think I favor one more than the other and then I'll get one from another region that I like especially well. Currently I have a Torrey that is totally fabulous but in general I favor the Sheffields, especially Wade and Butcher. If I had to choose one and only one to shave with (perish the thought. I'm crossing myself here) It would be Wade and Butcher Special.

Originally Posted by Maryland998

All of these are great razors. Some I like more than others. But I enjoy using them all. Other than the Communist made ones.

Ken

Hi Ken,

I am watching a couple of Russian (USSR) razors on the Bay.


Before I make a mistake and win them, why don't you like the Communist made razors?

Aren't they any good?
Don't they shave well?
Or is it a personal Commie thing?

I'm only asking so I don't end up adding some real rubbish to my collection. I need to save room in my razor draw for my Gold Dollars when I get some

Steve

The Russian and other Eastern European made razors are good razors Steve. I’ve had two Russian blades and a stack of Polish blades and they are all good razors. The polish ones are pretty hard to find other than 5/8 so if you are looking for big blades you won’t find them in that region.

What Rez said.

Bob