Thread: Some razors rock.

Originally Posted by Pyment

The question for me is: where does a relative newbie do research on Straights?

Pyment, a great start is reading ALL the files in the Help Section. After that, it's all the Search function, and the chat room, as BeBerlin mentioned...

have fun,
Nenad

Originally Posted by English

Vintage Wade and Butcher wide blade razors also seam to fall into the same camp.

Any body any comments?

Personally the W&B's really appeal to me. I think it's the size. It kinda has this bad-a$$ look about it. Also I'd really like to try a wedge.

I'm not sure if that's the attraction others feel toward the W&B's, and why they are getting the prices they are getting?

That said, so far a 6/8 has been the most affective size for me thus far. I don't think I could use an 8/8 as a daily.

Thanks for the info on the DD's. That's interesting stuff.

Originally Posted by English

Hey Gugi,

I didn't say they are no good, they are very good but not "special".
So don't mix my words and introduce really poor quality from the third world into the argument. That is not what this post is about. Please read what I say and not what you think I said.

I'm asking why certain razors suddenly will command premium prices even though they are not "special "shavers.

Nothing personal.

Of course my post is an exaggeration of what you said. I agree that many razors are hyped beyond reason, but every duck I've tried has been a pleasure to hone and use - certainly above average, although I have other razors that I prefer better. Of course I haven't tried the dovo ducks, but I've tried several Dovo razors and they are not bad at all, some are rather good actually.
As far as W&B go, I have only one that may stay, but I have several multiples of some other old sheffield brands. I wouldn't call them not special though. DD and the W&B are one of the most abundant razors around, and their prices are quite high, so it's not the supply part of the equation.

The thing though is that even if you post your favorite brands that will be a rather small ripple - nothing even close to the Wonderedge effect.

As far as where newbies should start, I agree with BeBerlin - they should start in the Classifieds to get one consistent razor and then they can explore others just like the rest of us do. Unfortunately most newbies think that there's a magic razor, or that just buying a sought after brand will be enough to make them learn faster or anything. And then they go ahead and buy the toothpick of a dubl duck with rotting scales and think they got incredible value for that $50.... All the information is available in the stickies, so I don't feel too bad for them.

We all value different things - I happen to prefer razors which are closer to the original condition from the factory and materials like ivory and horn, and usually pay premium for this. Others prefer the mirror finish of a regrind and plastic or wooden scales over ivory - we all spend our own money, so it's all good

Originally Posted by English

I'm asking why certain razors suddenly will command premium prices even though they are not "special "shavers.

Not least because of information like this. Flaunting brand names seems to be the latest (or maybe not so late) hype in another forums. Given the limited amount of information that is readily available to a complete newcomer, it is little wonder that nobody ever got fired for recommending a well known brand. See it as reverse FUD. Funnily enough, two really good razors I have a no-name razors (thank you, Coully!).

I think a more prominent reference to the help section (especially sticky posts like this one) right on SRP's front page might actually be helpful for a newcomer.

In the early 1980's when I first became infatuated with straight razors I hung out in a neighborhood barber shop. A barber of seventy some odd years old named Frank Natale told me then that he thought Dubl Ducks were the best and that Solingen made razors in general were the better then razors made in other countries. A few other barbers in the north ward of Newark, NJ were of the same opinion. They were also older guys who had been cutting hair and shaving people for years.

This doesn't prove anything but it does demonstrate that DDs got their reputation long before the internet at least with some of the population. Of course these guys would have thought that paying two or three hundred for a Wonderedge was insanity. Maybe it is. I haven't done that ...... yet.

I have a four or five DDs and they all shave very nicely. More importatnly to me they are easy to hone to shave ready. I find Pumas and Dovos to be more difficult to get up to speed and TI harder yet. Maybe it is my lack of expertise but that is my experience so far.

From my experience, most of the razors that are known to be great shavers are not all that rare. There are two pretty obvious reasons.

1. If you made a product that was really good, chances are pretty good that you'd make a lot of them; you'd stay in business and make money.
2. If there are razors that only a handful of people have, you're not gonna hear about them. Razors have to be used and written about by a fair number of people in order to be acknowledged as good razors.

So these well known razors that are known to be great shavers are expensive, even though they tend to be rather common. Supply may be high, but there is clearly a larger demand; unfortunately the demand seems to be largely newbies that don't know better, insane collectors, or people that are just stuck on name brands.

For every big name, great shaving razor, there are probably at least ten other makes of razors that are unheard of and just as good. Personally, I don't like paying top dollar for razors, especially now that I hone my own, so I'm moving towards off brands or name brands that I can find on the cheap.

I won't comment about the Dovo-DD issue because its untrue. A few well known makers made some razors for DD but in general most of their razors were sourced from a variety of makers and the identity of most of them seems to be a big secret.

Remember that DD is just a name reflecting three separate companies. At most it was a name for products sold by a barber supply company. They manufactured nothing. The reputation their razors have is not based on us. It comes from barbers using these razor going back many years. Ask any old time barber what razors he used and I'll bet he had a few DDs as part of his working collection. Dorco is to Germany working razors as DD is to american. They specialized in barber supplies to the trade in Germany and as with DD here if you asked an old time barber in germany what razors he used Dorco will be at the top of the list.

There are many good shaving, quality razors out there but I can think of no company that seemed to sell so many fine shavers with really consistant quality and are easy to hone and maintain then the ducks. I should know I have about 25 of them.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

There are many good shaving, quality razors out there but I can think of no company that seemed to sell so many fine shavers with really consistent quality and are easy to hone and maintain then the ducks. I should know I have about 25 of them.

Exactly!!!!!!



Damn I only own 14, but I have sure honed and restored way more than that... One thing that remains true "Unless a DD blade has been damaged in some way it will hone and shave easier than just about any other brand consistently"

Keep in mind that I did not say they are the end all be all of the razor world, but they are the most consistent that I have found, and as most of you know I have a bad habit of buying little collections of razors.....

Fritz Bracht imported his blanks from Sweeden . They were drop forged , heat treated and tempered in Dovo's facility in Solingen. Most of his products whether sold under his brand or others such as DD were superior in quality. That was evident in his days as it is still evident to most straight razor afficionados nowadays.
It is not wise to compare Dovo razors manufactured by Fritz Bracht to their modern products.
Whatever you decide to be the best razor is a matter of personal preference. And most seasoned straight shavers do not base their preference purely on brand but also on type of steel ,width of blade width and grind.
When it comes to pricing condition is the major determining factor for all out of prduction collictables and DD's are no exception. It is not too difficult to grab a GE in fair condition for well under $50. For a mint WE you may have to go ten times that , and this is not uncommon with most other well known brands.
Cheers
Kal

I don't know if they're "special" or not, but I do enjoy my two DD's. The 7/8 Goldedge I bought was shave ready, and the other 5/8 Wonderedge I got was NOS....and it was pretty easy to hone up to sharp as hell on a Belgian coticule.