Thread: Difference in $100-$300-$500 Razor?

The answer is . . . um . . . the price?!

Sorry, I don't mean to be a smart ass, but the problem might be in the way you're phrasing the question. When you say "what is the difference", it kind of sounds like you might be asking "what's the difference in the actual whisker removal properties" of these razors. And I think most people would tell you here that the difference is nothing, assuming that all three have been properly honed and stropped and are being used by an experienced straight razor shaver on identical whisker growth with identical skin prep.

The problem is that the question "what is the difference" might also mean "why does one razor cost more than the other when all three are obviously just razors?" And the answer to that question is, well, pretty obvious -- even if you ignore differences in the scales and you assume that all three are made from identical quality steel using identical processes, each razor is a different brand, and each brand is made by a manufacturer who gets to price that brand according to what he thinks the market will respond to. So both a Chevy and a Cadillac are cars, and there's even Chevys that have just as many luxury features as a Cadillac, but the Cadillac will always cost more because that's how GM chooses to price them. Some people want the Cadillac and want to pay for it. Other people say "it's just a car" and buy the Chevy.

There's another small fallacy in your question too. I think if you look around, you will find plenty of Dovos that cost $250 or $350. You refer to a $100 Dovo, which I would think is Dovo's entry level razor, but that does not mean that Dovos are all $100 or that the other brands are not also available for $100. I mean, it's like anything else -- if you want to spend $100 for your razor, there's brands who want to sell you their models. If you want to spend $1000 for your razor, there's brands who want to sell you their razors.