Thread: Where do you see the straight razor trend in........?

What I think is going to happen is we will see less and less quality "good finds" in the local antique shops and more and more ebay sketchy deals.

Sadly, what sucks is that a lot of good razor or potentially great restores are ending up in the hands of those just starting out.

This problem is what has happened in my other hobby reefkeeping, basically what happened early on was newbie's grabbing very difficult specimens or mixing the wrong fish together practicing bad husbandry because they saw the movie Nemo. Eventually these fish would die in their care from lack of experience or knowledge and vendors trying to make a buck sell without morals.

Not all vendors are this bad some actually want to see proper husbandry occur. This can be kind of what maybe be happening here, lots of good razors going too quickly to those not invested in this hobby.

The only thing that saved reefkeeping was coral propagation(farming) maybe there will be something to keep the prices affordable in this hobby too.

David

Originally Posted by matt321

I wonder if blade width will be like surf boards and skirt lengths. Ten years from now we will look back at the popularity of 7/8 and 8/8 blades and say "what were we thinking."

Oh I do so hope that your right! 4/8, 9/16 & 5/8 dominate my collection!

The popularity of this hobby is much greater than it was a number of years ago. Originally it was much more difficult to get started shaving with a Str8 razor so that kept the numbers low. A lot of people quit because of the difficulty to hone a razor. That is now all changed with the advent of the various razor forums and honing services provided by skilled people. We have made using a str8 much easier to learn. That will power a continuing interest with much less falloff of members.

One of the other major reasons for a continuation of this trend is the low cost of entry. Collecting automobiles or shotguns is much more expensive that Str8 razors. This is an inexpensive hobby to indulge in.

I also expect that there will be more manufacturers popping up offering better steels and processes. The modern steels are a definite selling point, just look at the knife market, and new processes like water jets, hydraulic presses, kilns, and liquid nitrogen present the promise of a better product.The market size has now expanded to the point where a profit can be made and the distribution channels are forming very nicely, worldwide!

What is lacking is a national public presence of any manufacturer. If a person wants to start using a str8 they have no idea where to start.
That will take some time to develop.

Vintage razors in good shape will always be in demand because there are more selling points, i.e. variety of blade shapes & sizes, age ( 100 years old!), scale material, patina, a lower entry price. and the possibility of getting it restored/customized.

We are in for a long & interesting future,