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

Many have been shaving with and collecting straight razors much longer than I have. I have enough time and experience to know what I like in razors when I see them and to appreciate well made razors both in their shaving ability, aesthetics and craftsmanship.

I've also been in this even if for a relatively short time to see prices of both vintage and production razors rise (no surprise).

I'd love to hear predictions, prognostications, etc from others as to where you believe the popularity, value/cost of straight razors will go in the future years, decades or beyond and why. Here's your chance to lay down a prediction for posterity and if correct, be able to say "I told y'all so!"

I recall Thebigspender mentioning that he'd eventually been priced out of at least one hobby previously. I found that interesting.

I'm not good with predictions myself. I'm glad I "got in" when I did and only have a modest collection of approx 100 razors at this point with virutually all of them purchased for what I consider to be good to great deals.

My intent with this post is not to hasten the course of any potential trend, but rather, talk about what is undoubtedly an evolution (or is it a spike/bubble, etc?) in the interest we share here.



Chris L

I can only hope that there will be other new production (quality) razors in the near future, and that competition will drive prices down. I'd love to see a return of the time where there were so many makers you didn't know who made what but you knew anything stamped Solingen or Sheffield was quality, but I fear that will only happen in my dreams...

Well, much will depend on whether enough restorers emerge while beginners dry up the market for restored vintage razors. I trust only a few restorers, and one of my favourite ones is already backlogged for three months.

The other thing is beginners getting RAD and getting into honing. Many are lead to believe that only a limited number of brands is worth buying (thus driving up prices for these brands), and are bound to ruin those blades in their first attempts at honing.

A combination of both would indeed ruin this hobby for someone like me (I hate custom scales, with only a few exceptions, for my personal razors) in a few years, if the current trend stays the way it is, or even increases the number of straight razor users.

Incidentally, the above was a major contributing factor for me to put work into the Wiki. We now offer beginners quite a good source of information in an easy-to-digest format to help them prevent making the most stupid mistakes

Regards,
Robin

I see the influx of huge amounts of more sub-par Chinese and now even Pakistani razors as the vintage razor market shrinks...
These razors that only 2 short years ago were not even considered to be shave worthy are now becoming the cheap entry level razor...
No one would consider them 2-3 years ago when DD Satinedges and Special No1's could be had in good shape for $25
American steel went for less, now with prices on vintage going through the roof, I think we will see more and more of this...

On a positive note we are seeing some high quality companies coming back into the market too...

I agree with Robin on the effect of restoration...
The Workshop is a very busy forum now, and growing more and more, again from the shrinking Vintage razor market... Many razors that would have been passed over before are now being re-worked and brought back to life...
New techniques are being developed and used every day by the fine restorers on this forum.. Ideas are tried and proved to work or left by the wayside ...
The average Vintage razor used to be polished by hand or perhaps a Dremel and put back in rotation, now the average, requires hours of serious work with much more aggressive methods to bring back to shaving today...

Honing also has evolved in a very short time, what used to be considered a fine shaving edge, today is considered the bare minimum of a shave ready edge...

Amazing changes ...

Perhaps it will be like the classic car market in the UK, where a few years ago fairly nondescript vehicles suddenly began to change hands for outrageous sums. Some were bought as 'investments', some as toys. They were often purchased by people with no mechanical aptitude or even the skill to drive them properly. Eventually the bottom dropped out of the market, with only true rare classics being worth money.
I think that perhaps the razor market is a kind of microcosm of classic cars and m/cycles.
There is an element of greed. With one hundred razors being described by some as a modest collection. How many razors do you really need? Why should you be able to buy them cheaply if the demand is high?
I have ten razors all of which please me, not one is rare or sought after. To me, I probably have eight too many.
Unlike cars, which take up space, I suppose many razors bought in a fit of enthusiasm by a new generation of users may end up tossed in the back of a drawer and forgotten.

I recall being surprised at the amount of straight razors available for sale on websites worldwide. Referring to new razors. Since men will always have to shave, assuming the islamists don't succeed in world domination, I think that the future of straight razor shaving is secure.

As for the vintage market, ebay shows a seemingly never ending supply of vintage razors day after day, week after week and year after year. People move on to other interests or they die and collections become available. There will always be a supply and a demand IMO.

As for prices, ir a fellow is after the latest hot item he has to be willing to pay a premium. To some this is worth the price of admission while to others it is not. Thankfully there are plenty of quality shavers out there at reasonable prices and I suspect there always will be. So I see the market and future of straight razor shaving being ongoing for a minority of discriminating folks.

Straight shaving seems to become sort of a trend now. A trend that will go on and grow for a while, but i believe i wont last forever. Majority of people are not willing to put their time and efforts into shaving and restoring razors. They still want to do their shaving quick and effectively with Mach3's and such. I believe we will see the day when prices start coming down again.
As usual, i might as well be all wrong with my guess.

What is positive in this trend that more and more vintage old razors get restored and back to life.

As said for so many times before, some brands have become some kinds of holy grails of razors. Some kind of status symbols. That makes other people want those same brands as well and soon the prices have gone into heaven.
I can say from only past 4 or 5 years but the eBay prices have been rising into stupido levels. Luckily i live in a part of the world where straight shaving is still no trend so it is easy to pick up from a flea market our web auctions razors with reasonable prices. I could easily imagine paying muchos euros for a knife or razor that is somehow unique or handmade, but never for something that was meant to be the cheap everyday tool of a mass production.

Luckily i do not have serious RAD, i rather pick up a razor (or knife or some other vintage tool) whenever i see some nice piece for reasonable price.

Originally Posted by welshwizard

Perhaps it will be like the classic car market in the UK, where a few years ago fairly nondescript vehicles suddenly began to change hands for outrageous sums. Some were bought as 'investments', some as toys. They were often purchased by people with no mechanical aptitude or even the skill to drive them properly. Eventually the bottom dropped out of the market, with only true rare classics being worth money.
I think that perhaps the razor market is a kind of microcosm of classic cars and m/cycles.
There is an element of greed. With one hundred razors being described by some as a modest collection. How many razors do you really need? Why should you be able to buy them cheaply if the demand is high?
I have ten razors all of which please me, not one is rare or sought after. To me, I probably have eight too many.
Unlike cars, which take up space, I suppose many razors bought in a fit of enthusiasm by a new generation of users may end up tossed in the back of a drawer and forgotten.

It may be a vice I'm guilty of in regard to collecting straight razors. What would you call those that have hundreds or even thousands of razors in their collection?

Chris L

I think this trend has really taken off because of the exorbitant cost of M3/ Quattro blades. £4 per blade...?

I got my brother a DE for his birthday last year, mainly because he'd been saying how fed up he was paying through the nose for cartridge blades. So he'd use one for six months, well beyond its useful life, just because of the cost. We can get a pack of 10 DE blades over here for £3, so it was a no brainer really..!

I reckon the well known makes (W&B, DD, Filarmonica etc...) will continue to go for top dollar, just because they are well known. And as the supply runs out other makes will become expensive.

Whether this increase in straight razor users continues depends on how much time people are prepared to put into their shaving. Not everyone wants a £200 razor, honed up to 30k or finished on a £700 Asagi stone, nor do they want to spend the time on shaving each day. Its a time/money saved trade off really.

More people are getting into the hobby side as a result of films like Sweeney Todd (thanks Mr. Burton, I'll be asking you for a subsidy on my next eBay purchase! ) and a growing interest in the past.

As much as companies like to give us the next cutting edge (literally in this case!) technology, I think more people are hankering for the past and the less frantic pace of life. Hence people wanting straight razors, starting to write letters rather than send emails, brewing their own beer, making their own furniture.

Theres also a satisfaction to be had from doing these things yourself, from making your kids beds and wardrobes to restoring and using a straight razor. The recession has prompted people to save money, as well as stopping them from going out. So people are buying a beat up razor for £10 on eBay and then taking several evenings to restore it. Thats good bang for your buck in entertainment terms, and you have a shiny razor to use at the end of it..!

Like a lot of these things though, there will be the initial influx of mad keen new people, but some will drop out, or switch back to the more convenient DE/electric/cartridge method. Its rather like going to the gym on January 2nd; Its rammed then, but you know it'll be half empty by mid March!

Great post!

I think it's unfortunate for us that we took up straight shaving at this time. Straight use is really different than other collectibles because with most things you just stare at them. Of course many purely straight collectors do the same however the new interest by users is a phenomenon which I do not think will grow to any huge degree simply because this takes work and dedication. I know our membership is growing which would tend to say hey interest in straights is huge however what we don't know is what percentage take it up and leave it by the wayside pretty soon. I think that percentage is larger than we think. It will always be a niche thing.

Reminds me of pocketwatches. Even though they made them by the 10s of millions or more the supply is limited and becomes further limited year by year. They were common items and treated as such in past years by most people so the good ones dwindle. The same with razors. Over time more and more simply dissappear and the best are in collections which are recycled when someone dies just like pocketwatches.

The country or world as a whole is in a collection frenzy and has been for several years now. Will it continue? Who knows but as far as razors go involving users, short term, prices will rise but long term I don't think so.