Thread: Straight Razor Prices in real terms: 1901-Today

You learn some amazing stuff reading old texts:

According to A History of Ontario County, New York, 1911, (A history of Ontario County, New ... - Google Books), the 1901 incorporation papers of Geneva Cutlery Company listed 150 manufacturing employees at a total average company expense of $1900 per week.

Given the average, at the time, of 6 10-hour work days per week, the average wage for the folks turning out those razors was a bit over 21 cents an hour.

That same person today makes $8.65/hour. (Factory Worker Salary in Geneva, NY | Indeed.com)

It took the 1901 Genco employee a bit over 7 hours to buy a Genco President at $1.50, full retail. (Sorry I don't have a link to this pricing, $1.50 is actually stamped on the tang! )

If the closest thing approximating that razor today is, I suppose, a middle of the line Dovo, for about $120, our worker in the 21st Century will work almost 14 hours to earn the money to pay for it. (If you think that perhaps a better comparison would be an "entry"-level Dovo at about 89 bucks then the figure is still over 10 working hours.)

I thought about posting this in "The Conversation", except I don't really have a point to make with this, I just found it notable that a worker today has to work almost twice as long to be able to afford something his great grandfather bought back when the times, the wages, and the general working conditions were what many today would consider intolerable.

Just food for thought on a lazy Sunday afternoon...

Yep...and people think we're better off today. Cool research..thanks for sharing.

Interesting, but not really surprising. Cost of everything is higher nowadays. But being a niche market in the modern world, straight razors (and related product) prices are bound to be high.

Things have changed a lot. Back then cutthroats were a utilitarian product and tens of thousands of them would have been produced each year by many factories.
These days they are a niche product produced in relatively small numbers for enthusiasts. They are also priced to reflect that those enthusiasts are likely to have a relatively high disposable income.
A fairer comparison would be to compare a basic cutthroat from then with a basic Gillette hanging in the supermarket today.

It really depends how you scale things. If you compare the prices to other products that existed back in the days you may find out that the standard of living of said worker today is higher, i.e. he has more disposable income to spend on inessentials such as a razor, buying a candy/coke, going to a movie, etc.
Also the socioeconomic status of a factory worker back then may have been higher than it is today, what if that job back then is the equivalent of say administrative assistant today.

Originally Posted by mbaglio100

You learn some amazing stuff reading old texts:

According to A History of Ontario County, New York, 1911, (A history of Ontario County, New ... - Google Books), the 1901 incorporation papers of Geneva Cutlery Company listed 150 manufacturing employees at a total average company expense of $1900 per week.

Given the average, at the time, of 6 10-hour work days per week, the average wage for the folks turning out those razors was a bit over 21 cents an hour.

That same person today makes $8.65/hour. (Factory Worker Salary in Geneva, NY | Indeed.com)

It took the 1901 Genco employee a bit over 7 hours to buy a Genco President at $1.50, full retail. (Sorry I don't have a link to this pricing, $1.50 is actually stamped on the tang! )

If the closest thing approximating that razor today is, I suppose, a middle of the line Dovo, for about $120, our worker in the 21st Century will work almost 14 hours to earn the money to pay for it. (If you think that perhaps a better comparison would be an "entry"-level Dovo at about 89 bucks then the figure is still over 10 working hours.)

I thought about posting this in "The Conversation", except I don't really have a point to make with this, I just found it notable that a worker today has to work almost twice as long to be able to afford something his great grandfather bought back when the times, the wages, and the general working conditions were what many today would consider intolerable.

Just food for thought on a lazy Sunday afternoon...

8.65$ / hour?


dude... in switzerland, even 25$/hour is considered a ****poor salary...

I'm also curious where you got the $8.65 salary. Is that average factory worker salary? Who knows how the Ontario Cutlery employees were paid compared to average. I would have actually guessed that a razor factor would pay higher, as the grinder jobs are skilled laborers.

I'm also not sure that comparing the cost of a straight then to a straight now is a relevant comparison. As noted, today, straights are a niche market with very little competition. Straights are also abnormal, when it comes to shaving methods, today. Back then, it would have been very common place.

Wouldn't the more accurate way of finding this be to check inflation since 1900? If there is not proportionality between the loss of value for the dollar and the increase in razor price, then there is a disparity.

Speculating on equivalence based on assumed employee wages really has no basis.

You also have to remember not everything rises at the inflation rate. There are many things that really don't seem to go up nearly as much over the years while other things go much much further. Things like medical costs which go up far faster than the inflation rate and food which really has not. So it's not that simple.

No, it is not that simple to make a comparison, but human productivity in modern society is without doubt being crushed by litigation and excessive big brother controls. All of us are paying the price and getting less.

More Government, less quality of life and razor inflation.The quality of the razors IMHO is not as good either.

On a positive note, those of us today can savour the fruits of that time and those craftstmen and still get incredible deals from more productive times.

Very thoughtful post and with each shave, we live free on the edge of our straights. What better way to honor our ancestors.

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