Collecting direction/guidance question
Ok, I must be hooked.
I have been using a straight razor few only a few weeks now and I find myself owning 13 razors already. I have already reground and started rebuilding a couple of those and I find myself contemplating redesigning my belt grinder in order to make my own razor from scratch. The bug has apparently bit and left its mandibles implanted.
So here is the issue. If I am going to start a collection I don't want to go about hap-hazardly buying razors with no direction. I see a lot of new custom knife collectors do that and a lot of times they eventually get bogged down and lose interest in collecting. I have an idea about how to give my future collection some direction and end up with a collection of quality razors with a common theme.
I live about a half hour south of St Louis and I notice a lot of the razors I am finding on Ebay have a St Louis connection. I think the local flavor is kind of a cool way to go. It would give my collection some direction without being too narrowly focused. Shumate, Keen Kutter, Simmons Hdwr, Shapliegh, and other hdwr store razors have a St Louis connection. From what I can tell most are either US made or Solingen made and appear to be good quality makes.
Does this sound like a feasible way to approach this? Any of you long time collectors have any input?
Thanks,
Ray