Thread: Collecting ?

Being a bit of a hunter gatherer I collect a number of things.

Razors is a new one... I have had a couple of "shavers" for years.. but only very recently have I had the desire to dabble in collecting them.

Now, here is the dilema i have had in all collecting fields.... Where do you set the boundries?

There are dozens of auctions ending every day... the danger when starting out is going wild (as I did)... and suddenly having 20 razors you may not even really like when you REALLY look at them.

So instead of just buying.... I am going to try and set a limit... choose 2 or 3 "kinds of thing" to collect...

1) A specific maker.... "Gebr. Christians Solingen"
2) Specific styles "BIG!"
3) Plain black or white scales.

I have found in other collecting fields that if you concentrate you dont throw money out with both hands... and you more often get what you are going for.

Having said that... if I really like a piece, I can still make an exception and buy it...

How do you guys set your limits?

All the best
Chris

Here the maker, size and scales all fell together :-))

um 1910 - Rasiermesser CHRISTIANS SOLINGEN Feinster Silberstahl | eBay

I have been cursed with the collecting gene too. Since I was a kid collecting comic books when they were a dime. Anyway, I think of a basking shark in terms of early collecting habits. He cruises through the water with mouth wide open inhaling everything in his path. When he is sated he regurgitates it all and begins again. That is what is to be avoided. I just buy what I like nowadays. I shoot for quality. Plain Jane, vanilla stuff is not at all on my radar. Less is more kind of thing.

I guess if you are seriously collecting then rare new in the box unused items are what you are looking for to be salted away never to be used. I don't think that applies to most people who wind up with a collection of things and are defacto collectors. Personally I like to collect items in very good condition that I will use. I generally stick to one manufacturer but will buy others if they are unique enough to tickle my fancy. It takes a while to really figure out what you like so you do wind up with odds and sods at first. There are always items that are too cheap to pass up even though they don't really fit in. But yea, try to stay focused by having a mostly clearly defined purpose and limits.

Bob

I don't collect.

Stuff just seems to accumulate rapidly.

I don't collect straight razors. I just shave with them. Because I can be two-faced at times, I need a much bigger rotation than most. I really enjoy over-bidding on big razors then taking a bath later when I try to unload them.

Well, whats interesting about the whole SR thing is how many different ways there are to collect.

1) Mint condition in the box - the classic way.
2) Great condition... but used to shave!! what would a stamp collector say if you said "Got a great stamp.. and mailed a letter with it!
3) OK condition, and totally overhauled... !! What would a coin collector say if you said "Have this coin with 100 years of patina... and I cleaned it!!"
4) OK condition and polished and new scales added ... shaves like a dream!! What would a gun collector say if you said "Had this Muzzle loader, polished it all up, replaced the Wooden bits... now it shoots really well!!!

So... there are liberties accepted in the straight Razor community that few other collecting fields accept!

Originally Posted by Chribo

How do you guys set your limits?

What's this thing you call limits? This word is foreign to me.

Originally Posted by Chribo

Well, whats interesting about the whole SR thing is how many different ways there are to collect.

1) Mint condition in the box - the classic way.
2) Great condition... but used to shave!! what would a stamp collector say if you said "Got a great stamp.. and mailed a letter with it!
3) OK condition, and totally overhauled... !! What would a coin collector say if you said "Have this coin with 100 years of patina... and I cleaned it!!"
4) OK condition and polished and new scales added ... shaves like a dream!! What would a gun collector say if you said "Had this Muzzle loader, polished it all up, replaced the Wooden bits... now it shoots really well!!!

So... there are liberties accepted in the straight Razor community that few other collecting fields accept!

No, I don't think there are more liberties taken in the straight razor community than in other fields. Your #1 definition is in the strictest sense what a collectors is. OTH anyone with more than one of the same item has the basis for a collection and people that don't collect tend to view that as a collection in the broadest sense or the word. Then there is the huge area in between of varying strict adherence to the #1 definition. In practical use the term collector is pretty flexible.

I used to make real collectors cringe by redoing the stocks on 1950s Brno small ring Mauser rifles and bedding the actions to make them more consistently accurate when shooting. Other members of the shooting community thought I was a collector having a dozen or so of the same type rifle. Personally I did not care as I was doing what I liked doing.

Never did the same with cameras but always put at least one roll of film through them to make sure they were working. If not working properly I fixed them or sent them out to be repaired. That is something a #1 definition collector would cringe at doing.

The decision and difference is one of deciding if you want to start a museum or use the darn things as intended.

Bob

Originally Posted by Theseus

What's this thing you call limits? This word is foreign to me.

Still buying my last razor, ONE AT A TIME.