I am new at straight razor shaving. I used a Parker shavette for months before I decided to go to a straight razor...from a dozen years before that as a double edged guy w/ brush & bowl. I spent a long time looking at every newly manufactured straight razor I could find and saw a few that I liked a lot. But gradually I got more interested in vintage blades and wound up with a Red Imp as my first razor. I was just thinking this morning that most of this site is devoted to vintage blades rather than new. I think maybe customs come in second and new razors third in terms of attention.
So many things have improved over time technologically speaking and I am asking I guess, in a long winded way, are any of the new steels superior to what can be picked up as vintage? Cost is a factor, the fascinating history of the straight razor, but why else is forum weighted towards vintage and custom? Myself, I don't think I will ever buy a newly made razor and I'm not in a position to buy a custom.