Thread: How Many Razors have you Ruined?

What fun:

1. How many razors total have you owned? 11. Gave away two, swapped one, one is wrecked. Currently have 7.

2. How many razors have you ruined/cracked/scratched/dinged/etc. during shaving? How were they ruined? See above (1) but I didn't wreck it, my brother did (cracked blade with too much buffing)

3. Do you still have your first straight razor? Yep, my lovely Burrell Top Flight. I was very lucky that as my first razor it was truly shave ready (off the 'net). I'd never sell it, it has a special place.

4. How long have you owned the straight razor that you owned longest? Please provide it's size, grind, and blade material. Two years. Full hollow, 5/8(see above)

5. How many inches would you expect me to remove from a razor if I used it daily during my lifetime? A whole 8th of an inch? A 16th of an inch? Pardon? Inches? Um, none. It's negligible.

If you're wondering if you need more than one razor, the answer is no and yes. NEED = no, Is beneficial = yes.
Unless you really really can't afford more than one razor, get another. It's arguable that years ago people only had one, possibly for their entire life or a good deal of it. Now, with the use of tape and very nice man-made hones, it's probably more possibly to have just one razor than 'in the olden days' when hone wear may have been more of an issue. Really, though, a once every six months hone on a high grit hone should cause minimal wear and metal loss.

Originally Posted by walleyeman

Remember. He who dies with the most toys wins!!!!

No, no, you should read Ecclesiastes.

I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my labor,
and this was the reward for all my toil.
Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun.

1. How many razors total have you owned?
Currently I have eight razors. Two more that I just bought and a kamisori, but they are not here yet, so eight

2. How many razors have you ruined/cracked/scratched/dinged/etc. during shaving? How were they ruined?
None so far, however I somewhat ruined my very first DOVO Bismarck by not giving it the care it would have deserved. I had it stowed away for around 15 years and when I picked it up again, a few months ago, it was badly rusty, brocolli even over the edge. Bad oil, cream or none at all... I don't know. Took me a lot of honing to reanimate her and doing that I cracked one of the scales. Now she's alive again but lost a lot of weight (most of us gain weight over the years, razors loose some) and has dark spots all over.

3. Do you still have your first straight razor?
Yes, I still have all of them

4. How long have you owned the straight razor that you owned longest? Please provide it's size, grind, and blade material.
can't tell for sure, must be at least 20 years. The first two where a DOVO Bismarck and a stainless steel DOVO both full hollow and 5(8

5. How many inches would you expect me to remove from a razor if I used it daily during my lifetime? A whole 8th of an inch? A 16th of an inch?
I shaved with the two DOVOs for around five years, then made a pause of 15 years (sometimes using the stainless, about once or twice a year) and now I'm back on the train since a few months.
Until this year they have never been resharpened. All they got over the years was stropping, and stropping on cr-ox every now and then. Still the stainless shaved at least as good as a new DOVO coming from the factory. I can't tell for the Bismarck due to corrosion.
I now honed both of them. The Bismarck lost a lot of weight due to corrosion and the mother of pearl (the stainless) also lost more than necessary as I had problems with the stones. Still it did not truely a noticable amount of metal.

I can't tell how much You actually loose over a lifetime. But if You don't hurt the edge and do a minor touch up every now and then, the basic honing (i.e. bevel setting), that costs most of the material, is only necessary once.

A few days ago there was a post, where someone cited a manufacturer's statement that said a razor's lifetime is around two to three generations.

Lifetime of a razor depends basicly on how often it is been used (rotation), how well it is been treated and how the shaving is (strong vs. soft beard, good prep vs. bad prep)

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Ruined the first few I honed,far to much pressor.

If I see it right, the DORKO was brand new. It even has the tag on the scales.
Was that "DIY - How to make a fine pruning saw from a simple straight razor"?

Originally Posted by DDTech

If I see it right, the DORKO was brand new. It even has the tag on the scales.
Was that "DIY - How to make a fine pruning saw from a simple straight razor"?

He thought "breadknifing" meant making it serrated.

Originally Posted by Tierdaen

He thought "breadknifing" meant making it serrated.

.... *evenly* serrated

1. How many razors total have you owned? In this very moment, 118

2. How many razors have you ruined/cracked/scratched/dinged/etc. during shaving? How were they ruined? Two. And it has been very hard to take. The two tragedies happened during restoration.

3. Do you still have your first straight razor? Of course I do!

4. How long have you owned the straight razor that you owned longest? Please provide it's size, grind, and blade material. I never sold a single piece of my collection. However, I bought my first straght razor (and I still have it) about ten years ago. It was a Dovo 101, 6/8 Full Hollow, Round Point.

5. How many inches would you expect me to remove from a razor if I used it daily during my lifetime? A whole 8th of an inch? A 16th of an inch? In my opinion, it is hard to tell. It depends on how you strop the razor, how you hone it, quality and grind of stones. However, it is quite hard, if not impossible, to remove an eight on inch in a lifetime. If you take good care of your razor, of course.

Thanks so much to all who answer You are welcome!

1. How many razors total have you owned?

Between 20 and 30.


2. How many razors have you ruined/cracked/scratched/dinged/etc. during shaving? How were they ruined?

3 or so that I dinged by either dropping the razor or hitting it on the faucet. 2 of the razors had a small nick that was easily honed out. One was a wedge and it was a real pain to get shave ready again.

3. Do you still have your first straight razor?

I sold my first straight razor many years ago, it was dovo silver steel in ebony scales.

4. How long have you owned the straight razor that you owned longest? Please provide it's size, grind, and blade material.

Given my fairly recent fascination with vintage razors, namely pumas, most of my razors have been in my possession for less than a year.

5. How many inches would you expect me to remove from a razor if I used it daily during my lifetime? A whole 8th of an inch? A 16th of an inch?

My first straight razors were new production dovo's that I kept for more than 8 years. I could not notice any razor width reduction and they were maintained regularly on a barber hone.