Thread: Razor rotation?? How many? What types??

Originally Posted by edhewitt

For 2 weeks out of 3 I have one razor available to me. On the other week I have a choice of 3 but usually use the same two.

Ed, I had no idea you were such a minimalist. I feel guilty now for taking the Platypus razor home from WA

I keep about 20 in a rotation that does vary depending on several factors usually related to travel.

Like some, I pick the soap and brush the afternoon before and strop up the next razor. All is ready to go for the 7am shave.

Originally Posted by Maladroit

Ed, I had no idea you were such a minimalist. I feel guilty now for taking the Platypus razor home from WA

Its all good, despite having quite a selection of creams and a soap cauldron (mess of left over bits of soap all in one bowl) for two weeks out of three i pretty much only use omega.
at home I have about 4 soaps but mainly use omega there too and occasionally MDC
and I only have one strop to use at work and one for home.

Pretty much just typing to hear my own voice here, but:

I have my first 2 secured, and a third one on the way. I figure I'll pick my favorite of the three, then send the other 2 to someone on here to hone. From what I can tell this comparing and contrasting is the best way to learn; that and I'm a collector by nature. Anyone else collect pennies? I digress...

As indicated in another thread, I have less razors than suits in rotation... and don't even get me started on shirts or ties.

All my straight razors are antique, from several countries (Belgium, France, UK, Germany, Sweden, Japan, Russia). I could already make a "7 nations weekly set" or two. I could also definitely shave every day with a different razor for more than a whole month, but I tend to pick old Sheffield razors most of the time. I'd even say that 4 razors (2 W&B, one B Winks and the celebrated fine india steel razor) see most of the action.

Originally Posted by edhewitt

Its all good, despite having quite a selection of creams and a soap cauldron (mess of left over bits of soap all in one bowl) for two weeks out of three i pretty much only use omega.
at home I have about 4 soaps but mainly use omega there too and occasionally MDC
and I only have one strop to use at work and one for home.

I am equally a cheapskate I have the same tub of crude. But I never dip into it, I just add then leave uncovered so it all condenses. Thank-you for letting me know I am not alone in the madness,

I have 10 now, with 7 in what I planned as a rotation. But some days, like today, when I open my storage box, one calls my name. When that happens I go with it, because, well, why not?!?

I used to have a rotation. Now I have an infestation.

In fact I guess I do have a rotation - there's about 10 razors out in my bathroom at any one time. The rest are in storage boxes in the storage room. However, I've found that over time I rotate less and fixate more. So for example the one I am shaving with at the moment is the one I've been using every day (more or less) for several months now.

In terms of how I group them, I'm a basic fellow really and only have 2 groupings: "can be shaved with" and "needs honing".

James.

I have 3 personal razors. I just pick one unless I have a newly finished razor that needs testing.

I shave with each new blade once before sending it to the customer, to verify that it is shaveready, and to feel how it handles.

I have a dozen, I use them all. At one point, I was a one razor and one spare guy (you never know when you're going to drop something or get it banged against a faucet - hopefully never, but I always kept a spare because of it).

I almost never hone a razor. When i was a one razor guy, I honed my one razor about once every 120-180 shaves due to using a real vintage linen and good smooth horse leather. Now that I've got a dozen razors, I haven't rehoned one since their initial.

I started out with cheap razors, and now I have a pile of razors that were what I consider to be expensive, it's funny how that happens, and I plan to continue to shave with all of them. The only thing that will get me to trim down the pile will be if any of them actually corrode before I get to them again. I do a week at a time with them. Familiarity is nice, and if I had to go back to one razor, I could go to any one of them and sell the rest and be happy just because you can really go to town with a razor that you're familiar with.