Thread: Restoring for Friends

So i have been playing with straights for a while now both shaving and restoring and just in the last month or so i have started lending a few out to friends to have a go or to try a new/different razor.

turns out they have been telling their friends as well, which is great more people get to enjoy wet shaving.

but i have now had a few requests from friends (and friends of friends) to get them a restored razor or sell them a razor or restore "this one, that some antique shop in woop woop has"

i guess i am not sure how far i want to go with it, i enjoy doing it for me and being able to look at before and after shots. i don't know if i want to work for others for a hobby, but i don't want to say no to people.
i also have no idea what i would charge!

anyone else run into this?

thoughts?
questons?
comments?

You can put a lot of time in a razor very easily and not make any money.

Have them become an SRP member and shop the classifieds.

Do your restores for fun.

Some of my razors have way too much time in them to sell. Especially the ones I give away, they usually are nicer than the ones I keep.

how about bringing them in and giving them a taste of actually trying it for them self , keeps you from saying no and yet helps preserve the hobby and its history as well as doing a restore and if you sell make it cover your cost so you are still able to buy more restore things .....

i will admit that the first month i got into this i could care less who made the razor , where it came from , or what time frame !! but as i grew into this community and dabbled into restoration (light) , and seeing others post and trying it myself is when i really started enjoying it , the people in it , had more appreciation for the guys doing restore work ,everything about it , instead of the "Bada--" , cool guy factor i first felt !! i know if i had a neighbor or friend near by like you i would have been so much more involved from the start

by bringing more people in it may enlighten them to so much more ! and probably no better way then hands on experience ! on second thought though scratch that idea cause i dont want any competition buying razors .. ( kidding of course )

This is a slippery slop, it starts out as fun, and turns into a monster if you are not careful. Working for other people can be somewhat demanding and time consuming. One person sends a couple of razors, and then another and another....And before you know it you're stressed, and it's out of control. My advise would be only take on small jobs and don't stretch yourself. It should be fun.

Rememeber, it's a hobby and fun.

Big Greg

i would help them find something useable, andf or point them to someone who does this for a living.

I have done a couple sets of scales for people I know and another as part of a trade. I think that I am not that interested in doing it as a side gig, in part because I do not have time, and in part because have a stack of my own projects to work on. There is also a bunch of guys that do do it for a living who have shared how to get it done well and helped me learn what I know to be able to do restores, and I sort of feel like I would be taking business away from them by starting restores as a side line. I think I have pointed people to the restorers almost every time as well as the stickies. We all have our own paths to walk though, mine is already busy enough.

I would just say no. Its a hobby for most of us, not a job. Point them to the pros or our classifieds.

I made some combs from horn with Mother of Pearl embedded for my grandchildren as stocking fillers on Christmas day - it turned out that they were the most talked about presents - not just by the children but all the women who were at dinner as well. I now have to make another three - they take about a day each what with all the sanding and fitting, and I suspect that once they are made, there will be further requests.

So, I'm in a similar situation to the OP and not sure how to get out of it.

Originally Posted by UKRob

I made some combs from horn with Mother of Pearl embedded for my grandchildren as stocking fillers on Christmas day - it turned out that they were the most talked about presents - not just by the children but all the women who were at dinner as well. I now have to make another three - they take about a day each what with all the sanding and fitting, and I suspect that once they are made, there will be further requests.

So, I'm in a similar situation to the OP and not sure how to get out of it.

Just tell them exactly that. I am sure that they would understand that you can't give up half a weekend per person. If they don't understand it isn't you being unreasonable in saying no.

Great to here you are getting the message out there,
I have only sold 1 and gave the choice of str8s in various conditions I had and then material options for new scale options etc

the rest was my design etc I sold for cost plus a bit for time spent, but was upfront on my total cost
Eg 2 hours to clean and hone steel, about 4 hours odd for the scales wedge & pinning.

As for selling any others I have kept track of all my costs and time spent on each razor I have,
So I know what it cost to buy and the restore cost,
Some are just to many hours to want to sell as I know I would loose on time but I also know other lads with all the right gear and the skill to use it would get the same work done in a fraction of time, as long as my costs are covered no loss only time,
so maybe offer a blade you have done at your leisure that does not keep your fancy,
cover your costs and go from there,
rather than being sent items with someone else's expectations or time frame.
This way you have no pressure and it remains a hobby to do in your time, not a business as such
Cheers D