Thread: Is this simply foolish novice optimism?

Greetings and hello.

Well, I guess I've got the bug as it were. I'm going to try and keep this brief. I work a part time job which leaves me with a lot of spare time. I've recently come to really enjoy straight razors and the art that follows them. Moreover, I've always had a fascination with blades which likely lead me here in the first place. That said, I've noticed here and there a number of respectable vintage blades going for reasonable prices that are about 10 hours of hard work away from being real gems. To be very to-the-point, I'm wondering what the reality is of doing this sort of thing profitably. I realize there is a lot of learning as regards choosing a worthy restoration project, and there's a lot more to it, but are there people out there making a modest but survivable living at this sort of work? It seems like something I might really enjoy.

The second part of this question is that I would prefer to work by hand. I spent 20 hours over the last two days working on a real gem of a blade I fell in love with at the antique store. Like a complete idiot, I went on what I had seen in videos and took the blade to my bench grinder to finish buffing it out as the final step. The rest goes without saying as all that hard work was ripped from my hand and thrown straight into the grinding wheel never to shave again...

I thank you for your time and consideration,
- Chaz

I believe this happens to most everyone who works with a bench grinder at some point. I personally don't have one, but that's not by choice.

As to your first question. We recently had a very similar topic. Here's the link..

Originally Posted by Maximilian

As to your first question. We recently had a very similar topic. Here's the link..

Boy, that's almost word-for-word. Thanks for that. That also makes it very clear that this may not be a full-time job for anyone.

As it sits, I'm making enough at my current job but have a lot of spare time. I was thinking I could buy quality but tarnished blades of off eBay and turn them around for $40-100 shave-ready depending on the quality of the blade. It wouldn't work out to much per hour, but I had hoped it could pull out a couple hundred a week and help pay off the tools I need to maintain my own blade.

But maybe that's ridiculous? I guess I forget what a niche pleasure straight-razor shaving is.
- Chaz

Restoring is truely a labour of love. Do it because you like to. Dont do it to make a profit.

I'll give you a A+ for your enthusiasm toward making money in your spare time.
As far as restoring razors to reach that goal(making money), not so high a grade.
Even if you can turn out a good product, you will probably "overprice" yourself right out of the market; for two reasons-
1. Your objective is clearly profit.
2. Your products will compete with "Masters' in this art of straight razor restoration that have spent a lot more time evaluating that cost/time ratio.

Everyone that I have seen refurbish or polish a razor, seems to do it for the love of the art. I don't believe that any one of them feeds their families with their work. Your product will reflect your feelings about the art.

IMO, there are more "profitable" endeavors to do with your time.

Originally Posted by Hirlau

I'll give you a A+ for your enthusiasm toward making money in your spare time.
As far as restoring razors to reach that goal(making money), not so high a grade.
Even if you can turn out a good product, you will probably "overprice" yourself right out of the market; for two reasons-
1. Your objective is clearly profit.
2. Your products will compete with "Masters' in this art of straight razor restoration that have spent a lot more time evaluating that cost/time ratio.

Everyone that I have seen refurbish or polish a razor, seems to do it for the love of the art. I don't believe that any one of them feeds their families with their work. Your product will reflect your feelings about the art.

IMO, there are more "profitable" endeavors to do with your time.

Fair enough. I take it I came off rather wrong in the first post. I should express that I'm not merely interested in making a profit, I simply discovered that I really enjoyed this first razor and would like to continue restoring blades (sans what happened at the end). I cannot, however, justify starting a collection of razors and would need to turn them back around for a reasonable price which I had hoped would exceed the original purchase price to help fund and maintain the necessary supplies and perhaps a little on top as well. As I've said, I'm already making enough at my job, but a little extra helps justify the obsession to my wife

Thanks for all of the feedback so far!
- Chaz

If you can turn a few bucks for doing something you enjoy then more power to you, but unless you're top teir you won't make a living restoring anything, that's just the nature of the market. Doing it for fun and making a couple bucks on the side to help offset costs doesn't sound impossible, though.

Originally Posted by MickRussell

If you can turn a few bucks for doing something you enjoy then more power to you, but unless you're top teir you won't make a living restoring anything, that's just the nature of the market. Doing it for fun and making a couple bucks on the side to help offset costs doesn't sound impossible, though.

Thank you, that's what I was trying to ask. I'm watching a couple of lots on eBay that look like they could really come out nice with some TLC, but I simply can't keep them all and I can't afford to throw that money away either.

- Chaz

The trick is you're going to need to clean them up such that people are willing to pay more than they cost you. This isn't an infinitely large market and you'll be working for practically nothing, so be sure you really do love the process and the profits are incidental or you'll get sick of it REAL fast. Also, don't expect to put much mark-up on your work. A LOT of people are working on tight budgets for their hobbies and just won't pay the ridiculous numbers I see half polished Wade & Butcher items come up for on fleaBay.