Thread: Restoration Strategy and Ownership Philosophy

Originally Posted by Jimbo

If it performs how it should in terms of shaving safely and being able to be honed etc, I never touch mine. Well, never is not quite true - hardly ever is probably more accurate. I've given it a go once or twice, but to be honest with you I never thought the effort was worth the return for razors I intend to use solely for myself unless, as I said, it is to make them safe for personal use (which I should point out may differ dramatically from "safe for public use").

If you are a vendor making money off restores (whether of other people's or ebay specials) then it makes a lot of sense to make them as presentable (and useable) as possible to attract potential buyers or to conform to the wishes of the client etc. You see a lot of those here in the workshop, either from the restorer themselves or from the happy customer. They have the added purpose/benefit of rousing people on to greater heights in their own personal restoration projects, which in turn can bring more professional restorers into the fold over the long run as the amateurs step up to the professional plate.

Why do I mention this? Well, being the lazy sob that I am, and also being rather parsimonious, I am waiting until there are so many restoration providers out there that I can get 20 razors restored for under 100 bucks!! lol

As far as ownership goes, I like the idea of the "on loan" thing, but I paid money for each and every razor I have, so by law I own them, philosophy be damned! If I want to soak them overnight in a pot of acid I will. Not that I would of course, I'm just saying I could if I wanted to. I keep all my razors in the same condition they were in when I bought them but I don't do it for the future generations, I do it so I don't have a cupboard full of rusty razors that I then have to go restore!! Selfish? Probably. But in the end the outcome is the same as the more altruistic approach - razors in good condition to hand down to future generations from my cold, dead hands.

James.

Great alternate perspetive James - I enjoyed reading it.