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At What Point Does Too Much actually become Too Much?

Gentlemen
I've been looking at some of the new razors and I've got to scratch my head in wonderment at some of the prices I'm encountering.
Now before I go any further, let me say that in the past, I have spent a lot of money on individual razors. But they were older Gillettes, Apollos, Leresche, Gibbs etc. They had rarity and to me, gravitas. I had a Tulip handled Gillette in the French Ivory case which was over 100 years old in wonderful condition. At one point I had over 250 razors. I sold them off on eBay, here and on other various shaving sites.
I'm now down to 30 razors, some more expensive than others. My Tatara Masamune OC is probably my most expensive razor with a few ATTs, Charcoal Goods and Timeless in there as well. The razor I have that's worth the most is my Tradere 00010.
My main direction to this thread is considering how sharp todays blades are and how much better razor manufacturing is where do you draw the line at expense?
I understand there will always be those who have to have the best (in this case most expensive). But are they the best? That is what becomes so personal. I recently purchased a Henson AL, it has turned out to be an amazing razor even though I generally don't care for aluminum. I'm seriously considering their Ti version as it's not priced too terribly.
But I get terrific shaves from my Karves, my Jagger 89, my Futur, a couple of my old Gillette News etc. All much less expensive than some of the high end razors I see. So I have found out for myself that it doesn't matter how much a razor costs but rather how effective is my technique.
I generally get very smooth shave by going WTG, ATG with a bit of touch up and buffing.
My Razorocks, Rockwells and Yates all give me excellent shaves at a decent price point. They are ALL "lifetime" razors. So why would anyone spend $600 on an H&S copper razor? Or their Ti razors. Hell, Feather has SS razors that cost damn near $700 Cdn. Seriously, these razors aren't going to do a single pass shave for anyone. So what are you spending all that extra money on? Less irritation? Smoothness? What? They're made out of "Unobtainium"? There's lots of razors that shave without irritation etc that don't even cost $100.
Now I can afford to buy these razors but for what? Telling someone I have expensive razors? No one really cares.
I also get that a lot of people want to try the newest and supposedly greatest. Ok, but I also see a lot of guys selling this stuff on B&B, eBay etc.
So my question to you guys is "Where do you draw the line"?
 
In my case I was never a collector.
I got my first DE razor as a present ,
shortly after to buy another.
Sold them both for the third in the row .And so on .Always in the search for
the one that suits me most .
After buying and selling about 20
different razors ,finally I got the
“one” in my hands . My ASD syndrome
won’t allow me to even rotate between two different razors .I just need a
single one .
I feel quite lucky to have found it.
So ,the line is drawn ,for good.
 
In my case I was never a collector.
I got my first DE razor as a present ,
shortly after to buy another.
Sold them both for the third in the row .And so on .Always in the search for
the one that suits me most .
After buying and selling about 20
different razors ,finally I got the
“one” in my hands . My ASD syndrome
won’t allow me to even rotate between two different razors .I just need a
single one .
I feel quite lucky to have found it.
So ,the line is drawn ,for good.
Excellent. Which razor is your actual "lifetime" razor now?
 
You ask a great question. I imagine it's a question some can't or won't answer. For me, it became an "issue" when I realized I had two of the same razors and couldn't remember purchasing either of them. My vintage razors will stay because I just like having them and using them occasionally. I have razors manufactured the same year my father was born and others from the year I was born; those aren't going anywhere. While some of the modern razors are really nice and capable of close comfortable shaves, I could certainly live without any of them; I did so for fifty years already. Yeah, it's time to close the shopping carts for me.
 
A great question. And one that will be answered differently for each of us, but a question to be answered by each of us. For me, too much was when I found I wasn't enjoying the shave in the moment as much as I used to, because I was thinking about what to use tomorrow. Then the same thing would happen tomorrow. I found, for myself, that if I had too much stuff, I was worrying about when would I use it all. So I started paring down, keeping only what worked best, and getting rid of anything that wasn't best. For me, that ended up being 3 razors and 3 soaps.

And so it stayed for 18 months. Now I am exploring SE razors. I will pare down again if my headspace gets too cluttered to enjoy the shave instead of worrying about using all the stuff enough.
 
Speaking only for myself I guess I draw the line when I feel I've found something that works. At that point I'm done. I don't have any desire to collect, accumulate or buy & sell on the used market (which just seems like a huge pain in the backside to me). I don't own more than one razor for the same reason I don't own more than one dishwasher, for instance, because the dishwasher I have is all I need and it does a great job. For me, it's just that easy. But, as I said, that's me.
 

Tirvine

ancient grey sweatophile
Well, for me the ATT Windsor was, in retrospect, a good place to draw the line. If it had not turned out as it did, I might rethink that, but it did. It delivers everything I ever wanted out of a razor and is noticeably better performing than some other very nice razors I have tried. It also looks pretty snazzy.
 
Speaking only for myself I guess I draw the line when I feel I've found something that works. At that point I'm done. I don't have any desire to collect, accumulate or buy & sell on the used market (which just seems like a huge pain in the backside to me). I don't own more than one razor for the same reason I don't own more than one dishwasher, for instance, because the dishwasher I have is all I need and it does a great job. For me, it's just that easy. But, as I said, that's me.
That, my friend, is perfect! And it is what I want to get to at some point, although I may be one of each type of razor!

Edit: type being DE, GEM, Injector, AC. Not 1 of every brand or style!
 
My interest in razors (especialy in DE and GEM style ones) isn't as high as it used to be after trying over 30 different razor in the past few years. I was trying to find the special and magical razor that can give me BBS every time with ease and in the process i've found quite a few razors that can do that, but in a slightly different way and I just don't think that any other razor is going to impress me with anything that no other razor in my collection isn't already capable of doing.

Maybe some razors shave more comfortable and are easy to use and so on, but the end result wouldn't be that different from the razors that I already have. I'm going to try at least one SE razor that works with AC blades to see what's the big deal all about and pretty much be done with it. That doesn't mean that I won't be reading about new razors, blades and other stuff on the forum, but I just don't have the same passion like I used to have a couple of months ago. I might spend some time learning how to hone my straights and start using them more often and even buy a few good stones.
 
As some of you may already know, I got into DE/SE shaving a little late in life. When I did, I jumped into the deep end of the pool with credit card in hand. I bought a lot of gear and was really enjoying myself... until I wasn't. There were times when I looked at all I had accumulated and was actually angry with myself. No bill ever went unpaid and nobody missed a meal, but I had purchased a lot of unnecessary stuff simply because it was available. I finally moved beyond that. The year 2021 has been good for me in that regard. I haven't purchased any new gear and I've actually sold some stuff. I guess you can say I'm operating in a shaving gear deficit for the year. Whatever it's called, it feels good.

As I work through my rotation, I use the same razor/blade combo for a full week and I've recently started a trial in an effort to clear out some razors. If after a week of using the razor I don't feel like I would enjoy using that same razor for a full month or longer, the razor goes into the "to go" box. Before I actually sell or trade the razor, I will use it for another week just to give it a chance to redeem itself because I have no desire to feel seller's remorse. Hey, it's a plan but plans can change. Now, what am I going to do about the soaps and brushes? :)
 

Tirvine

ancient grey sweatophile
That, my friend, is perfect! And it is what I want to get to at some point, although I may be one of each type of razor!

Edit: type being DE, GEM, Injector, AC. Not 1 of every brand or style!
I looked it up in the Acronyms and Abbreviations, but it was not listed. What is GEM?
 

thombrogan

Lounging On The Isle Of Tugsley.
What is GEM?

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Thanks. I use those to scrape things other than my face, like paint. Seriously, many thanks.
Yeah, I didn't relish the idea either, until a friend lent me his Blackland Sabre, and the GEM blades for faces instead of for decks!
Liked it so much I bought one. The classic GEMS, not so much.
 
This is a great question and an interesting thread. Up until Fall of 2019, I had been using a Merkur 34C for about 7 years. But, once I was bitten by the DE bug, I got a Viking Cheiftan, a Merkur Futur, a Fatboy, a Fatip Piccolo, a Slim, 3 Gamechangers, a Muhle Rocca...., searching for THE razor. I then wanted a Homelike Shaving Taiga, but the wait was unbearable. So, instead I jumped on the Wolfman list and got a Rex Ambassador for my birthday, last fall. Well, to my great surprise, the Rex just clicked with me. The fit and finish (of mine at least) is superb and the shave is consistently smooth and close. I love it so much I picked up a Pearl Flexi to use as a travel razor, which shaves just as good for me! Then the WR2 came. Of course, the fit and finish is outstanding. But the shave....not nearly as consistently good. I could get back on the list, order a larger gap and a hallow handle (to improve efficiency and balance) but I really don’t want to. I could also try the new Tatara adjustable or the Taiga when it is available again, or even the Rocnel Sailor, but I don’t see the point, for me. I am content with using the Rex 90% of the time, and once in a while a vintage Gillette adjustable or my Ascension Twist Adjustable Double Open Comb. I’ve given all the rest away and will be selling the WR2.
 
I am in the same boat as MaineYooper. I am happy with my Rockwell 6S, I possess a Razorock Hawk V2 as of late. I might purchase a hybrid in the future, e.g. Focus Dynamic, but I have no intention or funds to collect any kind of razor.
For me, the reason for all of my purchases has been either (a) my current DE broke down or (b) to gather experience, as was for my only shavette and as it is for my only SE. Typically (a) though. I have made good experiences with the Rockwell and their customer service for the past 2 months since purchase, I really hope case (a) will not apply. But to truly claim that it was worth the money I would need to wait for at least 8 years and then comment. Here's hoping.
 
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