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Changing Focus

Maybe it's a sign of a short attention span. When I started straight razor shaving, I bought a new contemporary razor from Ralf Aust. It was a struggle as the advertised "shave ready" edge was just wishful thinking. I bought a couple of old Puma razors on Ebay - another learning experience.

My knife sharpening experience meant I had stones and sharpening experience, but razor honing required new skills and finer stones. I worked it out and soon had truly shave ready edges on the Pumas and the Ralf Aust. My focus then was on older razors from Solingen makers like Friedrich Ern and companies like Boker and J. A. Henckels.

Then I went after old American makers - Monkhouse and other makers of 50 to 100 years ago from New York. I picked up a couple of Sheffields along the way. This gave me a chance to try different razors made in different steels and styles. Then I recently shifted to Japanese razors and I haven't had a bad one yet.

Now I've come full circle and my interest is in contemporary makers again - especially custom makers. I think it started when I bought an S. K. Colling made by Steve in Queensland. Then I found a Rigarazor from Latvia on BST. A couple of days ago I received a custom Ale razor made by Alejandro Balbis in Montreal. Yesterday, Ulrik Beyer shipped a custom Koraat 14 2.0 from Austria I ordered a couple of months ago - it was completed well ahead of schedule and I hope to have it in hand soon.

This morning I commissioned a custom from Roman Kamlash in Ukraine that expect will be completed in about a month. I'm on a waiting list for River razors in France, Boris told me to expect about an 11 month wait. Who knows what I'll be chasing 11 months from now.

What's your story? Have you stuck to one type or maker or have you have similar shifts in this hobby?
 
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It's not a short attention span IMHO. It's just expanding your interest in the hobby, because for guys like us on the forum, this is a hobby. If it was just about shaving, we wouldn't be here sharing all of the minutiae of SE shaving.

I guess I'm only at this for about 7 or 8 months now and I've been all vintage so far. I have 9 razors now, but I can't say I've concentrated on any in particular. Seven are German, one is a maddening British razor that I can't get right, and my latest is Japanese, and it's a real beauty. There might be more of them in my future. As far as blades go, I like 7/8 or 13/16. I have one full wedge and it's a great shaver and sharpens nicely. Very quiet too! I'd love to collect a few more, but most of them seem to be in bad shape, so I'm pretty careful.

I think I'd like to get into hand made boutique razors. A guy named Max Spreicher has some gorgeous razors that are more like fine pieces of jewelry than a working razor. But they are certainly pricey as you would expect, so there won't ever be to many in my collection! He restored a razor for me and it looks beautiful. I'll have to check out the guys you mentioned as well.

As far as new, I don't see myself going there. To many antiques for far better prices, and I can even get them shave ready!

But IMO, it's a hobby, so any direction you go is cool.😊

(Wow, these ads popping up as you type are freaking obnoxious as heck!!!)😡
 
It’s the experience of trying different makers. I have at least a couple from each maker you listed. All are very good but I really do like the Roman razors as far as customs go. Yurii is also on the top tier razor list.

Some of the 8/8 razor from Werner Breidenbach are outstanding.

I just started with Filarmonica razors and, well ya know :)
 
Everyone does hobbies a little differently; you just have to follow where your bliss leads.

For me it has led to favoring, and loading up on, Iwasaki and Heljestrand, plus a few Bergs, because of the way they feel when shaving. I enjoy having some other razors in the toolbox, for variety. I guess I'm, by nature, more likely to fixate on a few makers than to want one or two of everything. But first I had to find out which makers.
 
It's not a short attention span IMHO. It's just expanding your interest in the hobby, because for guys like us on the forum, this is a hobby. If it was just about shaving, we wouldn't be here sharing all of the minutiae of SE shaving.

I guess I'm only at this for about 7 or 8 months now and I've been all vintage so far. I have 9 razors now, but I can't say I've concentrated on any in particular. Seven are German, one is a maddening British razor that I can't get right, and my latest is Japanese, and it's a real beauty. There might be more of them in my future. As far as blades go, I like 7/8 or 13/16. I have one full wedge and it's a great shaver and sharpens nicely. Very quiet too! I'd love to collect a few more, but most of them seem to be in bad shape, so I'm pretty careful.

I think I'd like to get into hand made boutique razors. A guy named Max Spreicher has some gorgeous razors that are more like fine pieces of jewelry than a working razor. But they are certainly pricey as you would expect, so there won't ever be to many in my collection! He restored a razor for me and it looks beautiful. I'll have to check out the guys you mentioned as well.

As far as new, I don't see myself going there. To many antiques for far better prices, and I can even get them shave ready!

But IMO, it's a hobby, so any direction you go is cool.😊

(Wow, these ads popping up as you type are freaking obnoxious as heck!!!)😡
Max Sprecher puts out some beautiful stuff. It's the premium price though that gives me pause. You'll have to search Facbook or Instagram to find some of the one-man custom makers.
 
It can take a while to find what you like, and sometimes what you like changes too. I took a shine to Swedish razors early on, have had several, still have a few favorites. I have a Koraat and a Rigarazor, probably won't part with them but probably don't need multiples either. Had a couple Filis, kept one. Over the past year I got turned on to Japanese razors and got a bunch, even with those I've really dialed in my preferences so a few of those moved on as well. Who knows what it will be this time next year. And I have a sizable handful of very user grade razors that aren't worth selling but still strike my fancy from one day to the next. Those are nice for honing experiments, rescale projects, or just a change of pace. Nowadays it's more about something that captures my interest that's not too similar to what I already have or have had. Those are getting fewer and farther between. But I'm also a sucker for a good deal.
 
Max Sprecher puts out some beautiful stuff. It's the premium price though that gives me pause. You'll have to search Facbook or Instagram to find some of the one-man custom makers.

Yeah, having one of his would be something really special. I certainly won't buy one until I really nail down my honing skills. I'd really, really hate to ruin one those masterpieces!🫣
 
My story is simple I have admiration for anyone who has the skill to use a Straight, personally never when I was young even thought of trying to Master a Straight. Now I am old, have lost a lot of use of hands, including strength, and dexterity. So now going to even think about trying a Straight.

Have had Straight Shave several times in life by a Licensed Barber, every time I was thinking hope they don’t cue my throat, and I bleed to death.
 
I started my journey about 4 years ago and discovered and developed a preference for quarter hollow/near wedge razors after about 6 months. Some of my favorites are pre-McKinley Tariff Wade & Butcher near wedges, Japanese western style, Filarmonica and C.V. Heljestrand. For American razors, Case and Union Cutlery are good.
 
I came to Razors as a knife collector chasing sharp knife edge. In the early 70’s I bought my first razor from my Barber, he ordered a new razor, a Bodin’s Blue 5/8th, strop and 6-inch translucent stone. I shave with that one razor and stone for about 10 years. In the early 80’s my bride and I were shopping for furniture, Antique furniture was all the rage.

In an Antique Store I saw a case full of vintage and NOS razors for $2-5 and started collecting. I bought the Ducks, Ivory Sheffield’s, a couple dozen or so.

In the mid 90’s I found the internet and shaving forums and started collecting razors and stones. It was not long after, I began Pro honing and restoration.

Pro Honing, I honed all the razors from all the makers, vintage and custom and test shave them all. I honed prototype custom maker razors and consulted for a large distributor who was going to put out a high-end line of new razors from modern hard steels from custom knife makers. And honed for a nationwide distributor’s 3 So. California stores, tons of new Dovo’s and TI’s.

I collected most of the vintage razors from all over the world and still deal in Knives and Antique tools, with lots of contact with pickers who find unique razors or razors I am looking for. I still haunt Antique Stores, and Flea Markets, and occasionally buy online.

So, I have gone through the cycles, the Ducks, the large American makers, (mostly the “Little Valley”), Old Sheffield’s, Swedes, Filarmonica, Japanese, Spanish and German and most recently Fritz Bracht, 3-pin, post war Dovo’s, they shave as well as good Japanese and Filarmonica and any custom maker. I also may go for a style, (almost all square point) or particular maker and collect several before moving on to something different. Often rummage through the collection and resurrect a razor or two and shave with for a while.

I own several hundred razors, (probably more) and have a “rotation” 3 drawer Lucite box with shave ready razors stacked belly to belly on end, 60 or so, that I pick a razor from, (hundreds more restored, honed shave ready, and carefully stored) and may shave with one for a couple days or weeks. And have shaved or test shaved thousands, there were times when I test shaved 6-8 razors per shave, sometimes twice a day. Morning and night.

I really can’t say that one single razor maker is better than another, a lot depends on how well each particular razor was ground/heat treated and how it was honed and stropped. There are some maker that are more consistent in producing good quality shaving razors.

Of the razors that stand out one was a D. Peres, French grind. a customer razor that I hone every few months for years, a 8/8th Filarmonica, that I regret selling, and a couple Japanese, that I still enjoy and a couple Fritz Bracht Dovo’s that are go to razors and right now I am still infatuated with. I have a few other Bratch razors that shaved well, but not to the same iconic level.

Still looking for a D. Peres like that one, bought a few same grind, shave well, but without the magic…
 
Never had any sort of a collector’s focus.
Early on I gravitated toward a few different styles of blades but not 100% exclusively.
Wound up trying too much of everything and then owning a ridiculous number of them.
So I started purging.
Many have come and gone and there are still some more to go.
Once peak shave quality was achieved, fomo and the greener grass syndrome left the building.
 
I've a couple dozen razors... mostly whatever I can find for dirt cheap on the bay with a salvageable blade. I do favor vintage razors, and an assortment from different countries. I have a few Sheffields, Solingens, and American razors. I also have a Engstrom Swedish razor, and a random little known French razor. I do want a Fil to represent Spain, and I would like to try Japanese razors... at least one modern and one actual vintage Kamisori.

But that's me, everyone is different. I've toyed around with ordering a new production razor. I've nearly pulled the trigger on a Thiers a few times, but can never get up the gumption to spend that kind of money. Funny as it sounds, I would rather spend $350-$450 on a custom order razor from an individual maker than $200 on a production razor. Still having a hard time dropping that kind of money. For that money + $100 more, I could look around (not even looking all that hard) and find a working condition Colt Official Police or S&W Hand Ejector (pre model 10). The vintage revolver will win out every time.
 
I've a couple dozen razors... mostly whatever I can find for dirt cheap on the bay with a salvageable blade. I do favor vintage razors, and an assortment from different countries. I have a few Sheffields, Solingens, and American razors. I also have a Engstrom Swedish razor, and a random little known French razor. I do want a Fil to represent Spain, and I would like to try Japanese razors... at least one modern and one actual vintage Kamisori.

But that's me, everyone is different. I've toyed around with ordering a new production razor. I've nearly pulled the trigger on a Thiers a few times, but can never get up the gumption to spend that kind of money. Funny as it sounds, I would rather spend $350-$450 on a custom order razor from an individual maker than $200 on a production razor. Still having a hard time dropping that kind of money. For that money + $100 more, I could look around (not even looking all that hard) and find a working condition Colt Official Police or S&W Hand Ejector (pre model 10). The vintage revolver will win out every time.
Yeah, I hear you. I would much rather spend my money on an individual maker than a shop cranking out razors for mass distribution. As far as a new gun versus a razor, my thinking is this. I have the guns I want and always could use another - as my friend Jim told me, if you believe two is better than one, then three must be better than two. However, I also look at this fact - how often do I go out and enjoy shooting? I shave every day - either my head or face. So, at the end of the day, I can derive much more pleasure from a razor I enjoy. Just my perspective.
 
Learning to use a straight razor was a Covid period challenge that grew legs. Over the past few years I’ve tried all of the razors, stones, soaps and brushes that I’ve heard of on B&B and could get my hands on. By nature I’m more of a minimalist but this stuff doesn’t take up much space.

My conclusion is that skill, edge quality and lather trump everything else. I tend to stick with one set up for weeks at a time. I get used to the feel of any razor pretty quickly. That actual razor and brush are not very important to me now. I don’t notice them much anymore. While shaving I’m very tuned into the feel of the shave, the state of the edge and the quality of the lather. Everything else kind of melts away.

I’ve developed my favorites but occasionally enjoy rediscovering parts of my collection that I haven’t used for a while. My acquisitions have slowed but I can’t see any big purge on the horizon. It took too long time to find the stuff I have. I’m happy to sit in it. It’s been fun figuring it all out and I get a lot of enjoyment out of my flow state morning routine.
 
I picked up a few customs, but I have come full circle for what brings me joy. I enjoy 6/8+ Vintage Solingen and old Sheffield razors. I am choosy but I they have some out there that are worth the effort to restore. I am at the point that I know what makes me happy, at least for now. 😂
 
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