Wu-tang point huh? Is that because it ain't nothin to mess with?
I actually just put an identical point on a blade last weekend
I actually just put an identical point on a blade last weekend
The Goods! Straight Razor Hobbyist Gallery
- Thread starter Seraphim
- Start date
That file work looks like it was a pain to do...
I like it!
I like it!
I see that "stamps" on Ebay has jacked up the price of the Double Arrows. As of today they are $29.99 plus shipping. I wish I could find a place to get these at the older price. Anyone know where to find them??
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- Thread starter
- #124
Wow.
I wonder if he'll still get the buyers at that price point?
He was selling them at auction prices for a while. Now it looks as if he's set a new rate.
Same thing happened with the Wapis--started off cheap as dirt, then went up into the $20's...
Ah well, it was fun while it lasted!
I wonder if he'll still get the buyers at that price point?
He was selling them at auction prices for a while. Now it looks as if he's set a new rate.
Same thing happened with the Wapis--started off cheap as dirt, then went up into the $20's...
Ah well, it was fun while it lasted!
Whoa, I am definitely going to have to blast them now. They are NOT worth $30. $50 from Ken is reasonable because he corrects all the defects AND hones them. Plus he gives a hone warranty like me.
Ken Rup of Ruprazor.com is actually only $45 for the DA (DA's really being Gold Dollars, it turns out) and that includes shipping in US. So for $11 over the Ebay price ($29.95 plus $4 shipping) one gets an expert hone (much needed on these razors, but really on any razor from the factory), correction of all defects, a 3-month hone guarantee, and an application of tuff-glide.
And for another $15, one can now get from Ken a package with all of the above plus a Filly strop. $15 for that strop is an excellent deal, too.
Ken truly has an excellent beginners package going there. I cannot imagine why one would pay $33.95 on EBay, unhoned, when they can buy honed from Ken with him otherswise tweaking and standing behind the product.
No dis to Stamps at all by the way. I have purcahsed both DAs and Wapis from him and he has been great to deal with. I think what is really happening is really a supply and demand thing, with Stamps coming to the end of his supply, whereas as Ken R has put a lot of effort that just paid off in obtaining a solid ongoing source of these affordable straight razors.
I assume China has not slacked off in producing anything.
Perhaps Stamps has run into some financial difficulties, or the realization that he can make more money by selling them at a higher price.
Perhaps someone feeling a bit more magnanimous here on B&B will take up the mantle, supplying ten dollar razors to the masses.
Perhaps Stamps has run into some financial difficulties, or the realization that he can make more money by selling them at a higher price.
Perhaps someone feeling a bit more magnanimous here on B&B will take up the mantle, supplying ten dollar razors to the masses.
I have asked on B&B about the economics, the supply and demand, etc. I sure do not understand it. It has been said that the Chinese suppliers require rather large purchases. I suspect there is some concern about getting thousands of razors of quality less than the last round. The "DAs" are of somewhat controversial quality already around here, but would think sales should be good, if demand for entry level razors is good, as they have plenty of supporters, too.
I seriously doubt that there is a Chinese razor out there that is being sold to the public that is worth buying for $4.95. There are plenty of stories around cheap Chinese and Paki razors that are useless at best. They all probably look okay to the untrained eye. My impression is that it is rather difficult to manufacture a decent razor. I would think that the Chinese should able to do it.
I dunno, the DA's are worth 10-15 bucks, especially for modifying and playing with. Wouldn't pay 30 for them, that's for sure, unless shave ready.
Well, there must be a good reason no retailers, online or otherwise actually stock the DA. Other than Ken, who does restoration work. Thus, you can surmise from our experiences with the DAs that they require a lot of modification to become a "good/decent" razor. Worth $10 to go mess around with? **** yeah! Worth $30? No. Maybe in shave ready condition by an expert honemeister, but that is pushing it. IMHO.
Your paying more for the hone than the razor....
More for honing isn't a bad thing if the razor itself isn't more than 10 bucks.
There isn't enough of a market for it or more people would be buying 1000 DA's at a time. All it would take is one person (or group of people) to buy a case of the suckers and sell them at 15 bucks a pop BIN, and the market would change. But that's the thing, who wants to sit on 1000 of them?
- Thread starter
- #133
Yeah, who would be crazy enough to pull off a darn fool trick like that?
I dunno.
Anyway's I wouldn't want to even sit on ONE of them. Might not be shave ready from the factory, but still sharp!
Most guys won't even look at them due to price alone . There are several here on B&B . Oh , unless it's sharpened which is odd . Then they are ok razors .
Plain fact is you can take a Pakistani or Chinese copy , set a bevel , hone it and shave away .
cityjim
Not really. From what I hear, you really can't expect good results from anything but the DA (and even then only with extensive honing work).
All of those Pakistani blades are utter refuse. Steel so soft they don't take an edge, and if they do, it won't last through a shave.
Have you shaved with a DA CityJim? What other razors have you shaved with? I'm trying to get an idea of your general straight razor experience. How long have you been shaving with a straight razor? What Pakistani or Chinese copy have you either, honed or had honed and then shaved with? How long did the edge last before it needed to be touched up? What kind of stropping did you do? Did you use linen/cotton or some other cloth and was it pasted? If it was pasted what was it pasted with? What did you use for your leather component of the strop? Was it a hanging strop, paddle strop or something else? Did or do you use any type of abrasive material on your strop?
Answering these questions will help me, and other members to gauge your general level of knowledge about straight razors in general.
For example, If Seraphim, leighton, Fnord5 or Amborse (just to name a few) said that they had used a razor for Uganda and it was as good as anything that they had used and it only cost $4.95 I would purchase 5 razors right away. Why? Because these members have shared their experience with us, what razors they have used, what their favored razor is, how they hone, how they strop and how long they can maintain a razor's edge just by stropping it.
Answering these questions will help me, and other members to gauge your general level of knowledge about straight razors in general.
For example, If Seraphim, leighton, Fnord5 or Amborse (just to name a few) said that they had used a razor for Uganda and it was as good as anything that they had used and it only cost $4.95 I would purchase 5 razors right away. Why? Because these members have shared their experience with us, what razors they have used, what their favored razor is, how they hone, how they strop and how long they can maintain a razor's edge just by stropping it.
I appreciate you mentioning me in the company of those three(even if one has a penchant for tumbnotches that is borderline a sickness
)But you are talking to a brick wall with Mr. cityjim. He won't answer, post pics, or do anything other than say:::
To be honest though, I have never tried a Pakistani razor, and have avoided them only from the universal bad press they get. Not a one here or on SRP has anything good to say about them, whereas the DA, had at least a couple of people, Seraphim and RupRazor most importanly, speak well of them. (and by well, I mean they said they didn't suck after work was done to them)
I appreciate you mentioning me in the company of those three(even if one has a penchant for tumbnotches that is borderline a sickness
But you are talking to a brick wall with Mr. cityjim. He won't answer, post pics, or do anything other than say:::
To be honest though, I have never tried a Pakistani razor, and have avoided them only from the universal bad press they get. Not a one here or on SRP has anything good to say about them, whereas the DA, had at least a couple of people, Seraphim and RupRazor most importanly, speak well of them. (and by well, I mean they said they didn't suck after work was done to them)
Now that the gloves are off I'm also going to chime in in the most tactful way possible, rather than skirt around the issue.
cityjim, new straight users show up on B&B all the time, and they are always welcomed as long as they don't state opinion as fact. It's okay to be new! Unlike a lot of other forums on the internet, newbies on B&B can talk shop without worrying about getting hit with a bunch of smack talk because they made a mistake. No one faults them if they have an opinion -- even if it goes against the views of most of the users here, but it does get really annoying when they try to pass their opinion off as fact.
You would get a lot farther if you said that you think it may be possible to get an edge on a Zeepk, but that you are, as of yet, not certain due to lack of experience. When stating something that you have read but not done yourself, if it seems like it might be at all unusual, just say that is what you read other members have done.
Do you see where I'm going with this? We want to welcome you into the fold, but it gets really grating when you talk about using a rotary tumbler like you've got as much experience as Glen(gssixgun), you've worked on as many DA's as KenRup, Seraphim and Fnord (yeah buddy, you classify as a DA enthusiast
), and somehow you know as much about waterstones as the most experienced users here. Now let's get back to talking shop!
I haven't tried a Pakistani razor either, although I don't hold out much hope for them based on the reports I've seen. If they were only 5 bucks shipped I would have bought one by now, but I'm not shelling out 10-15 bucks on an unknown quantity.
I really wish I hadn't missed the DA boat, as i would have totally bought one for 10 bucks shipped, but by the time I got into straights they were nowhere to be found, or they would occasionally show up as 20 bucks shipped in an auction. I just couldn't justify that price tag knowing the amount of TLC you guys have had to put into getting a DA shave ready, as a vintage razor costs 20 bucks.
It's a shame. I think the manufacturer sold them in quantities of 100, there would easily have been enough interest to get together a group buy of the things.
I'll tell you what happens to an edge that isn't heat treated properly. If you put too much pressure on the edge while honing, it will fold over. You know those wire edges we talk about so much. Well, imagine that, but you can feel it with your finger and see it with the naked eye.
That is the results off a 220 stone. Yes it will eventually take an edge (if your patient and skilled enough). But good luck keeping that edge for more than half a shave. The steel is steel, it polishes nicely and very very quickly. But its not going to hold an edge for very long.
That is the results off a 220 stone. Yes it will eventually take an edge (if your patient and skilled enough). But good luck keeping that edge for more than half a shave. The steel is steel, it polishes nicely and very very quickly. But its not going to hold an edge for very long.
