Were big blades always a lot more expensive and why?

[BakerAndBadger]

OK, I was wondering, why are big (7/8, 8/8 and bigger) straights so much more expensive than their little(r) cousins?
I wouldn't have thought that a couple of mm extra steel and a little more time grinding & polishing would warrant such a difference in price.
Were big blades always as expensive new as they are now?
The reason I ask is that my 9/8 was in the same stable as a couple of 6/8 so was this the razor that was only taken out for special occasions or to impress the ladies?


Disclaimer - my 9/8 doesn't impress my missus, now if I incrusted diamonds into the tang & scales it might be a different kettle of fish ....

 

[Thomas Martin]

Excellent question. Nowadays it's probably a question of offer and demand. I see much more smaller blades (5/8 and 6/8) in stores and on the net. Large blades are pretty scarce, hence the bigger prize (?).

 

[buca3152]

Marketing. They dont produce that many to drive the price. I used to think they shaved better but they dont. Same with wedges and hollows. I have from 4/8 to 8/8 extra hollow to full wedge. They all shave the same. BBS is BBS. Although an 8/8 doesnt allow you to do a full wtg under the nose. YMMV. Im sure somebodies done it.

 

[BakerAndBadger]

Although an 8/8 doesnt allow you to do a full wtg under the nose. YMMV. Im sure somebodies done it.

Depends how big your nose is! Having said that, despite having a big nose, I can't even do a decent WTG with a small blade - the attack angle is always going to be too high up there near your nostrils.

 

[BakerAndBadger]

OK, why would a razor maker decide to spend more time making smaller razors for a smaller profit margin when he could up his production of larger ones, reducing the profit margin until he hit a happy medium. There is a market for big blades - I love em, more for the looks than the shave though.

 

[life2short1971]

Preference. Many of your 4/8 and 5/8 razor owners don't like the big blades because the smaller are so nimble. A for me I prefer 7/8 or so in size and have no problems shaving under my nose with them.

 

[buca3152]

Everbody love the look of them big meat cleavers! I dont know of any maker that makes bigger than 7/8unless you go custom. but you can find em around. i got a washington works wostenholm 8/8 near wedge for 70ish on ebay. it cleaned up nice honed it and its a fine shaver. the pin was bent so it didnt lay in the scales perfect but i re pinned it .

 

[Mike H]

If you browse the old Sears catalog from say 1880- 1910 you will find no razor bigger than 6/8, and very few of those. Almost all of them are square point 5/8.
I think if you wanted a bigger razor, you would have to order from a barber supply catalog. Perhaps that is why you see so few of the big choppers, that and the fact that those that were produced, were used, thereby reducing their size.


http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/297446-Sears-1899-Catalog

 

[Thomas Martin]

Marketing. They dont produce that many to drive the price. I used to think they shaved better but they dont. Same with wedges and hollows. I have from 4/8 to 8/8 extra hollow to full wedge. They all shave the same. BBS is BBS. Although an 8/8 doesnt allow you to do a full wtg under the nose. YMMV. Im sure somebodies done it.

I have 3 large blades. A 7/8 Dorko, a 7/8 Filly and a 8/8 W&B. They all shave considerably better than my 6/8s and 5/8s. But that may be due to my limited honing abilities. I realized that it is easier for me to hone a large blade. The stability of the blade on the hone is better and I much less screw up my strokes.

 

[Seraphim]

Gold Dollars are big (13/16) and cheap.

So there.

 

[Thomas Martin]

OK, why would a razor maker decide to spend more time making smaller razors for a smaller profit margin when he could up his production of larger ones, reducing the profit margin until he hit a happy medium. There is a market for big blades - I love em, more for the looks than the shave though.

Smaller blades are generally marketed as easier to use and this is true. It takes more experience and ability to move a large blade around your face. Nowadays where SR shaving is a hobby for a small group of afictionados and SR more of a collectors item the tendencies may be more headed towards larger blades whereas back in the days, where it was the only possibility to shave the large crowd may have rather used smaller blades, which therefore were produced in larger numbers. In fact, some manufacturers considered the large blades to be only for barbers' use (W&B) or for particularly tough beards (para barbas duras, Filhaemonica). But that's just a theory.

 

[wquiles]

gold dollars are big (13/16) and cheap.

So there.

lol !!!

 

[BakerAndBadger]

Gold Dollars are big (13/16) and cheap.

So there.

And I suppose you can actually shave with them too! I know, I know, they are merely blank tableaux in the hands of an old master like you!

 

[mycarver]

Plus you can hone a big blade for decades before it turns into a 4/8. Given the same parameters the 4/8 will end up being an awl.
I like the bigger heavier blades. To me they just shave differently.

 

[rajagra]

Disclaimer - my 9/8 doesn't impress my missus, now if I incrusted diamonds into the tang & scales it might be a different kettle of fish ....

Put the diamonds on the spine. They'll prevent spine wear AND raise a slurry!

I guess 8/8 razors were never really needed, so few were made. Now supply and demand pushes the price up. They certainly have a wow factor.

 

[Mike H]

I just checked the 1888 Kocks Barber Supply Catalog, it appears that all razors (4/8, 5/8, 6/8, and 7/8) were $1.25

 

[BakerAndBadger]

I just checked the 1888 Kocks Barber Supply Catalog, it appears that all razors (4/8, 5/8, 6/8, and 7/8) were $1.25

View attachment 319709

I'll take a dozen 7/8 - do they accept PayPal?

 

[tomjr]

interesting.