I have been collecting and restoring vintage SRs for some time now. I enjoy the hunt and the challenge of taking a tarnished and sometimes rusty chunk of metal and restoring it to its former glory. I also like the fact that I rarely pay very much for a vintage find...usually in the range of $10 to $35. (I think I paid $60 for one...but it was worth every penny). I have two new razors (one I purchased as my first razor...and a second one that was a gift). Both the new ones were not on the high end as far as new razors go: one was $150 and the other $200). I realize I prefer the vintage razors over the new ones. Not that the new ones are not good. They are fine razors. But there is something about a vintage razor, fully restored that makes it very special. Maybe its because I don't like dropping big cash on a SR. I see some of the prices in the $300, $400, $500 and beyond and I wonder are they really 10 times better than a vintage? I doubt it. But that's just my opinion. I also think that $500 could buy a boatload of vintage antique store razors. I know the manufacturing processes make the new razors more expensive. And I am not trying to deprive the new SR makers a reasonable or prosperous livelihood. Indeed I think its great they are keeping the art form alive. Maybe I need to show my support by buying the occasional new SR. What is your preference: old or new? (Or both). And why?
I prefer new, I like the way they look and in general I prefer a heavier razor. Also I don’t have the skills to restore razors nor hone tricky blades.
I am a big fan of vintage razors. They can be had mostly for a good price, and I love cleaning and bring them back to service.
I have a number of vintage Straights. I have one that’s new. I would like to acquire more modern ones for some additional variety. I guess that you could say, I’m an equal opportunity shaver
All My Razors are Vintage..Most of them are NOS like this One I Got Today..A LesTrail Solingen Finest Silver Steel 5/8th..New Razors Don't Hone Up Any Better or Easier than an NOS Vintage Razor like this..It Looks like it was Made this Morning..This is How it Came..I Just had to Wipe Off the Factory Grease..I Stole this an All.. Billy..
Nice! I’ve seen some sellers lately advertising NOS razors, but I think they are overlooking the the part about the “N” is supposed to mean new. You do seem to have a knack for scoring some nice vintage hardware.
The Chinese Call it " Ting Jing " Listening Energy..I Can Sniff NOS Razors a Mile Away..The Knowing Resides in the Lower Belly..A Gut Instinct..This is Me Doin My Gung Fu Practice Dwarfed by Nature & the Almighty Ailsa Craig Just a Few Hundred Yards from My House on the West Coast of Scotland..This Photo was Taken by the World Famous American Guitarist Preston Reid.. Billy..
Mint / NOS Vintage for my personal Collection To me "A New Production or Custom razor is a Tool, a Vintage Straight razor is a part of History"
I like both. I have eight or so modern razors, and about 75 vintage ones. Agree with Glen, a vintage razor is a part of history. New razors are an example of handcrafted functional art to me. So I like both for different reasons.
I’m brand new to the Dark Side, and wanted to set myself up for success, so I bought a new 6/8” basic DOVO. It’ll always be “my first,” but after hours of drooling over TSD members photos of beautiful antique razors, I quickly knew where my heart was going to lead me. I’ve since purchased several older razors on Ebay and they’ll be arriving in the next couple weeks. Everything I pick up from now on will likely be older. I’m going to visit my family tomorrow, and think there are a couple really clean straights sitting in the top drawer of an old office desk. I can’t wait to see how they survived the last 40+ years of being ignored. I remember them looking new when I handled them as a kid.
I have mostly vintage razors. Three new ones that I bought, one custom my wife bought me and one I made. I used to have more, in part because when I started NOS razors were very common and over time I have thinned down a couple of times. The vintage blades have more appeal to me because of history for sure, the hunt for them is part of the thrill too. I do have quite a number of them that I have restored from less than desirable conditions. The hobby is multi faceted to say the least. The new blades I bought were all about learning to shave, and then learning to hone, and they have worked well for those purposes. We all have to start somewhere and chose new to begin with because I felt it was starting with a working tool and all I had to do was focus on learning to shave and make lather. I had no idea about the rabbit hole I was going to go down.
