I am curious...how many SRs do you currently own? Do you have a favourite among those in your collection? Is there one you don't currently don't have but want?
Eight in rotation, three needing to be sent to Glen for some work...someday. I don't have favorites. Since I only str8 shave on Saturdays, I'm not looking for any more.
My last inventory was 30 plus shave ready, another 15 or so that need cleaned up and honed, and 12 blades that need scales. And I have 3 inbound. (Honey, if you're reading this, I'm just exaggerating to show of to my internet friends.)
I have a rather modest collection of 8. My favorite to look at is the F.W.Englels Leader, but the best shaver is my Boker Red Injun. I'm currently drooling over a Portland Razor Co. Chimera.
My favorites are a Cattarangus Seneca, Kinfolks The Ace, and a Case Brothers from around 1904-1908. One of my dream razors is an Mastro Livi, and that is one of the ones inbound. I pretty much want to try every type of straight, which is fueling this obsession, I mean hobby.
25, one incoming (honey the kinfolks is coming). I always see one more. But i could comfortably stay with the ones i have. My best are the two @HolyRollah refurbished, then the dovo, then my blackie. Im hoping my health will hold til i can use them daily
I have only 6 SRs at the moment, but I do plan on adding a few more. I want to be a bit selective on my purchases. Btw, my SR shave this morning rivaled my regular DE shaves. 40+ shaves and it's definitely getting better for me!
I only have two. But if I add my shavettes, I can bring the total up to 6. I'm mostly a DE guy these days.
Four. None are shave ready. I don't know if they are good ones or not. Some day I will get to putting an edge on them. My stones need to be flattened first. I have only tried my shavette. I was pretty nervous about trying it. It went well but I only tried it on cheeks.
I have 12 in the rotation but two are on the bubble and my gets sold to make room. My favourites are my 3 Portland Razor works and my 2 shoulder less Dovos.... wait I mean I love all my children equally. I would like to try a Maestro Livi someday.
In rotation, meaning when the whim strikes, five. WD Brandt #100 5/8 smiley HH RP WD Gold Bug 4/8 smiley HH RP Simmons"The King" 6/8 FH Spike GD #66 6/8 BH RP Manhattan Cutlery 6/8+ Wedge HP In need of honing, touch up, or restore; Curley 4/8 frame back w/ guard Clauss 6/8 Spike A.J.Jordan 5/8 HP Columbia Cutlery 5/8 Spike Eagle Cutlery 5/8 French Germania "Pathfinder" 6/8+ Spike GoldMonkey #666 6/8+ RP Out of the scales; Torrey 5/8 Shorty W.H.Morley "Clover" 5/8+ HP Wade & Butcher 6/8 Wedge HP And a couple RSO's that could be shadowboxed. I'd like to get the W&B and Morley into scales, and half of the "needs work" group polished up and honed. Favorite? They're all my favorites!
A recent inventory count yielded 42 in 'the rotation' -which means they are truly shave-ready razors I try to use at least once a month. I have 'favorites' that tend to get more use. Regrettably some get neglected. I've another 30+ in various stages waiting in the restoration queue. Obviously I'm overdue for an SR purge....
I suppose I should answer my own questions... I currently have 10 vintage straight razors...some of which have been restored...all of which need to be sharpened. I have three additional vintage razors in transit on their way to me from friends who had grandad's SR stuck in a drawer. One new, shave-ready SR also in transit. And I have two shavettes. No favourites yet. I like the idea of rescuing SRs from obscurity and restoring them if not to their full former glory, at least to a state of usefulness. Many are works of art and part of our history.
21 shave ready in rotation 3 projects without scales 7 (a 7 day set) that needs honing. I am always looking but happy with my small collection and my ability to use them all at least once a month.
I agree, 100%. There are many gems hiding under years of neglect, gunk & grime. Part of the joy is bringing new life to some wonderful old shavers…
Top Left is a very cheap razor that I thought looked nice and I could practice sharpening with. Top right is an NKVD Soviet era razor. Center is a Fein Stahl Garantie Solingen. Bottom left is a Parker SR1. Bottom Right is a Gold Dollar. I know very little about straights. Any info would be much appreciated. I don't know if these are good or not. The Garantie Solingen has quite a curve on the edge. Is that okay? If I could get one more, I would like a Thiers Issard. They seem nice and they make wonderful kitchen knives.