Reality check

[Gordy]

Any goods will find his buyer, but some prices are waaay beyond reality

I really want to buy Wolfman one day but with this prices that will stay only wish. For the name of god guys, this are tools for shaving, with all respect for makers what is the pourpose of them except to cut whiskers. So I like hi quality made product but in the end of the day quality of shaving is only thing for me that separates razors.

Lamborghini or a Kia? If you had the money, I doubt you'd have the latter. Anything is worth what someone is wiling to pay for it, regardless of function, difficulty to produce, cost, whatever. It would seem there are enough people willing to buy a Wolfman but I'm more than happy with twenty vintage razors.

 

[lloydrm]

For one, I hesitate when new, unproven razors show in the market commanding high prices. But some vintage razors are so incredibly interesting and attractive ... Most of them have a history of satisfied users. Irresistable.

 

[vtmax]

I walked into Trumpers 25 years ago as a first year university student in Scotland. Hundreds of soaps, tons of razors and brushes later it does get exhausting.

Razors: Bronze Timeless, .68 Timeless, Parker Variant

Soaps: GroomingDept, Haslinger

Brushes: 15

Reducing the den is the solution to keeping things fresh...at least for me.

 

[pimple8]

Supply and demand.
People buy stuff and that's what generates higher prices, inovation and new products and that's all there is to it....

Sent from my LG-D855 using Tapatalk

 

[Nishy]

@Nishy: you seem to be having these thoughts of late. I could have sworn I saw a post of yours much like the OP recently. Nothing wrong with that, just q curious observation.

For myself, I require a razor that clamps the blade really tight, minimising the flex. Only took about 50 of them and a bunch of posts by folk raving about blade rigidity to find out.
My recent purchases were pure curiosity, really.
It doesn't matter what material is used, but the shave geometry does. Otherwise, I can't go comfortably ATG, or I have to mod the head to alter the geometry.

Soaps I only have a few, as I knew reasonably well what I had been after and don't care much about getting more or changing brands until I'll have to.

Brushes I have a few due to their sizes and properties - I tend to use one depending on what I need.

@Nishy: you seem to be having these thoughts of late. I could have sworn I saw a post of yours much like the OP recently. Nothing wrong with that, just q curious observation.

For myself, I require a razor that clamps the blade really tight, minimising the flex. Only took about 50 of them and a bunch of posts by folk raving about blade rigidity to find out.
My recent purchases were pure curiosity, really.
It doesn't matter what material is used, but the shave geometry does. Otherwise, I can't go comfortably ATG, or I have to mod the head to alter the geometry.

Soaps I only have a few, as I knew reasonably well what I had been after and don't care much about getting more or changing brands until I'll have to.

Brushes I have a few due to their sizes and properties - I tend to use one depending on what I need.

Vacillating between product hype and performance, the correlation between performance and price is so muddled when relating to a standard. Throw in hype and the waters are further muddied (unless you ignore it). What is the standard of stainless steel razors? What is the standard for a soap these days? A few years back the standard as a beginner was the EJ89 and Proraso, is it now? Wouldn't a newcomer want the best (usually more expensive). Is a stainless razor better than the EJ89 or is technique king.

Apologies for the long winded deliberation. The above scenario could lead a newcomer wanting the best, (assuming it's expensive) spending a ton, just to experience a bad shave. Reason, technique.

What would be useful would be to re-establish standard products. I keep thinking twice when I try and consider an EJ89 as being very sub par to say the BBS-1. Happiness and consumerism can be greater than the slow learning curve, but is it the same.

Anyway if anyone is still reading you can see I'm just a confused individual

 

[The Gentleman]

Vacillating between product hype and performance, the correlation between performance and price is so muddled when relating to a standard. Throw in hype and the waters are further muddied (unless you ignore it). What is the standard of stainless steel razors? What is the standard for a soap these days? A few years back the standard as a beginner was the EJ89 and Proraso, is it now? Wouldn't a newcomer want the best (usually more expensive). Is a stainless razor better than the EJ89 or is technique king.

Apologies for the long winded deliberation. The above scenario could lead a newcomer wanting the best, (assuming it's expensive) spending a ton, just to experience a bad shave. Reason, technique.

What would be useful would be to re-establish standard products. I keep thinking twice when I try and consider an EJ89 as being very sub par to say the BBS-1. Happiness and consumerism can be greater than the slow learning curve, but is it the same.

Anyway if anyone is still reading you can see I'm just a confused individual

Technique is king! You don't get good shaves with any razor, SS or not, if you don't know how to handle it.
A newbie needs to learn first and I think it's wiser to buy an not so expensive razor, like EJ89. It's also a plus if it's a mild razor. If the only goal is to achieve good shaves you don't need more than that. Experimenting with blades is much cheaper than experimenting with different razors. To really know what type of razor that's best suited for you tou need to try a variety of different razor and then it's likely going to be expensive. But, when you have learned the technique and maybe tried a few different razors you can probably buy an high end (ss/ti) razor and "know" based on experience and reviews/opinions within the community that this particular razor is going to give you great shaves. But then we have the hobby part of this...

And this was some early morning ramble from an even more confused individual

 

[JayGee]

The only real game changers for me have been straight razors and shaving soaps that do not irritate my skin (there aren't many). The first one was a surprise. It offers all I had been looking for: very close and comfortable/irritation free shaves. The second is self explanatory, I believe.
Sometimes I feel I wasted all the money and time hunting down scarce vintage and modern razors, legendary brushes and most prized soaps. Not sure its been worth the effort. Maybe, if i see it as a journey.

^^^^^ THIS ^^^^^^
You have said for me, thank you!
+ found shaving forums & made some good friends

 

[Thug]

I fully agree that one doesn't need a plethora of shaving goods to have a great shave. But it sure is damn fun in acquiring hardware/software to see what works for you. Granted yes, that fun, has a price.

Speaking personally, I have now reached that zenith where I'm strongly considering reducing the under used hardware that I do own and limiting future purchases to those of necessity.