Thread: Beginners help

For $80 you would think that it could be made to shave since people do shave with Gold Dollar razors. I agree that a knife shop isn't generally the place to take a straight razor for honing.

I'm curious as to what the "sharpening tool" for straight razors is that you were sold? Good luck and let us know who it goes.

Price is no reflection of shave-ability of razor shaped objects.

Originally Posted by Utopian

Price is no reflection of shave-ability of razor shaped objects.

Are there really $80 razor shaped objects (as opposed to $2 letter openers)? I hear about them but I never really see them. People used to say that you couldn't shave with Gold Dollar $10 razors (not that I like Gold Dollars either but they can be made to work).

What is the business model for a company to manufacture and market $80 razor shaped objects?

I have not seen an $80 one but the Venus razors were about $60. Sometimes by jacking up the price they can imply higher quality.

I remember reading years ago that a common strategy for unloading wines that were not selling well was to jack up the price.

Regarding gold dollars, no one ever should have been saying that they did not shave. They simply were not very good, in that they were badly ground and the heat treatment was poor. They shaved, but they were not very good. I assume they are trying to get better.

Originally Posted by Utopian

I have not seen an $80 one but the Venus razors were about $60. Sometimes by jacking up the price they can imply higher quality.

I remember reading years ago that a common strategy for unloading wines that were not selling well was to jack up the price.

Regarding gold dollars, no one ever should have been saying that they did not shave. They simply were not very good, in that they were badly ground and the heat treatment was poor. They shaved, but they were not very good. I assume they are trying to get better.

So what is the concept for these companies, selling shaving replica's not to be used for shaving?

Regarding marking up prices, that's a good idea (generally) on Ebay. If you mark something down too much people start to think there is something wrong. Mark it up a little and it sells.

I've sold a few guitars on Ebay over the years. I first try to price it "right". If it doesn't sell right away I'll reduce the price a little. If it still doesn't sell and I'm impatient I've priced them a little lower than I was really comfortable doing and then people start asking more questions, wanting me to greatly reduce the price more and throw in free shipping.

At that point, I know I'm too low and I go back to my original price or higher and it generally sells in a few days.

I’ve noticed a few ads for “razor knife” objects on eBay. These include key fobs, earrings, charms, etc. in the shape of SR’s. I wonder if folks are trying to capitalize on an image of the straight razor user to flog something vaguely related.

I suppose there is a mystique “out there” attached to straight razor shaving that some people are impressed by and might want to be associated with, but I’m pretty sure the folks at SRP know that isn’t really valid.

Im with Utopian on this subject. Raise the price and folks think it must be good. Add some bling and raise the price.
As far as the GD, it can be made to shave and shave well. But only after some work has been done but it wont hold an edge for long. I dont know anything about this company the OP bought from, but from the sellers pic, i dont see mu h besides a big stabilizer. Guessing that could be part of the issue?

And what was this sharpening tool?

I just looked at the photos. Those look like Master razors. They are crap regardless of the name or price slapped on them.

Tommy Guns is a chain barber shop. You can go in and get a haircut and a shave with either a straight or a DE. The straights they use are all feathers around here. They sell a lot of “shave”products at the front, and none of them are worth buying if you know what you are looking at, and none of it is cheap. I asked the girl at the front counter about the straight razors. She said she knows nothing about straight razors other than they use feathers in the shop and the razors they sell need to be sharpened and she knows nothing about that, not the process or even where to get it done. I asked if they sold many, and she said she is there full time and there is another girl that works the front counter and she thinks the other girl may have sold one once. So my guess is that they are not expecting or trying to sell them, but it looks cool on the front counter. She also said that the soap, preshave etc that they have for sale is not the same brands as they use in shop and she had not received any feedback on those products either. So I guess the displays are to look cool and let people get interested in getting a shave.

Saw one at the local tommy's near me. Cheap blade over heavy scales and looks exactly like the 5 dollar crap on Ebay. Big giveaway is no maker marking or country of origin. Contact Oz he may have delt with them before and be able to help or set you on the right path to a razor you can actually use. Good luck