top ten?

stolensocks said:
What is the top ten most collectible vintage blade makers as a noob I look at a lot of blades and don't know if they are worth it or not?
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If you are going to use it nearly any vintage razor will make a good shaver, if you are more into the collecting.

Filamonia
dubl duck
wade and butcher
joseph rodgers
thiers Issard
Le grelot (kind of falls in the one above)
fitz braht dovo
Bartman

the list could grow and grow, but if you are looking for one of the real collectable brands in good condition be prepared to be a couple of hundred pounds lighter
 
Razors are worth what people are prepared to pay for them, and a collectable name may or may not be an indicator of superior quality. Of the razors I use, the one which most consistently impresses me is a plain Jane of unprepossessing appearance from an American cutlery company nobody seems to have heard of - the kind of thing I'd think twice about paying a tenner for.

A list of the best investment razors is bound to include brands like Wade & Butcher, Filarmonica, Puma and Dubl Duck - those are the obvious big money names.
 
Agree with the above list & sentiments.

Would like to add Heljestrands and the Gottas.

From experience the Grelots, and the Filamonica fetch good money on the bay of evil.

Preference is very personal, I've sold most of my non-framebacks, as I'm a frameback person,
although I agree these can be a bit viscous, so not for everyone.

Collectability depends also on the type 4/8, 5/8, 6/8, scales, condition (original scales etc..)

I have only 2 rescaled razors, all my others have original scales, I prefer them that way.
The 2 that have been rescaled, are also my few non-framebacks.
(and are very dear to me, since they were part of my first straights, and very original)

Rescaling is sometimes the only option if you want to revive a nice blade, but I think it'll lose collectors value in that case.

Max
 
I think the general feeling is that you don't lose value if you replace original black plastic scales, but transplanting a Fili say into new scales is going to lose money. Do what thou wilt, I say.

On quality, pedro is spot on in my experience - bad vintage razors are the rarities. They're all made from fairly basic high carbon steel (all right, Pumas might be an exception) and the differences mostly derive from the heat treatment. Speaking very generally, old ones tend to be tempered a little softer which often results in a sweeter shave. There are certainly plenty of very good blades around which haven't achieved cult status, Kropps and the various Ern brands are examples which have been discussed here. Also, I've yet to meet a Swedish razor which wasn't a good one, but Max is right to single out the Heljes I think because they're so nicely presented.

Two more for the collectable list: Cadman and Globusmen.
 
Many good ones has been mentioned. Wostenholm is a nice brand too ... There´s hard to tell, for shaving I think you´ve got good advice though. Then you have the collectors market - with really old razors (big money for the right ones), you also have a market for scales (can be dirt expensive, for the "right" ones) and NOS is allways nice :D. Big Swedes (7/8 and over) in general are rare and brings good ££, even though Heljestrand is the no 1 Swedish brand (but E A Berg is a "strong" brand too). A nice Bengall is a good investment I think and you can still find good ones for a nice price.
 
I second the Bergs and Bengalls!

I also really like:

old Bokers
Wostenholm - for colectables the very old ones, for shaving the more modern ones like the 'Peerless' and 'Conqueror'
Mappin and Webb / Mappin Bros / Mappin & Son
Wilkinson
Samuel Osborne
Fenney - 'Tally Ho!'
Paul Kohl - 'fisher' 'pearlking'
Ed Wusthoff
gotta 120
vintage Tennis
the more exotic-shaped Rodgers (hollow points, long tails, etc)
Bingham Congruents (because of the weird shape!)

plus most of the ones already stated.

Regards,
Neil
 
It would be a much shorter list to list the vintage straight razors that are bad. For the most part, people don't keep junk. If it didn't keep an edge too long, people were more likely to view the razor as disposable and treat it with less care. Thus, by virtue of time, it is unlikely you'll run across a bad vintage brand. Of course, the previous owners could have destroyed the razor too.
 
asharperrazor said:
It would be a much shorter list to list the vintage straight razors that are bad. For the most part, people don't keep junk. If it didn't keep an edge too long, people were more likely to view the razor as disposable and treat it with less care. Thus, by virtue of time, it is unlikely you'll run across a bad vintage brand. Of course, the previous owners could have destroyed the razor too.
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You should see the inside of my workshop - I have literally hundreds of useless, warped, poorly ground, poorly tempered and generally disappointing blades hanging up in bundles in there - qc wasn't too big a thing back then, unfortunately, and peoples expectations must have been lower than they are today. I guess a good many of those razors were so-called family heirlooms found among grand-dads or great grand-dads belongings - probably because he tossed it in a draw and grew a beard! :lol:

Regards,
Neil
 
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