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Whats the hype about?

T

The*Cincinnati*Kid

Well-Known Member
I've been searching for a reasonably priced Wade & Butcher wedge for a long while now, & I finally found one on the bay for $9.99. It has cracked scales but thats OK I'm planing on making some out of olive wood for it. I'm looking forwad to finding out what all the hype is about! Are they made from a better grade of steel or somthing? :confused: What makes them special?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...&item=350452838801=&sspagename=STRK:MEWNX:IT=

Regards
Louis.
 
No mate .This steel is softer than the current. The only special is the age.
Best regards
Emmanuel
 
I own three, and the oldest (c1810) is by far the nicest shaver, out of the others one is worn out, and the other a "Special" delivers a nice shave, nothing any better than my Antique Solingens though, maybe even a little less sharp and smooth

I also have quite a few other old "Sheffield" steel razors, J Rodgers, T.R. Cadman, Ford Medley, etc. etc. and once properly honed they are IMHO amazing

So I guess for me, based on my experience I would say that the hype is just that hype, Wade and Butcher made some great Razors don't get me wrong, and I am happy with mine.

Regards
Ralfson
 
Of the six to eight usual suspects in my rotation, W&B and Wostenholm with the other old Sheffield's are of the most pleasant shaving for my face. That is not to say that others don't shave well, or comfortably, but the old steel with all its quirkiness is a thing of awe. And, I can say that the hardness of the steel changed from year to year, or perhaps, even day to day. Some were surface hardened and some through hardened. I have them spread over a two hundred year span of time and each is a law unto itself. Good luck on your purchase!!
Respectfully
~Richard
 
I have yet to find a single Sheffield steel razor I like. And I have tried a few, including a number of the fabled Butchy's. I have written a little something about the marketing techniques and tactics involved. The thing about Butchy's is that they are readily available, and come in all sorts of shapes and forms. More often than not, their scales are broken through age, which means they also offer a nice playground for the bowling ball recyclers of this world. These are two prerequisites for a razor brand to become "popular" or, rather, hyped.

Same for Filarmonica razors, by the way. I own two razors that will blow even the fabled EPBD out of the water, but one is so rare I have only seen one other in four years, and the other is a current production razor. Not the material out of which legends are made. The old adage "vintage is better" has a certain truth value, but in the case of the razor - and its manufacturer - in question, it is simply wrong. As for the rare one, you need a lot of... how to put it diplomatically... fanboys (an inbred character trade, resulting from cross breeding hoarders and village idiots) to create a hype. Beginners in particular, ie people who will suck up anything a person with a high post count will tell them, and then replicate in the forum (did I mention you also need a forum?) as often as possible. I tried to create a hype once, but failed because there weren't enough of these razors around. Still worth a try (and the razor really was fantastic, like basically any other Solingen vintage I have come across so far).

So, the question is not so much, 'What's the hype about', but rather, 'why believe the hype?'. In the case of Butchy's, the answer escapes me completely, but, as they say, different strokes and all that.
 
I have a john clarkes, shefield steel. I've always noticed how the edge is very smooth and easy to hone up.

gary
 
Took me a while to notice that the site curmudgeon has changed his avatar to Robin. His face only responds to "Made In Germany" and high priced Über razors. His own brand of Hype!:lol: Check his blog site link in his post above. Spending that amount of time on a blog and product reviews must be giving him something that is monetary or barter in nature; perhaps even profit making. No disclosure there though!:confused:
Howsomever, he does make some good points about hype.
We do have a lot of web fora and blogs which are tied to a profit making venture(s.)That does not make them bad.
Many of them are started by someone that got burned by one hype or another and wants to do something better, some not.

A razor of "X" value is only worth "X" value. That does not make it non-valuable.
If some folks like to make a buck by hyping that razor, That does not make it less valuable to the person that would like to have one.
If a person finds a razor and is tempted to try wet shaving, then that razor which has had good reviews will tend to give confidence in the method.
If that person sends it to be honed, (The Sheffields tend to hone easily) the result can be a comfortable shave.
If that person decides to hone that razor, more money into the hone sales. Yes, there is HYPE there also. Does that make the hones bad? Heck no, there are differing opinions and differing hones and differing razors.
If I make, for a client or myself,"Bowling Ball" scales and spend 6 hours cleaning and renewing a blade of good quality and making scales for it, that does not make a razor less valuable to a person that wants that done. And I want my time repaid!
If I have a rare razor, bad scales will be replaced with period type of scales.
If a Forum leader has a business and un-members anyone on the forum that questions the "Word from on High" then perhaps there is something to be aware of. The main USA forums do have that in common.Howsomever, there is a goldmine of information there if taken with a grain of salt!

All in all. My comment is that a person learns; Easy or hard, a person learns!
Respectfully
~Richard
 
Wade and Butchers are (IME) great shavers. Personally, I wouldn't be interested in a rescale, not modern, anyway. Robin's right, there is a lot of hype, but sometimes there's a reason behind it. There is no reason to pay big bucks for a good shave, however. Often, the no names shave just as well.
 
I haven't run across any sheffield steel that doesn't shave just as well as a W&B. In fact I think the Wostenholm 1/8-1/4 hollow grind ones are the best I've encountered and I've used a lot of sheffields.

Part of it is hype (see Puma, Filly, and DD prices). Part of it is that W&B's also seemed to produce the biggest amount of huge blades (8/8+) and those will always command a premium. You know, cause size matters and all.
 
Toff said:
Took me a while to notice that the site curmudgeon has changed his avatar to Robin. His face only responds to "Made In Germany" and high priced Über razors. His own brand of Hype!:lol: Check his blog site link in his post above. Spending that amount of time on a blog and product reviews must be giving him something that is monetary or barter in nature; perhaps even profit making. No disclosure there though!:confused:
Click to expand...

Richard why the seemingly hostile opening my friend? (I had to look up curmudgeon)

We all know that Robin is most often rather abrupt, and makes his opinion known with blunt honesty, but your response does come over rather aggressive, most unlike you I must say. I do hope you are ok?

Best regards
Ralfson (Dr)
 
Toff said:
Took me a while to notice that the site curmudgeon has changed his avatar to Robin. His face only responds to "Made In Germany" and high priced Über razors. His own brand of Hype!:lol: Check his blog site link in his post above. Spending that amount of time on a blog and product reviews must be giving him something that is monetary or barter in nature; perhaps even profit making. No disclosure there though!:confused:
Howsomever, he does make some good points about hype.
We do have a lot of web fora and blogs which are tied to a profit making venture(s.)That does not make them bad.
Many of them are started by someone that got burned by one hype or another and wants to do something better, some not.
Click to expand...

Every once in a while someone hops in to remind me why I am liking the concept Internet Forum less and less.

I guess we all have our favorite topics and subjects that trigger a response.
Some of us even have opinions that others dislike reading. It is allowed, even appreciated, to elaborate on such disagreements (it's called "having a discussion") as long as it stays civilized. "Civilized" mostly means in this context that you have to address the topic and the arguments without attacking the person. If you like to sling mud, sling mud at the topic. If you like to become cynical, get cynical on the topic. If you can't make a point without the need to first commit character assassination on the person you consider your opponent, then please don't post at all.
I for one refuse to even read past your intro. That can't be good.

:thumbdown:
Bart.
 
Toff said:
Took me a while to notice that the site curmudgeon has changed his avatar to Robin. His face only responds to "Made In Germany" and high priced Über razors. His own brand of Hype!:lol: Check his blog site link in his post above. Spending that amount of time on a blog and product reviews must be giving him something that is monetary or barter in nature; perhaps even profit making. No disclosure there though!:confused:
.... snip
Click to expand...

As someone who didn't refuse to read past the introduction, and someone who also happens to blog on HatePlace.com, I'd like to respond to this. Of course there's a disclaimer, it's found here, and it reads thusly:

[note]These reviews were written by members of this site. They were written to the best of our respective knowledge in the hope that you find them useful. Unless stated otherwise, all reviewed products were bought by the reviewer. We do not review products that are given to us by vendors, as we believe that this will impair our objectivity.[/note]

You see, sometimes people just like to discuss things and do it regularly. In fact, I've been given product before that I haven't reviewed there precisely because of the disclaimer that you said isn't there. :thumbdown:
 
To the OP, I hated (I'm using the word "hate") Sheffield at one time, but then found one that was a hollow ground. It's actually quite nice. I think a lot of the hype is related to the new guy tendency to like wedge razors because they make up for substandard technique. Some very experienced guys really like them, but they don't seem to often heap the same type of praise on them that new guys do. So, I'd not put a lot of stock in the hype. They are fine, and they can be quite good shavers, but certainly not something that I'd go out of my way to obtain. :)
 
Thank you gentlemen for responding with your opinions on this, I appreciate it very much.

They are fine, and they can be quite good shavers, but certainly not something that I'd go out of my way to obtain.
Click to expand...

Paul, I wish that was the case & I didn't have to go out of my way to obtain one, but considering the current prices they are going for it took me about six months to find one (a wedge) that was in my normal price range ($10-$20 delivered). I'm looking forward to cleaning it up, honing it, and giving it a go.:sleep:

Regards
Louis.
 
Well it arived today.:w00t: I can't believe the condition its in considering the pictures, I was expecting it to have atleast some issues but nothing but patina! It has even bevel and hone wear on both sides.:w00t: I also wasn't expecting it to be as wide as it is, was thinking maybe 6/8" from pics. It is a true wedge and it measures 30/32 of an inch. It has an eagle with a flying flag on each side, it has writing underneath, from what I can make out it says "FREEDOM PROTECTED". Needless to say I'm very happy with this purchase, and I'm looking forward to honing it up and shaving with it.:sleep:


Regards
Louis.
 
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