High-end or nothing?

what are some of these high end DE razors $500+ that are available for purchase form the manufacturer now. the highest end DE i know of is the wolfman stainless steel which is 250 in its purest form. the polish and stand doesn't effect the shave, and the guy that makes em doesn't make titanium at this time.

I have an addiction. I love getting stuff in the mail!  A present? For me?

  When I was young, my father died when I was 8 and mom struggled financially to raise us 3 kids, so we had NOTHING. Hand me down clothes from her friends and a special treat for us a little later was the Piccadilly restaurant-----we never had a choice of what we ate: if it was on the table, we ate it.

    Then I grew up and old so I decided to spend whatever little money I had left on things I wanted.

So now I BUY things, all kind of things. At 77 and in questionable health, I want to experience the good stuff.

      My friend psychiatrist told me it is common.
It's like having a birthday every week!! ( we never had birthday celebrations)
      So, yes, I love packages with blades, razors, soaps, bowls,  Whatever. I use them and I love it.
What can I say? 
    I think I have it planned for my funds and my life to end together. ( I'm about out of funds.....but,  what ta you know....just received my stimulus check!!!

For me, shaving sucked until I started using decent gear.  And by decent I mean “not a plastic disposable.”  Gear intended for people who enjoy scents, take care of their skin, pride in personal appearance and have more fun shaving than most people because of their gear.

The words “high-end” are subjective and different for every individual. The income levels here range from Minimal to Substantial.  Artisans work very hard to bring us very specific gear and they have to be compensated.  What I think is high end may be different for the next person. 

The SOTD “especially” here at DFS is an individualistic representation of each member.  I enjoy seeing everyone’s gear.  IMO without the VAST amount of products and members here from all over the globe we wouldn’t have the DFS Community.  The SOTD images and the gear in them represents 50% of the reason I come here to hang out for an hour or so.

Hand Made custom equipment costs are more than mass produced goods. I have gear that has a range in price from $4-several hundreds. My $10 RR SLOC is one of the best razors in my bathroom.  I haven’t taken the plunge yet for the SLOC V2 at $40, it’s been sold out.

Cheers

I have no idea if SOTD represents people's daily shavers or not, but I for one am not interested in seeing peoples' cheap shaving kit.  I enjoy the beauty and the artistry of the SOTD posts.

 Ha! I never thought about it this way, but it's very true. I never post on the SOTD, but I do check it out to see nice razors and cool brushes, not to see Edwin Jagger/Merkur razors haha.

I like to see everyone’s cool arrangements and the fun styles and colours of brushes, knots and the use of beautiful metals crafted into razor heads and handles!

So, how much does a set-up have to cost to be post-worthy?

I really couldn't disagree more with your statement. Cheap shaving kits look nice too. There are inexpensive items that are beautiful.

For some folks, it is not about being post-worthy or beautiful, but about waving a razor handle and ego. The howling about not being able to get the latest Wolfman Face Vampire razor is proof of this. The same goes for that duck fat soap, whatever the hell it is called. Not that there is anything wrong with having that unobtanium razor. The "if it ain't uber expensive stainless steel, it ain't a razor" thing is just plain silly, however.

What has really happened is that the high-end-only folks have branched off from wetshaving into their own niche hobby. That is fine, seriously, but if they are condescending towards mainstream traditional shaving, then they can expect a negative response in return.

I don't see how owning both expensive and inexpensive razors would be unique, so you almost certainly aren't alone. Doing so is bridging two separate subcultures, however, not two aspects of traditional shaving. You're a trailblazer, leading the way into a glorious wetshaving future! BTW - The old wetshaving vibe can still be found on Reddit wicked_edge and YouTube. The peeps there won't get the vapors if someone posts a photo or video of a $15 razor and calls it splendid. Pics $500 razors can be found there, too.

Wow, it is weird how the wetshaving forums have changed. What a trip! Maybe this is how the Shavepocalypse starts?

So, how much does a set-up have to cost to be post-worthy?

I really couldn't disagree more with your statement. Cheap shaving kits look nice too. There are inexpensive items that are beautiful.

For some folks, it is not about being post-worthy or beautiful, but about waving a razor handle and ego.  The howling about not being able to get the latest Wolfman Face Vampire razor is proof of this.  The same goes for that duck fat soap, whatever the hell it is called.  Not that there is anything wrong with having that unobtanium razor.  The "if it ain't uber expensive stainless steel, it ain't a razor" thing is just plain silly, however.

What has really happened is that the high-end-only folks have branched off from wetshaving into their own niche hobby.  That is fine, seriously, but if they are condescending towards mainstream traditional shaving, then they can expect a negative response in return.

I don't see how owning both expensive and inexpensive razors would be unique, so you almost certainly aren't alone.  Doing so is bridging two separate subcultures, however, not two aspects of traditional shaving.  You're a trailblazer, leading the way into a glorious wetshaving future!  BTW - The old wetshaving vibe can still be found on Reddit wicked_edge and YouTube.  The peeps there won't get the vapors if someone posts a photo or video of a $15 razor and calls it splendid.  Pics $500 razors can be found there, too.

Wow, it is weird how the wetshaving forums have changed.  What a trip!  Maybe this is how the Shavepocalypse starts?

I don't have a 'high-end only' mindset.

I started out with the first wave of modern razors....Ikon, ATT, Jagger, Muhle etc
and found them disappointing....some were ineffectual, some even harsh.

Moved to vintage DE razors and assembled quite a nice collection...maybe 15-20
really pristine cased beauties....right from the UK Aristocrat Rhodium family all the way up
to your Fatboy, Diplomats, Presidents etc. I remember looking at them all lined up in the showcase
and not feeling much of a thrill as I only reached for about 2-3 regularly. So I sold all but one and moved to
the second wave of modern DE razors.

This new line-up of modern razors totally nails the shaving experience for me. The geometries are keener,
smoother and the aesthetics beyond reproach.

Simplicity has always been key for me and I'll probably never go back to buying more razors now.
A wolfman 1.35/1.45/1.55 cover all my requrements, and that will be further whittled down to just two.

So am I a high end razor guy....guilty as charged...the only Gillette vintage that gets me revved up is
the UK Gillette Red Tip Superspeed. That razor could probably replicate a Wolfman 1.05 shave
without breaking a sweat.

I guess Im lucky not to have caught the high end shaving brush bug ... I use some very ordinary
synthetic brushes like The Simpson Trafalgar T3 and the Muhle STF XL knot.

When it comes to shaving the most important elements (for me) are razor, blade, soap. I pay
a lot of attention to those....for the rest, I just wing it.

My new approach is: stay faithful to the wolfmans, be fickle and experiment with the wonderful
variety soaps available.

I have been looking forever for one of these.  It's the only razor that interests me.

Freddy, I'm happy that this statement does not represent the thinking of the mod team.

I'm astounded at these posts, really. They are not just harsh, they're on the edge of being rude to people that can't afford high-end stuff or don't feel the need to spend much money, but they still enjoy their equipment and want to share. They all have the right to post in the SOTD, no matter what the items cost them or their photography skills. Nobody cares if you don't like their photos, but you have to be more gentle.

If there weren't such posts or thinking by a large group of members, there will be more posts in these threads. This is not Pinterest.

A few years ago, forum membership was more gentle and "innocent". High-end trend has radically changed our hobby. I don't recall any member shaming prior to this trend. When I started, the only high-end razors were the Feather ASD2, the iKons and the ATT. Take a look at the SOTDs of 2012-2013. You'd be surprised. The older members remember these times. I miss them.

I agree 100%.  The friendly banter has been replaced by cyber flexing high end gear a lot it seems.  I do remember 2012 very well as that is the year I picked all of this back up.  ATT was the most expensive modern razor for the most part back then.

I have been looking forever for one of these.  It's the only razor that interests me.

I presume you mean the UK Red Tip Superspeed.

Yes, they are rarer than hen's teeth, and they command quite the premium.
Folks who use a US red tip get a little perturbed by this.

If you chance upon a UK Red Tip Rocket, that one is almost identical in form and function.
Except for the TTO section of the Rocket which follows the hydraulic action of the 3rd gen
UK Aristocrat.

I started with inexpensive things and gradually moved on to expensive ones. It does increase self-esteem a little, but doesn’t necessarily shaves better. The selection method helps to sell something that does not work very well or does not provide shaving quality. I like to use a little better quality and expensive things.
But I would like to add a little more about this hobby. For the last 4 years I have been doing SOTD and I have improved my skill and achieved some result in subject shooting precisely because of my passion for classical shaving. I must say that every new item purchased really wants to be photographed right away, boasting. It’s like a new toy in a child. But there comes a moment when the attraction calms down and the inspiration for photography disappears. An additional incentive at this moment for me is the purchase of another new iPhone. This encourages you to create new photos on a slightly better camera. It turns out a certain cycle of purchases of shaving items and phones from year to year and I like it.