Kevin, I hear you. Does your wife have any german in her background? Thats cold man. My wife is half German and I can hear her saying that. As a matter of fact I think she has said it.
Its the bane of modern existence, we have a craving for quality, crafted things and the natural outcome of the Western capitalist economic system is to produce ever cheaper, utilitarian goods - the quality is compromised to the point where the lowest quality and highest profits intersect on a graph. It will even go beyond that but only as long as people keep buying and profits stay up. Thats why the artisan movement in general and in wet shaving specifically is so great. Look at that wood feather, or a wolfman or any number of other quality hand made products - they're not going to break the bank and you can have the quality craftsmanship you crave. Yes, you're paying $200, $300 or whatever for a razor that your dad paid $1.95 for but so what. Adjusted for inflation etc. that $1.95 was more than it is today. Funny thing, those Gillette razors were mass produced in factories, the very antithesis of craftsmanship (well designed) and yet today they are collectible. Imagine what a wolfman might be with in 50 years. By the way, have you got yours yet?
\m/
Mark