Razor Handle Makers, where have they gone?

I know UFO, Hempel, and Weber went out of business some time ago, and I’d imagine it’s difficult for Tibam to get anything out right now due to the current situation in his neck of the woods. But what happened to stork and Triad. Toby of Triad razor handles disappeared for a while, then resurfaced for a bit only to do another disappearing act a year ago. Haven’t seen anything released from Stork for a while either. Not looking to bash on anyones reasons for no longer being around, but anyone know if will we see them produce again? Was a joyful flood of new handles being produced for a bit but it’s since grown quite silent.

I would say Covid hurt a lot of businesses in our neck of the hobby spectrum coupled with rising costs globally. The cost of metals has sky rocketed paired with limited availability on some which in turn means cost of handles and other items will also have to go up to cover increased costs, time & labor, still make profit, etc. That starts to hurt your target customer base since you're even more limited on who's willing to pay that amount for a razor or just a handle to one, that shaves just as good as a $10 vintage for the most part.

In no way knocking the artisans since I own or have owned at one point a razor or handle from just about all of them. They make great gear doing beautiful work but in the end it's a luxury item. Hard times means tighter wallets. I've also seen a number of artisan soap makers close shop within the last year as well. They are dealing with same issue on cost of materials and availability.

There are an abundance of handles at most online vendors. Most of them are from China, with a few from other countries. For the reasons given in the previous comments, we may have to wait a while before a new "artisan" shows up.

Dohhh!!! lol my bad I'll remove this.

Thanks for this list of names I’ll have to look them up and see if I like any of them. Being new to DE shaving I don’t know many of the accessory makers like this yet. I know Razorock offers some nice handles for $15-20 though since I have them on some Razorock handles and really enjoy them. I know some like the Maggards and WCS handles too but I haven’t tested any out yet and none really catch my eye.

You may want to check out Etsy too. Awhile back I remember seeing some handles on there but don’t remember the vendors name but now that I could use a handle or two I may try to find them again after looking these name up.

There is Windrose (RazorsandMore) on Etsy - they look pretty good and have some quite unique designs, as well as ones similar to Wolfman, etc.. Also Stando Polska offer some interesting handles (as well as very, very good razors), and their Suomi handle is one I like a lot. Stando Polska is on Etsy but the prices are much better if you buy from their website - you just need a translator as the site is only in Polish and every Polish word has at least four ‘z’s in it.

Marley Machine (Etsy) has a nice Gillette bell bottom/Tradere style that I keep eyeing in my cart.  I suspect he'll be around awhile.  It seems that many makers start with their domain of interest (shaving), and it can be hard to carry  on in any meaningful way if that's your sole source of business.  You end up in the Catch-22 of not having enough business because you aren't diverse in your offerings, or turning your hobby into a job, which kills creativity like nothing else.

I needed a brass ball-end handle for my Goodwill, and found one at Razor Emporium for a very reasonable price.
Compare the vintage handle from my SC New (top) and the plain brass RE repro (bottom):



They have them with different plating and finishes too.

Elite Razor makes some great handles.

Elite Razor makes some great handles.

GREAT to see you Peter !!