Good morning, I’m in a hotel room right now and I just scored an adjustable slim and a super adjustable 84 on eBay. The slim looks fine, but the super adjustable 84, at least from pictures, indicates that it might require a tuneup. I’ve seen the YouTube videos. But, does anyone have personal experience with the tuneup at razor Emporium? The price seems worth trying, but I just wanted to see what others thought of as opposed to comments in YouTube section. Thanks in advance.
Razor Emporium Services
- Thread starter MUSTANGMANAHS
- Start date
EclipseRedRing
I smell like a Christmas pudding
Opinions are divided - some are in favour, and some are so strongly against that they would not purchase replating services, or anything else, from RE. Good luck.
www.badgerandblade.com
Razor Emporium and Poor Service - READ POST 43
I heard about Razor Emporium from others here at Badger and Blade and read good stuff about them. So I decided to give them a shot and have them restore my Gillette "New" Comb razor for me. Here is what happened with my razor and how Razor Emporium had an opportunity to turn a bad experience...
www.badgerandblade.com
And so it begins.
I am aware of three place that do the work you want, maybe your question should be reworded. Asking where would you recommend I get my Vintage Razor Tuned Up, or Replaced, and when did you recommend your choice of vendor.
Rather not.
I think there are enough awful horror stories that it would definitely be a bad idea to send a valuable razor or one with sentimental value to Razor Emporium. He has sold or lost customers’ heirloom razors and sent back something else, upcharged for premium services / materials and not done them, done shoddy work sometimes. But also some customers have been perfectly happy with what they got. Maybe he is careless and disorganised, maybe he farms out the work to people with variable abilities, or maybe he is a crook sometimes. Evidence suggests all three. You might be satisfied, it just seems like a risk if your razor is important to you. They aren’t just old stories, the problems continue to happen.
Razor Emporium / REX Shaving / Matt Pisarcik is banned from B&B, by the way.
Everyone seems very satisfied when they used BackRoadsGold, and he seems to be the most trusted and recommended for this type of work.
Razor Emporium / REX Shaving / Matt Pisarcik is banned from B&B, by the way.
Everyone seems very satisfied when they used BackRoadsGold, and he seems to be the most trusted and recommended for this type of work.
Lots to read here while sitting in your hotel room.
Razor Emporium and Poor Service - READ POST 43
I just provided an update to this horrid situation which is getting better. Please see the top of the OP. Hopefully I will have more good news later today. Thank you all for the support! I'm happy to hear that you are getting your money back. Nevertheless, I would avoid doing business with this...
www.badgerandblade.com
They're the only ones I know of that will do a replate/refurb of the Super Adjustables. But I don't know if a "tune up" would entail the replate, or just a cleaning and attempt to correct mechanical deficiencies like a lazy tto or bent safety bar, etc.
Perhaps anyone can do a cleaning and mechanical correction on an SA, but I think they are the only ones who will plate and powder-coat the handle. This is only what I know.
I would be curious to know if RE complaints like that remain constant and recent, or if they are a reputation earned in the past that has since been corrected. It is hard to imagine any businessman in the Age of Yelp not taking corrective measures.
Perhaps anyone can do a cleaning and mechanical correction on an SA, but I think they are the only ones who will plate and powder-coat the handle. This is only what I know.
I would be curious to know if RE complaints like that remain constant and recent, or if they are a reputation earned in the past that has since been corrected. It is hard to imagine any businessman in the Age of Yelp not taking corrective measures.
Here're some personal experiences right down the middle.
I have personal experience purchasing razors and having razors tuned up with both Razor Emporium (RE) and Back Roads Gold (BRG); most recently at RE in December of last year. I've bought tuned-up and re-plated Super Speeds from RE and BRG. There was one adjustment that was off with the SS I purchased from BRG and Chris had me send it back and he fixed it. He apologized profusely, wondered how that slipped by him, and sent it back to me with a small assortment of blades for my trouble. No big deal.
I sent a mid '40's Aristocrat with missing parts, (any guess which two?
,) for a tune-up up and re-plating at RE. It looks and works perfect.
One complaint about RE. They constantly send you emails telling you where your razor is in the tune-up/re-plate process. Chris at BRG has a chart on his website showing where your razor is in the process. I'm not 20 years old anymore and I don't need to know where my stuff is 24/7. (Get off my lawn!)
I'd purchase stuff and services from either RE or BRG again in the future.
I have personal experience purchasing razors and having razors tuned up with both Razor Emporium (RE) and Back Roads Gold (BRG); most recently at RE in December of last year. I've bought tuned-up and re-plated Super Speeds from RE and BRG. There was one adjustment that was off with the SS I purchased from BRG and Chris had me send it back and he fixed it. He apologized profusely, wondered how that slipped by him, and sent it back to me with a small assortment of blades for my trouble. No big deal.
I sent a mid '40's Aristocrat with missing parts, (any guess which two?
,) for a tune-up up and re-plating at RE. It looks and works perfect.One complaint about RE. They constantly send you emails telling you where your razor is in the tune-up/re-plate process. Chris at BRG has a chart on his website showing where your razor is in the process. I'm not 20 years old anymore and I don't need to know where my stuff is 24/7. (Get off my lawn!)
I'd purchase stuff and services from either RE or BRG again in the future.
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Back Roads Gold - Top notch work, zero drama.
Hard Pass.
If I was going to get any restoration or replacing done, I'd go with Black Roads Gold, purely based on all of the positive feedback on B&B.
If I was going to get any restoration or replacing done, I'd go with Black Roads Gold, purely based on all of the positive feedback on B&B.
My tuneup go to guy would ask "What gives you this impression, from a picture?" to better understand the nature of a "might require a tuneup?" My guy eyeballs them, then charges for said eyeballing
Super Adjustable [herein referred to just SA] is an interesting Animal, a short SA comes apart in a differing order of technique to a long SA, and they are a mix of brass and aluminium, the black bits being aluminium, the shiny bits nickel plate brass.
A platers/tuners/restorers choice of refusal to work with these is very understandably their choice.[note some may refuse to touch these]
Nightmares are so easily hidden inside a SA [aluminium was not a good choice Mr G] any white/whitish ickness on/in/under/around the adjustment nob is of concern, and he who has a conscience won't sew a silk purse from a sows ear.
If it is just grubby? a good bath in head n shoulders to get rid of dandruff, or your choice of dish squashing liquid, a long tepid bath [up to a week] to dissolve some hidden cooties hiding inside, they are not that tight, but there is not a lot of room in there and soap/hair/skin cells can/may soon fill the voids in there. [my guy loves to go all gangnam style and open them up][he would also use all sorts of NASTY chemicals and such if it was not part aluminium, like][he don't own a horse hair brush, either]
I may have said enough for now
There are a lot of strong opinions on the forum about RE. My experiences with the company and with Matt have all been very positive. I have purchased a number of new razors from them, have purchased standard as is and have purchased a Rockwell 6S that they had plated with rhodium, and I have sent them a Henson SS handle from Amazon and a Timeless SS both to plate in gold. Everything turned out perfect, and I was more than pleased with all of my dealings with them
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Have no complaints about Razor Emporium as it is close to me, been there many times, and twice to AZ Wet ShaveMeetup they hosted. Think Matt problem were from long ago when he first started in business.
Seen his R & R and replaced Vintage stuff, it is very nice, and look =s like day it left Gillette Factory in some cases.
They answer e-mail, phone messages, and give "me" alway nice discount. v No one is perfect, everyone make mistakes. My buddy had Knee replacement from top Ortho Guy local last Wednesday. Left say the surgery did not go well, post surgery R & R did not, is not going well. Top Guy had bad DAY.
Matt's problems surely don't just stem from years ago as anyone that reads any forum and threads on him knows he's even had problems here recently in 2024 but I guess its easy to read some threads that are years old and in an effort to try and make it look like he's matured and moved forward say all the negativity is from the past but, I think some of those need to go back and re-read whats been posted about him and you'll certainly see its still happening today!!
Ah
I suspect that may be because you live near RE, and that certain persons from RE have probably gone around and picked those places clean of all the $10 Gillettes and had them refurbished to mark up for sale.
Aha! I recall you posting some weeks ago that you'd searched all the antique places around you and simply could not find any DE razors.
I suspect that may be because you live near RE, and that certain persons from RE have probably gone around and picked those places clean of all the $10 Gillettes and had them refurbished to mark up for sale.
My comments are encased with the 4 razors I just sent to Chris Spencer @ Back Roads Gold. I trust him as have so many others here at B&B. He re-plated a FBT and a NEW Raised Flat Bottom #77. Both came out better than I had expected but back then, I sort of moved away from Vintage razors and I used the funds from them to buy a Wolfman WR2.
I just got back into Vintage razors on a limited basis. I sent two of them for Chris' 24K hardened Gold-plating, along with my birth year and quarter 1953 Y2 Super Speed for a White Platinum face lift. I also sent him my Bayonetta for the 24K upgrade.
I trust Chris. I have no reservations about sending stuff to him. For me, it's a zero-risk endeavor.
I just got back into Vintage razors on a limited basis. I sent two of them for Chris' 24K hardened Gold-plating, along with my birth year and quarter 1953 Y2 Super Speed for a White Platinum face lift. I also sent him my Bayonetta for the 24K upgrade.
I trust Chris. I have no reservations about sending stuff to him. For me, it's a zero-risk endeavor.
You know what is called in business, buying low, marking up & selling, it's call a smart business plan. Most business do it with product they sell, buy at wholesale, selling at retail.
Plus I even stop once in awhile at garage, tag, and estate sales to see what is available in Vintage Razors. My only find was a Chinese Washi Razor, I am think many Vintages are trashed because people think who would buy this??
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