all steel vintage replicas

[Yuritau]

I've been spending a lot of time lately just looking at vintage razors on the bay and in BST, and even some on etsy, and I've been thinking about how well made these old razors are, that we're still coveting them decades later, and quite regularly adopting them as our primary go-to razors. I also had the thought that it would be pretty neat to see an all steel replica of some of these old razors. I also figure I can't be the only one that's had that thought.

Has anyone ever seen any all steel replicas of old timey razors? Something with the old aesthetic, and the exact same shave characteristics, etc (except for razor heft, obviously). Or, if you haven't, which old razor would you most like to see redone in steel?

Personally, my first thought was a Fatboy, but thinking from the perspective of actually trying to get that made (I'd have to hire a metal fab shop to do it), I don't think I could afford it, heh. Something like an Old Type I don't think would be too crazy to do though.

[SuperChris]

I would love to have a replica Slim if it shaved as good as the originals.

[xraydoc]

Hmm. Interesting thought. There are a plethora on the bay and some are in great shape. I think buying one would still be cheaper than having one made.

[doug1066]

I have looked into this. The initial mock up and machining costs are extremely high. I am not sure that ANYONE would pay upwards of $500.00 for a replica of a Slim or Fatboy in 316 stainless.

[Yuritau]

Hmm. Interesting thought. There are a plethora on the bay and some are in great shape. I think buying one would still be cheaper than having one made.

Cheaper for sure, by a ridiculous margin. But a highly accurate all steel replica has a much stronger appeal to me, hehe.


I have looked into this. The initial mock up and machining costs are extremely high. I am not sure that ANYONE would pay upwards of $500.00 for a replica of a Slim or Fatboy in 316 stainless.

I figured I'd find someone around here that had looked into it! Did you happen to get a ballpark estimate of what the unit cost would be per replica, once initial mock up and machining is out of the way? If, once you have the specs and C&C machine programs, you can produce each replica for ~$100, it probably wouldn't be a very difficult sell getting folks around these boards to chip in cost plus a $10-20 donation towards initials. ;)

Also, was it an adjustable that you looked into recreating? I would imagine there'd be a significant difference in costs between an adjustable and a fixed TTO, even more so with a 3-piece.

[doug1066]

We originally looked at an adjustable and then at a three piece. We worked off of Gillette patent drawings and drawings made from the razors themselves. The cost is not in the machining, but in the assembly, especially for a small fabrication shop with just a couple of employees. Labor costs trip you up.

[OldGreyGuy]

I see why you may be interested in replicating some of the old classics in steel using modern tools and machining techniques but aren't there already folks like Feather, Ikon and Pils already making modern small run machined razors and they seem to be hitting the $150+ price mark when making their production runs. I think even smaller runs would cost even more.

Of course I'm not a professional in this field, so it is just my guess.