7 day set

I think 7 day sets are amazing! I do prefer however the type of set, 2, 3, maybe 4 straights that are cased and referred to as "Gentleman's Sets" or at least that is what my friend RayG calls them. I'm slowly but surely looking for just the right "Gentleman's Set" to add to my straight razor arsenal.

Wow! These 7 day set razors are amazing!

Posting pictures like that is not going to help my wallet

I wonder if it's cheaper to buy seven of the same razor. But then you still need the box for it...

I'd love to have a set, but it would be strictly for collection and showcase purposes ... I'm not going to get into straight-razor shaving until I retire and can spend all day in the shave-den if I want to.

One thing that I've always wondered about these sets is that the days of the week are always in English ... why don't we ever see a set that is labeled "Montag / Dienstag / Mittwoch" ... or ... "Lunedi / Martedi / Mercoledi ..."

dpm802 said:

I'd love to have a set, but it would be strictly for collection and showcase purposes ... I'm not going to get into straight-razor shaving until I retire and can spend all day in the shave-den if I want to.

One thing that I've always wondered about these sets is that the days of the week are always in English ... why don't we ever see a set that is labeled "Montag / Dienstag / Mittwoch" ... or ... "Lunedi / Martedi / Mercoledi ..."

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I have seen 7 day sets in German, Spanish, and Swedish. Of course, I can't find any pictures ...

dpm802 said:

I'd love to have a set, but it would be strictly for collection and showcase purposes ... I'm not going to get into straight-razor shaving until I retire and can spend all day in the shave-den if I want to.

One thing that I've always wondered about these sets is that the days of the week are always in English ... why don't we ever see a set that is labeled "Montag / Dienstag / Mittwoch" ... or ... "Lunedi / Martedi / Mercoledi ..."

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My 7-day set has the days in Italian because I ordered it that way. It's on the bottom of this page, scroll down.

Chimensch said:

My 7-day set has the days in Italian because I ordered it that way. It's on the bottom of this page, scroll down.

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Yeah ... that's what I'm talking about! Nice looking set!

Antique Hoosier said:

I think 7 day sets are amazing! I do prefer however the type of set, 2, 3, maybe 4 straights that are cased and referred to as "Gentleman's Sets" or at least that is what my friend RayG calls them. I'm slowly but surely looking for just the right "Gentleman's Set" to add to my straight razor arsenal.

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I've never seen a two (or four)-razor set in good condition.

I know they exist! I've seen them. But they're always falling to pieces. One day, I'll buy a good one.

Was there a historical reason for a seven day set? Would a one or two razor set not work just as well in practice? Were these intended to increase the time between professional honing services?

Wacker makes beautiful but expensive seven day sets.

Tomo said:

Was there a historical reason for a seven day set? Would a one or two razor set not work just as well in practice? Were these intended to increase the time between professional honing services?

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There is one very good reason for a seven-day set. Historically, every true gentleman of means should have a matching seven-day set.

I'm building mine up now. Six down and two to go. I know that makes eight but an extra is needed for the occasional evening shave.

rbscebu said:

There is one very good reason for a seven-day set. Historically, every true gentleman of means should have a matching seven-day set.

I'm building mine up now. Six down and two to go. I know that makes eight but an extra is needed for the occasional evening shave.

My 7-day Set

A while ago I was reading up on some of the history of SR shaving. One short comment stuck in my mind. "Every true gentleman of means should have a seven-day razor set." Well, I believe that I am a true gentleman and I am of (at least modest) means. I have decided to put together a 7-day set...

www.badgerandblade.com

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The sets are very nice. I’m just wondering if there is a practical benefit of having a different identical razor for every day on the week. Perhaps this came from a time when honing was not done at home but left to professionals.

Polarbeard said:

Wacker makes beautiful but expensive seven day sets.

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Yes, but at USD 2 k to 3k not cheap. You should be able to make up your own set for less than USD 100 plus the cost of your 7 razors.

Tomo said:

The sets are very nice. I’m just wondering if there is a practical benefit of having a different identical razor for every day on the week. Perhaps this came from a time when honing was not done at home but left to professionals.

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Historically, it was the gentleman's personal valet's job to maintain the razors. Now we are in harder times and personal valets are only for the VERY well off. That job has fallen into your butler's hand.

Being of only modest means, I have to maintain my razors myself.

Do you really need a practical benefit to have a matching seven-day set? Okay, I'll try. Having a seven-day set means that you only have to get you strop out once a week. Because each razor is matching, you can easily compare edge quality between each. Properly use, a seven-day set means that each razor should ware evenly.

I'm sure that there are many more very good practical reasons for a seven-day set, I just can't think of them now.

Maybe so that your valet could strop the set once a week or a few days in advance and you were always ready to go with a sharp razor... But then the valet probably did the shaving anyways. I can’t really see the point of these sets but they seem to be a ‘thing’.

Tomo said:

Maybe so that your valet could strop the set once a week or a few days in advance and you were always ready to go with a sharp razor... But then the valet probably did the shaving anyways. I can’t really see the point of these sets but they seem to be a ‘thing’.

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When we had personal valets, we also had a personal barber to shave the gentleman.

Those were the days. Oh, how I miss them. Now I have to pay a barber a little over USD 2 just for a shave!

I don't even pay my housemaid that much per hour.

Tomo said:

The sets are very nice. I’m just wondering if there is a practical benefit of having a different identical razor for every day on the week. Perhaps this came from a time when honing was not done at home but left to professionals.

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if you can maintain a razor, there is no practical reason. In the unlikely event you wear one razor out in your lifetime, go buy another.

I have gentleman’s sets with twin razors, because maybe a gentleman might not be able to get one razor honed in time, and might need a backup. But seven? Give me a break.

Legion said:

.... Give me a break.

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Another very good reason. We all know that razors need to be rested in between uses. Seven days is the perfect rest period.

Does a seven day set have to by definition be made up of matching razors with imprinted days of the week?

If not, any seven of my razors will qualify meaning I have several seven day sets. Not just me of course.

Happy shaves,

Jim

Chan Eil Whiskers said:

Does a seven day set have to by definition be made up of matching razors with imprinted days of the week?

If not, any seven of my razors will qualify meaning I have several seven day sets. Not just me of course.

Happy shaves,

Jim

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A true gentleman would have a matching seven-day set. That way he obtains consistent shave quality, consistent maintenance with each razor, and can better assess the relevant edge quality on each razor.

Others who don't normally mix in polite company, might have an unmatched set or less than seven in their set.