How was Razors Edge started......by Dave Wilson
Razors
Edge was started in MD and DC long before there was ever a Knuckles. My
friend Carlos Barksdale and I started it with game dogs. We researched
everything we could find. We read every book publicized at that time.
Subscribed to many dog magazines like the ADBA Gazette, even some
underground ones. We called damn near every breeder that we could find
and questioned them, LOL. If it said Pit, we were on it. We all had
already owned some unpapered BYB Pits. We even had our own Pit club and
went hiking and other things back in the woods. Eventually we got
enough money to get some real papered, good bloodline, game dogs. We
purchased some of the best around at the time. Even paid 3500 way back
then for a Grandson of the great Plumbers Alligator, mainly Mayfield
lines. We were very heavy into the game lines. I had dogs from
Hemphill/Wilder blood. These were big game dogs.
Later on I hooked up with George Williams in DC and we purchased a dog we named Diablo, from Wildside Kennels. Diablo's dad was a bigger catch dog, Hollinsworth Bull. His mom was a game girl named Wildside's Ms. Leaky. This was the turnaround time when Razors Edge started adding more size. The first every registered ADBA Razors Edge breeding was from my Mayfield boy Zeus to a Mayfield girl named Jinx. Jinx was actually given to a friend back then named Curt Plater, now CLP Kennels. He owned the first ever Razors Edge dog. We would lose contact after this for many years before hooking up again. I had another pure Colby male named Dante that was placed in DC with my man Dave Conrad. Dante went on and shook up DC, but that was the old days, LOL. They banned Pits in PG County and I was forced to move. Eventually, through my job in the Pet Store industry, I landed a manager's job at a Pet Store in VA. Virginia was the spot for pet lovers! I managed a Pet Store, worked as a professional dog trainer, and still bred bigger ADBA game dogs. Basically, I bred my own now. I also put fliers in the Washington Post explaining what the breed was and what Razors Edge was. I had to move to VA. I hooked up with Jeannie Howe who became a co-owner of Razors Edge. I met a guy named Ron Smith who came aboard and took it to another level. I saw this blue dog named Steel Town Blue Monday! I was hooked! Ron already knew every UKC and AKC breeder under the sun. He had been researching on his own for years, so this man had all the pictures, info, etc. He had fliers and pictures from every AKC and UKC breeder from coast to coast. He literally had pictures of almost all the dogs in all these pedigrees. That man really is the Pit Guru. We first contacted Cock 'n' Bull Kennels, the ones that produced Monday. They turned us on to people in Cali with that blood. Candace Eggart was one. Candy sent us pictures of what she had and what she had going on. Just to give you a time frame, she sold a dog years later to Tony Moore named Showtime! Showtime went on to be one of the foundation bitches in the Greyline! So this was years before Greyline was even around. We went to every breeder on the East Coast, up north to Bobby Morehouse, Beth Jones, my man Lee Fitzgerald, Flying A's, Minot's Ledge, etc. We actually purchased a blue brindle female named Sadey from Minot's Ledge. This litter had an extraordinary pedigree. The top half were mainly Flying A's dogs like Oreo and Reo Speedwagon, dogs I had seen and liked. You could see in the extended pedigree how these dogs stemmed from Ruffian Dogs. Then you could see how it went back even further, from the AKC Ruffian dog to the UKC Colby dogs. This top half of the pedigree actually showed how Pits eventually were registered as Staffs! I thought that was cool to see on paper and in a dog I owned. Then the bottom half of the pedigree went right back to Stratton Dogs, dogs like Going Light Barney, dogs I grew up reading about! Thanks to Richard Stratton, LOL! Then behind them were the same Colby dogs I saw on the top of the pedigree. So I had this dog that showed the history of the Am. Staff and the directions the Colby line went in the UKC. We also purchased a male named Razors Edge Blue Maxx. His top half was a dog named StoryTime's Upon this Rock AKA Peter Peter, a dog bred by Beth Jones. He was a big ass dog, but kinda ugly. They bred him to Wassuc's Farm Maggie May. I really liked this compact girl. We researched her lines and found she was Ryan. When we got to see the Ryan dogs, we were surprised to see they were game dogs. They were AKC registered Staffs, but they still bred for game dogs! This was something I had never seen. I'm sure that's why the AKC people didn't like that line, LOL. However, I loved it! Bully, game, blue, staffs! Now that's what I am talking about! LOL. Maxx was our boy from this blood. Now Razors Edge was big ADBA game dogs, one UKC Blue Brindle girl and a big hot Blue Fawn AKC boy. In VA, there was Sharon Stone of Cloverhill, who had the biggest Staffs I had ever seen! Her old stuff was huge! Too tall for what I was looking for, but huge! They changed years later and went more showy. Paco was, in my opinion, actually a throwback of her older days. Ginny York, Pam Perdue, Gigi, The Garretts, etc. We visited them all. Even went down to Florida and checked out Marsha Woods. Met KC Courtier of Watchdog Kennels. Eventually, we went up to MD and met Kimmar Kennels. As soon as I stepped on the ranch, I knew I had found the build I was looking for! The Razors Edge package was almost complete. We also had been advertising in the Washington Post for many years. Some young Kats from DC used to come down and hang out and bring their dogs. Edwin Salinas and Joey Nevils were two of them. These guys had been buying dogs from Kimmar and mixing their own stuff in them too. Kimmar used to have an ad in the Post under the Pit Bull ads. It said Petey pups. They didn't want their dogs to be labeled as Pits, but they advertised directly under Pits? Hmmmmmm? Not as Staff? Anyway, local kats knew the deal and picked up a lot of her dogs. Joey, Edwin, Joey's pop and their boys had a bunch of these dogs. Even some old friends of mine, Jerry and Gerrold, had yards with these dogs. We all also had game stuff in the mix. I tapped into a lot of their dogs as well. In Kimmar's yard, I learned a lot about breeding and genetics. I spent every weekend there for almost three years. I actually put on a training class for all her buyers every Sunday. Razors Edge had been breeding now for a few generations. We even used a lot of her dogs from other people in the mix. Ron also had some York dogs and some other AKC stuff we experimented with. Before we got Knuckles or any of them, Razors Edge was already in the game. Kimmar actually used our dog Maxx for some breedings. Eventually we purchased around 15 dogs from her line, including Knuckles and Rage. While these pups were growing, Razors Edge already had it formula. We just wanted a different head. We also were not given papers on some of these dogs and they had to be UKC registered instead! This is where Razors Edge became heavily involved in UKC. Ron made a sharp turn and went back into the game dogs. He jumped heavy into the RedBoy line and vanished? I started searching for a better head and came into some Watchdog stuff. KC was not breeding anymore, so I had to find that blood somewhere else. I bought dogs from Grapevine Kennels. I hit up Hughzee's, who I believe later on became Chaos Kennels. We had been talking to Pam from Gaff Kennels for a few years and really liked a boy named Seiko! So we got a dog from her. We experimented with a lot of lines and different dogs. Razors Edge started having a real consistent look. The heads were big, but we still wanted them to be a little more blocky. A few generations later it was pretty much there. "This was creation from research..." The
reason for posting this is because we have been asked how this line
began. Also to show that it goes way beyond the dogs you see today. It
wasn't just as easy as breeding two dogs and waiting a couple of
generations and calling it a line. This was creation from research, and
as you can see, many years and lines went into it. This is just the
backbone info too. Razors Edge had many years to follow before the line
was complete.
Razors Edge Maxx had kids featured on the cover of DogWorld at this time. So the name was out, and Knuckles was still a pup! Then one day, a man called from an advertisement we placed in The Washington Post. He came by with this little blocky head blue puppy male he called Mr. Brooks. There it was, the final ingredient. By the way, this was 1992-ish. Gary and I collaborated on many breedings from that point on. We both started showing our dogs and doing quite well in the ring. By 1994, Razors Edge had its final look and was consistently producing it. Thanks to all these lines and people involved. A lot happed from that point on, but that's an even longer story, LOL. A lot of people claim to know these dogs and this line, but this is before they got into the dogs. Dogs like ShortShot were made almost 4 years later and remained in Razors Edge's yard until around 1999. Then we were reunited with an old friend, Curt, and he was placed with him. He had the first RE dog ever made and he got one of the best RE dogs created! I used him for an example, to explain how these dogs went into other yards and onto other lines and kennels. Razors Edge dogs were always placed amongst friends. That was the point of the line, to share with everyone. A lot of the guys came around years later and also got into this line. No, this isn't against True Tank, like it may be perceived. I don't have any problem with that. What I have a problem with is people discrediting the line and saying it's just this and this, without giving credit to all the years it took to make it. Now the way I see TT posting these days is very respectful. There is an understanding. They use this line as their foundation. Maybe things haven't gone smooth, but now it has gone in a better direction. Respect for that. Respect for using this line. To Dispel The Rumors Name Changes: A lot of people have got dogs from Razors Edge and changed the names and added their own. We all know how
wrong that is!
Mixing In Other Breeds: Never happened at Razors Edge. Yes, some lines out there have done that, and they know. No, I will not be the one to drop the dime. It's not my line nor my place. Razors Edge and Presa Canario: Yes, we owned the first Canary dog ever in the US. I actually got the club in the Canary Islands the program to start their registry. I was friends with the head of the club in the Canary Islands in Spain. In return, they sent me the first Canary dog ever in the USA. He was 3 months old. I kept him until he was slightly over 5 months. After owning Pits, I was too picky, so I couldn't get over the look. I placed him with friends Steve and Carla of Alexandria. They went on to be Presa breeders. I never saw the boy again. So, I never mixed another blood into the line! That is a taboo to me! I am and always have been a true Pit man. I stay true to the breed and that's that. I really don't like the looks of Mastiffs and Bulldogs anyway. When you cross them, it makes a Bandog! Razors Edge may not be the purpose of the original Pits, but at least the blood stayed pure! You can make dogs like this without adding in another breed. A shortcut is not the answer! It just takes time, and patience isn't easy! Paper Faking: You know I'm not going to comment on this. The way I see it, everything I've heard is always about dogs I owned or had in my yard. Either way, they question things that were all here. My Answer: You weren't in my yard, stop speculating. Make your own accomplishments and stop trying to tarnish others! All this gossip, man that is some petty shit! Let's enjoy what we have, while we can. The Real Deal: These dogs might not be around if we don't come together and fight! Thank you for the time, and for those who asked, that's some Razors Edge history before what you can see today. Respect.
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