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This is a long one, very sorry. It might not be anything you want to read. But for all the heated people today, here is
some history on what made this line. Maybe once you're done reading, you will have relaxed from the boredom! LOL. No offense
to anyone by this post either, just some info and answers to some rumors. Before RE was really a line, there was a concept.
There was also a lot of learning...
Some people have asked me how Razors Edge was formed. I guess there are a lot of misconceptions and rumors floating around.
For those who have no interest, excuse this post. For those that may think this post pertains to them, it doesn't. Just history
and the way it is. If you take offense, then you must be spreading lies!
How was Razors Edge started?
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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