Thread: wade & butcher resale value!!! And funny story

So I am fairly new to cruising the bay and I have noticed that the 8/8 notch hollow ground barber use razors going for a fat chuck of cash! Like all of them, it's really blowing my mind on how they are holding their value after 100 years... Here are some examples, I have to admit I did bid on a few and got up to $250 and still didn't get it. So I had some errands to run and I told my wife to watch a razor for me and told her my max bid. she did so but when I got back she was smiling ear to ear and told me "for the longest time I never understood why you got so excited over the auction and how much fun it was for you" (there was a long pause because I was waiting for her to tell me how much of a mistake was about to hit my wallet) she then said, "I didn't win it, but I did go $150 over your max bid you told me!!!! From here on in she is doing all my auctions so that I don't get in trouble anymore for buying razors, she took the auction addiction hook line and sinker lol....

Back to the subject at hand is it all Wade and butchers selling like this or is it just the 8/8 notch for barber use the celebrated hollow grind. There is also the 8/8 the celebrated hollow grind (correct me if I'm wrong) that seems to sell for a little less but the barbers use selling for $300-$450 a razor! That's crazy!



Here is is the one going for cheaper.... For now

There is a simple explanation for this. It's called greed. There is no shortage of these razors. Like the equally insanely priced Dubl Ducks and Filarmonicas, they are the easiest to get vintage razors. All you need to do is bring sufficient amounts of cash to the party.

So, not rare, lots of fanboys who want them, actually middle of the road performance - I could easily think of twenty brands (let alone razors) that offer better value for money.

But, hey!, some people love fanboy items. It's a big, big YYMV thing, and that's great. Diversity is great, especially when it comes to straights.

They don't make them anymore

I saw one in my watchlist yesterday sell for $475. That's crazy money.

Maybe its supply and demand.
I want a few. Out of all my razors I haven't got one made in England

Errrr... You really, really don't want to go on international eBay to get an English razor. eBay UK is a far safer bet. The FAQ here has an entry on optimising your eBay search. Apparently, you want to eliminate the usual suspects from Asia first.

And no, Wade & Butcher would not be high on my list of English razors to buy. A Sellers, however... There are many very nice English brands out there whose prices have not been hyped through the roof. Happy hunting.

Originally Posted by JOB15

Maybe its supply and demand.
I want a few. Out of all my razors I haven't got one made in England

It is supply and demand. And hype. All of which are high. Very high. At any random point, type "wade butcher razor" in the Ebay search. Right now, this search gives 185 hits. One hundred and eighty-five. Granted, not all of them are 8/8, but when browsing you will find a fair share of them. At any given point in time (the same for e.g. Friodurs and Dubl Ducks in decent to good shape).

This is why I sigh deeply every time I read the phrase "rare Wade & Butcher". Apart from maybe "The Ottoman and Egyptian Razor", there really is no such thing as a rare Wade & Butcher. Not even close. It is like saying 1970's and -80's Ford Mustangs are hard to come by.

Originally Posted by johnmrson

I saw one in my watchlist yesterday sell for $475. That's crazy money.

It's madness!

Originally Posted by RobinK

There is a simple explanation for this. It's called greed. There is no shortage of these razors. Like the equally insanely priced Dubl Ducks and Filarmonicas, they are the easiest to get vintage razors. All you need to do is bring sufficient amounts of cash to the party.

So, not rare, lots of fanboys who want them, actually middle of the road performance - I could easily think of twenty brands (let alone razors) that offer better value for money.

But, hey!, some people love fanboy items. It's a big, big YYMV thing, and that's great. Diversity is great, especially when it comes to straights.

YYMV? I like the look of them and they are huge I would say that's the only reason why I'm interested in getting one, but mainly for the resale value. Of course after I'm done honing and shaving with her I'll have a better idea of what I'm dealing with... But I have heard from my reliable source it's not a top performer... I think he was mentioning something about edge retention as I recall...

It's crazy watching what some of the W&B choppers go for on the Bay!! As a SR newbie what I'm much more interested in learning about are the "sleeper" Sheffield brands which provide a top notch shave for less as they are off the fanboy radar!