I live in WA as well, and would have to agree. I haven't even read the responses "yet" below your post, but can tell you that I've had virtually NO luck here in western WA. Most of my purchases have come from eBay. Kind of sucks, but don't give up. I would recommend letting friends and family know of your interest if it ever comes up, and let them know if they are ever at a flea market, or gun show, or garage sale, or ......... to keep an eye out for you. I had the same thing come up with old Coleman lanterns that I restore. My brother found about 15 of them for me within a few months at the Monroe swap meet. I would never have thought of that until now, but of course people are going to have a large variety of "stuff" at different events throughout the year. As a matter of fact, now that I think about it, I go to the Puyallup gun shows throughout the year, and have been for about 15 years off and on, and never thought of looking for those kinds of things before I was into their respective hobby. So, now I'm sure the next time I go to a gun show and see a guy with a huge table of pocket knives and stuff "other" than guns, there's a great chance I'll find a few old Straight razors along side them. Bottom line, I've had no luck, although I may have passed many opportunities up without knowing it. Keep friends and family in the loop, and make them aware of your interest. Ask them to shoot you a text with a pic, if they aren't sure if they should buy you something or not. With technology today, it's easier than ever to communicate your desire or interest in something and give them a thumbs up or thumbs down on whether they should buy it for you. It's worked for me with other hobbies, so I'm confident it will work with straights. Lastly, try checking out your local Goodwill. They get a ton of stuff that revolves through their doors daily. Don't give up!!! I won't either....


Geoff




Quote Originally Posted by Prahston View Post
Just wondering if anyone has noticed a large regional difference related to availability of old straight razors?

I ran into something similat when working on classic CB750 motorcycles where guys one the East Coast or Florida would post as if there were motors and parts for these bikes under every other tree... But, I was driving all over Wa State, even to within an hour of Canada, just to get motors and misc stuff.

Seems there may be something similar with vintage straights. I have been all over central WA and recently finished a road trip to the WA coast with well over 25 stops which yielded exactly 'one' straight razor.

That is one reason I've been surprised about some of the negativity about eBay so wondering if other areas just have more availability which gives them other options. I was headed to the beach anyway for my trip but if I had to justify that kind of cost regularly there would be no way this Hobby would be sustainable. Same results with Craigslist... I've had an Ad up for many, many weeks with exactly 'one' response.

I am particularly interested if someone has lived in multiple areas and noticed anything like this or if it is merely coincidence.