Thread: Rare Razor prices

There is a segment of the straight razor community that collects decorated scales and they have been around for the 30 or so years I was active on and off in razor collection. Years ago when I determined that I wasn't going to shave with straights I limited my collecting to late eighteenth century and early nineteenth stuff. Also large W&Bs. I would buy them and put them in a drawer. Keep an eye on pressed horn oldies and you will be surprised at what they bring at auction.

I had one friend, a barber, who collected fancy scaled razors and had no interest in any others. He has passed away some years ago and when he barbered he would use a shavette to trim around the ears and the back of the neck. No face shaving. Anyhow, there is a new book out on collecting fancy scales by the author of the 1980 classic "Collecting Straight Razors", Robert Doyle. It is called ,"Celluloid Handle Guide For Straight Razor Collectors". It is filled with beautiful photos of scales but doesn't show the blades at all! Illustrates the point I think.

EDIT; The funny part of it is that in '06 I decided to ebay all of the razors I had accumulated and did. I would ask a friend who has a good eye for such things to evaluate my ebay presentations. In doing so he became interested in shaving with straights and found the various shaving forums. I told him not to waste his time and money but he wouldn't listen to me.

He got into it and shortly thereafter so did I. The rest as they say is history.

Wonderful!! Thanks!! I think I could read your post every night before going to bed. Also: it here a sort of secret password or something similar that I should know to visit your collection? A place, a webpage.. or just a very-well-protected room?

Originally Posted by clavichord

Wonderful!! Thanks!! I think I could read your post every night before going to bed. Also: it here a sort of secret password or something similar that I should know to visit your collection? A place, a webpage.. or just a very-well-protected room?

My current accumulation is more shavers than collectibles. I have put a couple in the SRP Wiki database and will add more as time and inclination permit.I tend to be sort of secretive about things like my collecting. I was told that I am paranoid and I should go to paranoids anonymous for help. I tried but no one will tell me where the meetings are.

Probably in the last 25 or so years this country has gone collection crazy. You name it and people buy it and there are always people who are flush with cash and can afford just about anything they want no matter the economic conditions.

I think most guys here would be really shocked at how many people have really large collections of straights they don't ever use. I remember a year or so ago I bought a razor off a guy on Eboy and he told me he had his office wallpapered with them. He wasn't even sure how many he had but at least 4 or 5 thousand. He said he just liked to look at them. He was not the first guy to tell me something like that either.

So I'm not surprised when some of these razors go for wild prices. I'm more surprised when I see say a Goldedge go for a grand then some rusty beat up razor with one of a kind scales go for 2 grand.