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I know we have the list of razors to avoid, but is there a list somewhere that covers reputable makers of the past as well as the present? There are many "Vintage" razors on ebay, but a list with reputable makers and eras would be helpful to weed out the garbage IMHO.
Thanks!
Tom, if you go to the Razor Clubs sub forum here you will have something good to go with + a lot of eye candy.
I think the reason that there isn't a "reputable list" is that it would be too long.
There are certain brands like Wade&Butcher that are extremely well known, but the truth of the matter is that any vintage razor made in Germany, England, USA, France, Sweden, or anywhere other than China & Pakistan, is a razor that can probably be made shave worthy if it's not rusted, broken, badly chipped, bent, etc.
There are hundreds, if not thousands of brands in that category, and countless razors with no brand identifier that fall into that category as well.
Thanks! With that said, is there any method or criteria for determining their value?Ｉrealize that cracks and chips lower the value, and that anything older is probably of good enough quality, but antique dealers can spin their items - for example, if a razor is from the civil war era, its value as an "artifact" would be different to a collector than if it were sold as an actual working razor that was just "vintage" from the same era.Quote:
I think the reason that there isn't a "reputable list" is that it would be too long.
There are certain brands like Wade&Butcher that are extremely well known, but the truth of the matter is that any vintage razor made in Germany, England, USA, France, Sweden, or anywhere other than China & Pakistan, is a razor that can probably be made shave worthy if it's not rusted, broken, badly chipped, bent, etc.
There are hundreds, if not thousands of brands in that category, and countless razors with no brand identifier that fall into that category as well.
It is a disservice to the Chinese to put their razors in the same catagory as anything from Pakistan. I have known people who were quite happy with the Chinese Double Arrow brand. Unlike the Pakistan, China has the capability of making some very fine products.Quote:
Originally Posted by VeeDubb65
All of the brands listed in the wiki article that Otto listed are brands that are known to be good, but I stick to my first comment.
Virtually any vintage blade forged in Europe or the US can probably be made to shave very well.
As far as assigning value, there's no easy formula for this. I'm sure everyone here has their own personal scale for determining the value of a razor.
Just a few things to consider....
- Brand. A "known brand" like Dubl Duck or Genco is probably worth more than an "unknown brand" but that doesn't necessarily mean it will shave better.
- Scale condition. Are they clean? Straight? Free from cracks? Are the pins tight like they should be?
- Blade condition, cosmetic. Is there rust? Pitting? Patina? Is it nice and shiny? Is it shiny, but only because it was restored, and not restored well?
- Blade condition, mechanical. Is it shave ready? Does it have chips? Cracks? Does it center well in the scales? Does it have excessive or uneven hone wear?
- Collectibility. Is it collectible? How collectible? Do you care?
As you can see, there's too many variables to give you a scale to go by. FWIW, personally, if it's shave ready and I like the shape of it, it's worth at least $25 to me, no matter how ugly it is. As it get's nicer looking, and the condition improves, so does the value.