Thread: Vintage razors are a great deal at almost any cost.

Its really pretty much that way with everything. New items sell at a premium and used go for much less with the exception of things that are highly sought after. It has nothing to do with the quality whether the vintage is far superior to the new or not. That's why savy people will buy say a car that's a year or so old or a watch thats also maybe a year old. No different with razors.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Its really pretty much that way with everything. New items sell at a premium and used go for much less with the exception of things that are highly sought after. It has nothing to do with the quality whether the vintage is far superior to the new or not. That's why savy people will buy say a car that's a year or so old or a watch thats also maybe a year old. No different with razors.

True. Other factors are ornamentation. After all, how many razors do you see on the bay with worked spines, gold wash, or mammoth ivory scales? Most new razors (with some exceptions) have at the very least etching or gold wash on the blade face.

Personally I like a plainer blade, so vintage it is. Though I sure would like to get my hands on a pretty new TI...

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Its really pretty much that way with everything. New items sell at a premium and used go for much less with the exception of things that are highly sought after. It has nothing to do with the quality whether the vintage is far superior to the new or not. That's why savy people will buy say a car that's a year or so old or a watch thats also maybe a year old. No different with razors.

I agree. However, many things, I would argue straight razors included, diminish in value from new until age ("antique"), rarity and/or demand reverse that process. Clearly, as you can tell by my post, I'm amazed that vintage razors in excellent condition, almost regardless of make are bought and sold for their consistently low prices in relation to new. Excellent condition vintage razors are undervalued and oftentimes dramatically so. That's the bees knees if you're a buyer and I personally love the fact that sellers such as most antique dealers don't have a clue. As a seller though (I've only sold a small number of razors to date), the undervalued vintage razor factor has definitely kept razors in my stable that under different circumstances I'd most likely have sold off over time. The concept of excellent condition vintage razors regardless of make consistently going for MORE than typical new razors (say $200 on up) seems foreign and unreal. It actually surprises me that that's not the case. I still wonder why that is.

Chris L

I agree. It amazes me vintage razors are so inexpensive. Shhhhhh....
Actually, considering the cost of a crappy plastic disposable handle and a years worth of disposable blades, the modern hand crafted straights are a real deal too. This may be one of the last places where you can get such high quality products for so little! And, looking at the Dovo manufacturing video, it appears that even the new ones are still primarily made by hand with a whole lot of individual steps (although if they were truly honed to "shave ready" they would have to be considerably more $).

Inspiring thread to keep an eye out for Vintage razors in good to great condition. I bought new straights and I am glad I did and I know that the ones I have will still get a good price if I ever decided to sell them, which I will not.

Pabster

I also prefer vintage and enjoy fantasizing about the history behind them. New production razors have their place and are priced appropriately for today's economy as the market bears out.

Between CarrieM and I we have ~ 270 razors (yea I know, RAD) and in the bunch we have only 2 new production Dovos purchased used and one of the last Fillies from CS. All are shave ready, in service and I rotate through the bunch as best I can. Averaging the cost of the razors I get a cost of $25.02. Some are Ebay scores. 179 are local finds from Antique shops and the like. The average cost for local finds is $16.49. Of the total lot most are not in NOS condition and do have some tarnish and/or pitting but shave just fine. The time spent on the hunt, gas and the time spent honing/restoring are not included in the cost as I do all myself with CarrieM and JrJoeD and it is enjoyable for us.

On a tight budget, look in antique shops and sleepers on Ebay and learn to do the honing yourself. If your time is more valuable or you don't have the patients or skills to do so go with the new blades of purchase them restored and honed. How ever you decide to go, forget the cost and enjoy the great shaves!

Originally Posted by Joed

I also prefer vintage and enjoy fantasizing about the history behind them. New production razors have their place and are priced appropriately for today's economy as the market bears out.

Between CarrieM and I we have ~ 270 razors (yea I know, RAD) and in the bunch we have only 2 new production Dovos purchased used and one of the last Fillies from CS. All are shave ready, in service and I rotate through the bunch as best I can. Averaging the cost of the razors I get a cost of $25.02. Some are Ebay scores. 179 are local finds from Antique shops and the like. The average cost for local finds is $16.49. Of the total lot most are not in NOS condition and do have some tarnish and/or pitting but shave just fine. The time spent on the hunt, gas and the time spent honing/restoring are not included in the cost as I do all myself with CarrieM and JrJoeD and it is enjoyable for us.

On a tight budget, look in antique shops and sleepers on Ebay and learn to do the honing yourself. If your time is more valuable or you don't have the patients or skills to do so go with the new blades of purchase them restored and honed. How ever you decide to go, forget the cost and enjoy the great shaves!

I've seen some of your scores and they're amazing. I've been to a few antique stores and almost all of them have their razors overpriced around here*. Do you see similar things up by you?

I'm talking $50-$100 for just general razors in mediocre condition. I've bought a few (say 2 or 3) regardless and don't mind the price I paid, but have left many because, even at a negotiated price, I couldn't justify the purchase.

Surprisingly, my eBay experiences have been much better as I mentioned upthread. The drawback is that you have to rely on whatever pictures are posted so I don't bother bidding on listings with either few or blurry pictures.

EDIT: "here" being north-central Florida. I also checked antique stores in Charleston and that was a flippin' joke.

Originally Posted by commiecat

I've seen some of your scores and they're amazing. I've been to a few antique stores and almost all of them have their razors overpriced around here*. Do you see similar things up by you?

I'm talking $50-$100 for just general razors in mediocre condition. I've bought a few (say 2 or 3) regardless and don't mind the price I paid, but have left many because, even at a negotiated price, I couldn't justify the purchase.

Surprisingly, my eBay experiences have been much better as I mentioned upthread. The drawback is that you have to rely on whatever pictures are posted so I don't bother bidding on listings with either few or blurry pictures.

EDIT: "here" being north-central Florida. I also checked antique stores in Charleston and that was a flippin' joke.

Yes, there are places and people that think they have gold on their shelves. Carriem let's them know what's up. I tell them it looks just fine where it is and because of that it should stay there. As we all are aware of, there is no set price for vintage items, razors included. Some people will drop their prices, some just want to get ride of the razors because they scare them or they don't want kids getting them. Others think the high price is acceptable. I shop around and have left a many razors where they were. One instance that comes to mind is a Wonderedge we found in an antique shop. Price was $250 w/ maybe a max 10% off, maybe. We looked at it, discussed it's flaws with the person showing it and left it there. We went back a week or two later and CarrieM came around the corner of the isle white as a ghost with a big smile. "They marked the Wonderedge 1/2 off!" she whispered. Needless to say we went home with it even though it was about 5 times the high limit we usually spend on antique shop razors in great condition. Lately the prices have been going up in our local haunts and that is fine. We have become a lot more picky in what we buy unless I am on a hunting spree, which is when CarrieM picks up some restore blades to keep me busy for a while.