Thread: Are there deals in the future?

WOW,

What did I miss????

It is never the new persons fault about anything. It is always the fault of the razor or the manufacturer or the vendor or the honer or the hone or.........

But, never the fault of the new person learning this sport. And, this is regardless of your skill level, amount of knowledge or experience. Is is simply never ever ever the fault of the person.

It is funny as I look around the forums, that we are about the only forum that does not allow any agenda or vendetta when a person is having problems and try to help them. We do ask that no vendor be slammed for this reason and don't promote any vendor for the same reason. Most times people will post in the forum without checking with a vendor first on any real or perceived problem.

I would hope that you all remember that this forum is about growing and supporting straight razor shaving and the entire wet shaving sport.

Thanks,

Lynn

The deals are still definitely out there and waiting to be found. Of course, if your only source is eBay or the antique shops then, yes, there is a sort of a collective frenzy that drives prices up away from 'reasonable' into something that ranges from ... um... 'a bit much' to 'absolutely silly'.

I'm still shopping at the flea markets. I have never (ever) paid more than € 15 for a straight razor, but usually between € 2 and € 5. Even there it depends upon who is doing the selling. One man's trash blade is another man's collectible bar of gold. But this is a pursuit which demands patience. I visit the flea markets regularly, but sometimes I will see nothing at all for weeks at a time. Then maybe a few chipped and rusted blades that aren't fit for anything more than being melted down for scrap. And then... and then, every once in a while the stars, planets and other heavenly bodies fall into a special alignment that allows me to score five or six good straights in one session. Go figure.

Are there going to be deals in the future? You can bet on it. Somebody is always deciding to do spring cleaning or wants to get rid of something they no longer see as useful. Also, although I don't wish to be morbid, let's be honest on another point. The length of a lifetime is finite. At some time or another in the future that long neglected straight razor that had been consigned to the back of the sock drawer will eventually see the light of day again. The same goes for working straight razors. And the same rule holds for all of us with RAD. Our collections will ultimately be recycled... or at least I fervently hope so.

Originally Posted by BeBerlin

What annoys me most is beginners hoarding razors and "restoring" them with lacking skills, sub part equipment, and bad taste. The number of shoddily "polished" razors with bad honing and wooden scales in the market is amazing, and the more people do that to make a quick buck, the less good razors will be available to people truly into straight razors (let alone collecting them) in 5 to 10 years's time. Bit of a shame, if you ask me.

Indeed it is a shame. I couldn't agree more.

Originally Posted by altshaver

I think this is overly harsh. Experienced members give a lot to the community. I really enjoy the interactions I have had with them. The information they have supplied to me has been priceless and I enjoy making new friends on this forum.

I don't deserve to be compared to Hitler. Members of my family fought in both Theaters of World War 2, ridding the world of some of the most fascist regimes. I won't tolerate it.

This might not be the place for me.

Back the train up a bit, I don't think he was calling you or anyone else here hitler. I had to go back and read that about four time though to get what he was saying. He's saying that starting a conversation that may get heated on this board my mentioning 'quality' of one razor over another is kinda like going to another board and saying, 'Bush is Hitler'....or a shooting board and saying, 'Walther sucks'. He's simply pointing out, much to some folk's chagrin, that mentioning that the quality of 'razor X' is less than 'razor Y' tends to get heated at times. One only needs to look at those 'Dovo sucks' threads to see this.

I think it's time for a few folks to step away from the fire for a bit and rethink and reread a few posts. I'm interested in this thread, but I have a feeling that if discussion of this nature continues the thread will magically disappear.

Originally Posted by red96ta

I think it's time for a few folks to step away from the fire for a bit and rethink and reread a few posts. I'm interested in this thread, but I have a feeling that if discussion of this nature continues the thread will magically disappear.

+1 Let's take a breath, count to ten and enjoy our Sunday gentlemen. I wouldn't want to see this thread closed but if it becomes an argument between two members over harsh and perhaps ill considered words that will be the consequence. Shake hands and forgive and forget.

My question is this: Have you ever seen any "young hipsters" anywhere near an antique shop? I have tried getting some of my friends in their 20s and early 30s interested in using straights with no luck. I don't think many younger guys have the patience or interest in getting into using or collecting straights. Personally, I have a feeling it has more to do with retirees that have the time and money to pursue such things. Plus the people that think they can make a quick buck.

I think the deals currently are also like real estate.. it is all dependent on location, location, location.

I travel to small towns a lot and since coming to straight shaving have found little antique stores in small towns and have had great success. Now there are a few where the cost is up there but I have never seen anything over 50 bucks and that was a NOS razor. Mostly they are under 10 dollars US.

In the Metro areas they are more expensive as there are more people in the area and a chance that more people looking for what you are looking for.

In this economy they may be getting more scarce as well due to people being out of work and trying to find a way of making more money. So they try and find what they can make a profit on and maybe stumble onto straights.

As a newbie and someone who likes to restore blades as well I can also see where BeBerlin is coming from too. My first few restores are not the greatest at all. As for the wood scales I think that is a matter of taste. I try to never rescale a razor that does not need it though as I like the stock look but also love the look of some woods over flat black plastic as well.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Indeed it is a shame. I couldn't agree more.

How are new people supposed to get experienced at restoring razors to your standards if they don't start out new and make the same mistakes all the experienced people did? I agree with BeBerlin's distaste for doing it to make a quick buck, but I wholeheartedly disagree that new people shouldn't try to learn how to fix these up. Is there some rusted metal shaped like a straight razor supply store I can go to so I don't wreck real razors?

Who's going to fix up your rusted bits once all you experienced guys die of old age? Should the hobby waste away?

Originally Posted by ChrisL

To really build am impressive collection with high quality excellent condition razors, it's almost like a part time job. You either pay with money, time or both.

I totally agree.

To the OP, you have seen how difficult it is to find good razors in antique shops and how vigilant you have to be on ebay. Factor these in, plus the time and skill it takes to do a proper restore and honing, then you would realize how many razors offered in the classifieds are really good bargains. The past few days alone, I watched a Traveller restored and rescaled 7/8 humpback drop in price from $200 to $135, and couldn't believe no one was buying it at that price. That razor has at least $100 worth of work in it, from one of the best in the business. With shipping, that would be like paying $20 for the blade. No way you could do that on ebay.

Basically, what I am trying to say is that unless you already have the buffing wheels, rouges and skill to use them (not to mention many ebay or antique store blades will need regrinds), or you intend to shave with a tarnished unrestored blade, you need to factor these things in to the cost of these flea market bargains.

In regards to the OP, razor companies made these things in the millions say from 1850-1930 and many millions more worldwide. I don't think stores are going to run out anytime soon.

Not only is the issue of location, location, location, but also one of luck. Just like hunting for anything in the wild (ie. deer) there's days when you come home with nothing. Consider the things that must be done...expand your search area, check outside large urbanized areas, talk with barbers, take a trip out of state...there's lots of fun stuff to do. It isn't always the score that matters. If deer hunting or fishing was only fun when you came home with something nobody would be doing it. Heck, if I came home with an ounce of gold everytime I went prospecting it would sure be fun. The reality is that you have to make the fun in the SEARCH, not in the score...that's the reward for perseverance. The thing I don't like about ebay is that there is no search, it's like going to one of those places that have deer fenced in and you just pick the one you want and shoot it...that's not fun. Yeah, you can get some great pieces there and certainly has it's merits; heck, I can go online and buy all the gold I want at full spot, but finding it myself is the fun.