Thread: Don't be wasteful–buy used

Probably because the vast majority of vintage razors take a lot of work to get to being "just as good or better." I can tell you as a fact that the prices you see in the classifieds are artificially low-- held down by charity and the love of the sport-- and that the guys who take old razors and make them useable don't make even close to minimum wage on their efforts.

In order for there to be enough to go around, there needs to be a new-stock market to fuel the vintage restoration market, which rides on the margins of the retail business.

I like both, but I have way more vintage.
They both have their place in my collection

Despite the logic which says vintage is the way to go there is just something about getting a brand new blade.

Everyday, I see dozens of newly posted, vintage razors on ebay, razoremporium.com, etc. Sooo many fully or partially restored, or even new-old stock that are perfectly usable, with just some minor imperfections(that add to their character i suppose) for $50 or less. Sure, there are less variables with new blades, if you want to pay double. If you do a minimum of research it shouldnt be hard to find a shave ready, old razor.

Of course it's nice to see a handful of companies carrying on the old tradition of straight razor manufacture, but if you're looking for value, you can't beat vintage and restored.

Originally Posted by daflorc

Everyday, I see dozens of newly posted, vintage razors on ebay, razoremporium.com, etc. Sooo many fully or partially restored, or even new-old stock that are perfectly usable, with just some minor imperfections(that add to their character i suppose) for $50 or less. Sure, there are less variables with new blades, if you want to pay double. If you do a minimum of research it shouldnt be hard to find a shave ready, old razor.

Of course it's nice to see a handful of companies carrying on the old tradition of straight razor manufacture, but if you're looking for value, you can't beat vintage and restored.

I see all those same razors for $50 or less, and let me tell you... most of them are junk. The vintage razor market is really, truly a minefield.

Of course, most of them are complete garbage. But there are a great deal that are perfectly good razors. You gotta have a good eye. Personally I don't see how you can beat shaving with a 100 year old razor in good shape that you got for $35 (1913-1917 Theo A. Kochs Co. bone handled "Marcella") and others.

I've also bought used from antique store for up to $20 that are in my "keep trying to hone" box, they looked perfect in the store, but once on the stones you find warps or other issues. Ebay could be even worse as you can't really see every thing in the pictures. I would trust the classified here, to really mean shave ready.

That being said the hunt for cool old razors and stones is almost my favorite pastime.

I had not thought about the warping issue. I would think ebay sellers would be careful to mislabel an auction to avoid getting negative feedback. I personally would never buy a razor that I couldn't see every aspect of in pictures, and that wasn't well-described.

Most sellers on ebay know very little about the razors they sell, beyond 'some people pay money for such things'.
I've bought plenty of old razors in need of additional work (sometimes significant) for much more money than I could've bought a new razor, but that's because I find certain things very desirable and unavailable on the current production razors. And of course, I've also bought some junk that's no good for anything, and some for well below what they should cost compared to any new razor.

And there's absolutely nothing wrong with buying a brand new razor, virginity does seem to come at a premium, but there's never been a shortage of people willing to pay the price.

Originally Posted by gugi

... of course, I've also bought some junk that's no good for anything...

I think we all have. When I consider that, maybe I'd rather have one new rather than a handful of junk. Certainly someone that just wants to shave, without the "hassle" of possible restore is excellent candidate for new.