Those old wade & butchers

...As I have a lot of time on my hands, and have recently taken an interest in straight razors besides shaving with them (as in restoring, buying, and selling them) I have been trying to read the market from posts on this website, and the going rates on Ebay, and I've noticed that lately it is very possible to get your hands on a vintage wade & butcher for $20-$30, often. Yet, I often see restored ones listed for $150-$200, and just a few weeks ago you couldn't touch one for less than $50. Can anyone give me some info on the subject? And maybe list the most coveted razor makers for me, that fetch the highest price restored? :)

I know of a few goodies:

Dubl Duck
J.A. Henckels
Joseph Smith & Sons
W.H. Morley & Sons
St. James
Joseph Rogers

This is just another example of how, especially on ebay, a given item is worth what someone is willing to pay. This is also why we do not do valuations of razors anywhere on the forum - it simply isn't possible to say what a razor is worth so there is no value in guessing. Well, that and to discourage people from asking about value so they can advertise razors for sale and/or go and sell their razors.

Having read the first post, I'm thinking that this thread might not follow a productive path, so I'm going to be keeping an eye on it. Let's steer clear of valuations and sales talk, please.

Here's a larger list of decent manufacturers from the SRP wiki: Good Brands

I think that beyond razor brand, an important factor in "flipping" a straight is the level of quality you have in restoring. I would venture to guess a buyer that does not do their own restorations would pay more for a nicely restored American made straight than they would for a poorly refurbished German made one (of course I am not knocking American blades as I know there is a following that love good ol USofA steel more than any others). Also, with the amount of variance in blade grind, size, point, and other factors, you will be hard pressed to find a small group of razors that are preferred by everyone and will reliably sell at a high price point.

On a personal note, I try to stay in the $20 price range for antique razors as long as they're not completely destroyed beyond polishing and new scales. So if you can find a Reaper or Filarmonic in good shape and give it to me for $20usd I'd be happy to buy it from you.

While it might seem odd to some who are not familiar with this forum "sales talk", as mentioned by holli4pirating, is not allowed. So advice on 'flipping' a razor and a request for a specific brand is violating the rules of conduct that we all agree to when we register on SRP. Since this thread is going that way I'm going to close it. If a member wants to sell a razor, and has the requisite amount of posts, they may post in our classifieds. If they want to buy a razor they may also post in the WTB section of the classifieds. Advertising either fact in posts on the open forum will not be tolerated. Thanks for your understanding.

Thread closed.