Thread: Antique store explorations?

Hi, I was thinking about exploring some of our local antique stores, and I just wanted to get some thoughts from everyone about what vintage razors I should be looking for out there. What are the really special ones that someone might not know they have? How about some cool ones that you would jump on if you saw sitting in a display case un-appreciated? Also, if you have an idea on values, I'd love to hear what you think would be a fair price for the razors I should look for, as well as a "you should feel guilty if you can get it for this little" price.

Thoughts?

Welcome to SRP!

The general advice is to wait a while and get familiar with straights in general so you know a bit more of what to look for and what to avoid, but a few tips can be found here: The straight razor - Straight Razor Place Wiki I believe there's a thread somewhere that covers quite a bit as well, but couldn't find it right now.

Look for razors in good shape, most vintage razors are of good quality.

As for valuations we don't do that here, the simple reasin for this is that the value is in the eye of the beholder i.e. a razor you would be willing to pay $10 for I could be willing to pay $50 for or maybe nothing at all.

Hi Zephyr, thanks for the general advice, it is certainly sound. I guess I wasn't quite as clear as a had intended to be in my original post. I am basically wondering if there are any razors out there that would fall under the category of "Masterpiece" or "extraordinary", as opposed to be just considered good quality, and in good condition (I can judge that myself), I was hoping that I might be able to get an idea for who is considered the master (i.e. the Rolls Royce of Razors, compared to the BMW/Mercedes).

I'm hoping that the vendors might not know that they have a Rolls Royce equivalent Razor, and possibly be selling it under market value because they don't see it as any more valuable than a Dodge equivalent razor.

So what would you consider the Rolls Royce/Bently of razors? What about the Ferrari, BMW, or other lower-end luxury level razors that I might find during such a journey?

Brands that are "Rolls Royce" as you call it varies, right now, and the last few years brands like Wade & Butcher and Filarmonica have gained some IMO insane prices.
They are good razors by all mean, but there are other brands that will shave just as well and cost 1/10 of the price.

A look in the Razor Clubs can help guiding you towards reputable brands.