Finding vintage shave stuff in the wild
- Thread starter jcblough
- Start date
For me it has been rare to find stuff in the wild. I'm thinking rural area antique shops might be good. Anything close to a big city is picked clean. Or the dealers sell the good stuff on epray and never put in shelfs.
To find anything in malls is rare, rare, rare. Most owners complain about the expense of rent yet I look at their prices and don't wonder for a second why they can't sell anything. My recent trip turned up a lot of shaving stuff in one booth but he wanted $90 for twin plex razor sharpener, $70 for a Valet Auto strop, $60 for a cased Schick, $40 for a brush and so on. It's any wonder they go under. Try your local Peddlers fair or antique fairs as you will have more luck there.
this, most put anything straight on the bay.
I've never tried. I've got all my stuff off of BST or the bay. But I'm told that where I live (rural Ohio) is a good place to find stuff at flea markets, antique shops, and estate sales. Someday I will take up "antiquing" and maybe I'll find some good stuff.
Ben
Ben
You've got to get out a LOT. It is very frustrating, I agree, but I've actually found some of my best stuff at antique malls. A short list:
Gillette ABC silver "Empire" razor
Gillette cased gold Big Fellow
Gillette cased Fat Boy
Gillette cased silver Old Type Single Ring
Several Old Spice Mugs with unused Old Spice soap pucks
Gillette ABC silver "Empire" razor
Gillette cased gold Big Fellow
Gillette cased Fat Boy
Gillette cased silver Old Type Single Ring
Several Old Spice Mugs with unused Old Spice soap pucks
You guys must all have crappy antique stores and flea markets. There are 6 within 2 miles of me. If I visit them all on any given saturday, at least 2 of them will have stuff that I want at either good prices, or negotiable prices. Actually, everything wetshaving or fountain pen related that I've bought has been from those stores (with the exception of most of my razor blades and a bottle of Noodler's BBB).
You have to be patient. Sometimes I'll spend two or three hours and find nothing. This past weekend , though, netted a cased Fatboy, Old Spice mug, and a couple of Esterbrook inkwells.
My wife delights in antique stores, I have had no interest at all. My one hope is that if I get stuck in one again I can hope to find something shaving related to pass the time.
Scott
Scott
I went to the biggest flea/antique market in the DC area a couple of weeks ago. They claim there was 700 stalls. Of all 700 stalls, about 10 had anything shaving related. They had mostly straight razors, but i was looking for DE. I asked around, they said they don't usually bring safety razors to the show because they don't want to waste space. I was lucky and found a cased gillette tech travel in mint condition for $12.
If you come across some shaving stuff, it can be a pretty fun experience. I was in a neighboring town last weekend and hit a few shops. All of them had at least a razor or two, but the last one I went to had quite a bit. I'm not really a collector so I only bought a 40s SuperSpeed, but I did have a good time going through and looking for the stuff.
The best places to look aren't the antique stores where they have booths and are organized. When ever I come across razors in the wild they are at the chaotic junk stores where you have to dig under piles to see whats there. I've found the majority of my shaving items at these stores.
+1 That's my idea of a good time!
There's two places here that i frequent, so far i've found:
Shick Injector (not sure what year, it's the one with the yellow bakelite handle)
Mini travel Gillette tech
2 fatboys (great condition, sold them) since i already had one.
3 1955 superspeeds (gave away two of them, kept one)
1940 superspeed
i think that's it.
Shick Injector (not sure what year, it's the one with the yellow bakelite handle)
Mini travel Gillette tech
2 fatboys (great condition, sold them) since i already had one.
3 1955 superspeeds (gave away two of them, kept one)
1940 superspeed
i think that's it.
I've had decent luck in my local antique stores last year:
1947 Un-notched Super Speed ($12)
Black tip SS ($12)
New LC with broken ball end handle ($10) - glued up the handle and rarely use it, but the head is a regular in my rotation on top of Ikon bulldog
Old with unglued ball end handle ($5)
Lately, though, I have not found much. There is a place locally here with LOTS of straight razors, but the prices are in the $30-$50 range and I don't know enough to make these kinds of purchases. It is a bit frustrating tying to find good old shaving gear, but now and again there is a high density of it.
1947 Un-notched Super Speed ($12)
Black tip SS ($12)
New LC with broken ball end handle ($10) - glued up the handle and rarely use it, but the head is a regular in my rotation on top of Ikon bulldog
Old with unglued ball end handle ($5)
Lately, though, I have not found much. There is a place locally here with LOTS of straight razors, but the prices are in the $30-$50 range and I don't know enough to make these kinds of purchases. It is a bit frustrating tying to find good old shaving gear, but now and again there is a high density of it.
In case any of you are interested, there's a shop in Jefferson, LA with 2 cups full of NEWs, NEW Improveds, Kronas, Techs, and a variety of other accoutrement, mostly priced about $10 each. There's also a cased Rolls Razor in pristine condition for $25. I didn't have enough cash on me last time to snag it.
Thought I'd bring this up as sad events are unfolding. One antique dealer (Vacaville) closed while another Mall (Old Folsom) with over one hundred dealers is one way out later this month after forty years in business. Looking at another mall I see dealers clearing out that has over two hundred dealers. n the bright side many of these dealers are opting to do antique fairs due to lower overhead. Either way you slice it my hunting grounds just got a bit smaller.
I've found a bunch of stuff around me. I think my best find is a NOS dubl duck goldedge i picked up for $75
I have found that it's almost always feast or famine. I can go for weeks and find absolutely nothing, then have a day that I'll buy 20 items. I find that the same is true of estate sales. Often I have been to 8 or 10 estate sales and found nothing, then one day I'll hit a couple and really clean up on the gear. You just don't know.
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