Is there a need to start collecting now!

[taffy]

All on here seem to love vintage gillettes, and love to collect them, or buy them and use them, do you think 50-100 years down the line people will be buying todays razors, paying high prices for limited editions fusions, coloured fusions, mach 3 etc, i know most wont last the test of time, unless of course us lot buy loads and hoard them

 

[AsylumGuido]

Nope. The razors of today will not last that long. Although, the original Gillettes will still be around.

 

[O.G.]

I did I collect Feather Artist Club Razors and blades. If its the newest addition in 400 years per classicshaving then it will be an heirloom of modern day shaving in 50-100. Hopefully blades will be less expensive in the future.

 

[Oldguy]

I think we can equate the current high quality razors to artists. They aren't worth much until after they die. There are quite a few youngsters here that will be around in 50 years. Why not start collecting the really nice sets that are being made today? If it wasn't for our fathers, grandfathers and great grandfathers storing away those new Old Types, New Improved and even those Aristocrats and Toggles we wouldn't have those mint examples that pop up from time to time. But that doesn't mean an M3 unless it's gold plated. I say go for it. It is a gift to your grandchildren.

Len

 

[michiganlover]

Nope. The razors of today will not last that long. Although, the original Gillettes will still be around.

Fully agree!!

There are fundamental differences between the razors of today, vs. the Vintage Gillette's.

1) Mach 3, and Fusion are made out of cheap plastic, and designed to eventually fail. Using proprietary blades, they hold little interest to someone who would wish to shave with them, once blades are no longer available.

2) Even the DE razors of today, like the Merkur's, are not made to the same standard of quality as the vintage Gillette's: Gillette's were made of brass, that was then plated. Merkur's are made of pot metal (or a similar low grade alloy), and then plated. This means the razors of today will not be able to stand up to the same level of abuse.

3) The Merkur's of today are not held to the same quality control standards that the vintage Gillette's were. The Gillette's are still sought after, because they were quality precision instruments designed to last a lifetime. Merkur has had known quality control issues, and quite a few less than perfect razors make it out of their factory.

 

[Legion]

Short answer. Yes.

The design of the razor and packaging are extremely indicative of the time they were produced and the current fashions. They change rapidly and are primarily considered a disposable commodity which has little value other than its intended, short term use. Combine these factors and you have a future collectible.

However. Make sure you do not use the item and keep it in its original packaging. It will be the packaging design as much as the razor that the collector will be wanting and very few will be kept. Start hording now. It will be at least 20 years before it is worth anything.

 

[Milkbone]

I have thought of this a few times myself after seeing so many on the bay year after year. I do agree that the proprietary blade issue would be a likely sticking point for continued use, but who knows what will be in use by then.

I even see the not so old NOS Injectors commanding a pretty good price these days too, so who knows.

Do you think way back when, when those folks would walk by all those racks of NOS Gillettes, would have ever dreamed that they would go for so much these days?

 

[Hoos]

Michiganlover (and others) make good points.

It's never easy to predict what might be collectible.

I think quality of current cartridge razors will continue to decline - eventually everything may just be a really cheap 1-2 shave disposable.

So there's potential for today's cartridge sets to be collectible one day. You need to balance that against future "usability". The cartridges and handles tend to be proprietary. So today's Fusion may not work with what's available in the future.

For example, injector razors now. Sure, it's still possible to find injector packs. But they're not common and mostly on that place that shall not be named.

It might be worth it to throw a few of them in the drawer (especially if they're a one-time promotional run). But keep the focus on the vintage razors.

 

[gone down south]

A lot of those cartridge razors have a lot of nice design work put into them, I'd say that in a few years collectors will be interested in them as long as they're 100% mint in original packagking. Wouldn't hurt to have as complete a collection as possible, and document where and when they were purchased.

 

[_JP_]

People will collect anything.

Collect something because of your passion for it, that's what gives your collection value. If you are collecting items solely as a financial investment, then you may be in for a disappointment.