Heya all, long time lurker (sans-account), first time poster. Figured I had the "bug" long enough at this point, that I may as well get my feet wet in the proverbial swimming pool.
Anywho, introductions. I started on the whole DE / SE shaving bandwagon about a year ago by purchasing a Merkur 23c / Tweezerman brush combo, in an effort to cut down on shaving costs from my previous Gillette Mach 3. Fat lot of good that did me, since I now own something along the lines of 20+ razors from various years, along with multiple brushes and a shaving mug. I even display the vast majority of the things in my home bathroom - friends and family must think I'm absolutely bonkers for buying so many.
So, what do you folks do in order to keep yourselves from buying so many of these vintage little beauties? So far, I've collected:
The whole collection, minus a few of the latest purchases, can be seen here: https://picasaweb.google.com/zerohour3k/SafetyRazorCollection?authuser=0&feat=directlink
So, am I paying too much for these things? Are the "deals" I've gotten mostly people taking advantage of a guy with a sick fascination for all things vintage? When I factor in the replate job I had done, the mug, and all the razors, I'm likely around $300. It's not as dangerous a hobby as collecting vintage Rolexes, at least. Is there a cure for this utter need to collect, or am I doomed to spend hundreds more on even crazier purchases? Help!
Anywho, introductions. I started on the whole DE / SE shaving bandwagon about a year ago by purchasing a Merkur 23c / Tweezerman brush combo, in an effort to cut down on shaving costs from my previous Gillette Mach 3. Fat lot of good that did me, since I now own something along the lines of 20+ razors from various years, along with multiple brushes and a shaving mug. I even display the vast majority of the things in my home bathroom - friends and family must think I'm absolutely bonkers for buying so many.
So, what do you folks do in order to keep yourselves from buying so many of these vintage little beauties? So far, I've collected:
- 1920's Rolls Razor - The hone is intact, and the set is incredibly complete, even has the original box and instructions.
- A Modern Parker SR1 shavette - Tried using the thing about 10 times and gave up. I'm great with DE and SE, but could never get a good shave with this.
- 1970 Gillette SS Adjustable "Black Beauty - A real great shaver that I got for free as a throw-in with other DE razor purchases.
- Merkur 23c - The one that started it all. Pretty great, although I think I like my vintage ones better
- 1930's Gillette NEW LC - Found this puppy at a flea market in a toolbox for $2. Beaten to hell and back, so I got it replated locally in bright nickel for $20. Came back looking like new, and shaves great.
- 1930's Gillette NEW SC - Original gold plating still mostly intact, and shaves just as great as the LC variant.
- A vest pocket travel razor from Argentina of unknown date. The seller said it was a military razor for the Argentinian military ~WW2. Who knows. It's neat though, and shaves pretty well despite its crazy small size.
- 1973 Gillette Tech travel kit, NOS. Contains a British Gillette tech and a bunch of other travel essentials. Never used, and was only $2 at a yard sale.
- 1960's German travel kit, NOS. This one contains what appears to be a cheaply made German Gillette Tech knockoff of dubious quality. Still, neat.
- Gem 1912 "Minuteman" kit. In pretty great shape, and the 1912 is a damn good SE razor. This thing is practically new, and was hardly used.
- A 1905 Ever-ready later catcher. Pretty terrifying to look at once loaded with a blade, but surprisingly decent to shave with!
- 1924 Ever-ready "Shovelhead". My favorite SE razor - this one is practically new as well, and rarely leaves any irritation. Quite mild, IMHO.
- 1912 GEM Damaskeene. In pretty rough shape with most of its plating gone, plus suffering from a weak spring. Still shaves fine with the eraser trick, but not pretty to look at. Not sure it's even worth fixing up.
- 1950s GEM Featherweight. Mine is really weird, and has no GEM logo on the inside. Either this is a knockoff, or a misprint. For $3, I couldn't complain. A "meh" shaver.
- 1956 Gillette Red Tip. Really comfortable with most of the paint intact, another flea market find for $5.
- 1955 Gillette Red Tip. Same as above, but was missing most of the paint. Got it for $2 and repainted with Revlon Raven Red, and it looks great!
- 1920's Gillette "Old Style". Mine is made in Canada, so it's missing a date code. Gorgeous two-tone look, and shaves.. well, rather aggressively. I think it's meant to use the thicker carbon steel blades. Got it, its box, along with an Old Spice mug and another travel kit for under $25, at least.
- 1938 - 42 Gillette "Fat handle" Tech. Eh, this one's in rough shape with most of the plating gone. A possible replate candidate. Junk pile find for $3.50.
- 1940's Gillette SS. Same junk pile, same price, but in decent shape with minor plating loss. Easily my favorite DE razor, as well - smooth as silk and never bites.
- 1953 Gillette SS. After having the one, I wanted another with better plating. Picked it up for $7 shipped off the bay.
- Late 70's Schick Krona. Flea market find for $5, cleaned up great and shaves about the same as a tech. Very mild and comfortable, not bad!
- 1930's Gem Micromatic. The destroyer of faces. Maybe I wasn't awake enough when I first tried this thing, but it gave me some bad irritation when I did. The second time was better, but still not all that great. Amazingly cool mechanism, but scary to use.
- 1970 Gillette Tech travel kit that appears to be an employee gift of some sort. Even has a mostly evaporated bottle of Aqua Velva in the box.
- Gillette Blue Tip - I wanted to collect 'em all, and the cheapest I could find was $20 shipped. Great shape with no plating loss either.
- Another vest pocket travel razor from Germany, $10 shipped. I dunno, those tiny things fascinate me, maybe I'll replate this one for use when, well, traveling.
- 1940's Gillette SS (yes, AGAIN.. it's my favorite style) Black Tip. $10 shipped. Figure I may as well have all the colors, and this one was in amazing shape. All I need now is a flare tip.
The whole collection, minus a few of the latest purchases, can be seen here: https://picasaweb.google.com/zerohour3k/SafetyRazorCollection?authuser=0&feat=directlink
So, am I paying too much for these things? Are the "deals" I've gotten mostly people taking advantage of a guy with a sick fascination for all things vintage? When I factor in the replate job I had done, the mug, and all the razors, I'm likely around $300. It's not as dangerous a hobby as collecting vintage Rolexes, at least. Is there a cure for this utter need to collect, or am I doomed to spend hundreds more on even crazier purchases? Help!