Rolls Razor

[Merkur25]

I had to share this since I can see why it sold for so much but I'm still surprised

http://www.ebay.com/itm/160893266385?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

 

[rajagra]

Auction title says NOS, body text says it's used. Naughty.

 

[Merkur25]

Auction title says NOS, body text says it's used. Naughty.

Ok looking passed the title. Obviously the Hone is missing so its no where near NOS.

I have never seen a Rolls Razor prototype. Has anyone else.

 

[MacDaddy]

The title didn't say "NOS," it says "no patent nos" as in "no patent numbers."

Looking at the bid history, it seems like it might possibly be a case of a newb typoing his bid increase and the veteran putting in a last-minute crazy high bid. I wouldn't be at all surprised if this auction got cancelled out.

Still, it's an interesting old version of the Rolls.

 

[galopede]

Nice case but it's in a bit of a state! Someone has worked the strop side without the blade fitted and gouged a line along the middle of the strop!

 

[joshua1970]

????

it definitely looks like an early model being pre-patent # - alas not sure why it went for so much, obviously the buyer thought it worth it (and hopefully they didn't assume it was NOS)??

I've picked up 4 of them (3 #2s with the 3 greek style stripes and one "Viscount" model with a single stripe design) and have yet to pay more than $10-15 a piece. all but 1 are in decent usable condition, one has some rust and is missing the handle.

one of these days I'll shave with one, I just love the look of them as collectables.

 

[rajagra]

The title didn't say "NOS," it says "no patent nos" as in "no patent numbers."

Still an unusual way to say it. Why use the plural? Why miss out the period in "nos."? I doubt it was accidental, and the search engine didn't care. I still say naughty.

It does look nice, but I don't think it's a prototype. According to this page the earliest models didn't have the Whetter logo.
But I've never seen one like it, so rarity is a big factor. Rare + desirable = expensive.

 

[michiganlover]

Rare + desirable = expensive.

Except Rolls Razor sell everyday of the week on Ebay for $10-$30 depending on condition, and what extras are included. There is hardly a huge market for them. Rare should have thus equated to perhaps $100. But I would consider even that severely over priced given the sorry state this razor is in.

Someone got horridly ripped off!!

 

[MacDaddy]

Still an unusual way to say it. Why use the plural? Why miss out the period in "nos."? I doubt it was accidental, and the search engine didn't care. I still say naughty.

I dunno. It's pretty usual to abbreviate "number" to "no." and "numbers" to "nos." And even with the period it would have still come up if you were searching for "NOS" so that wouldn't even have mattered. There was next to no chance that someone would think that the razor was actually NOS, and it was actually pretty well photographed. Maybe the seller was doing some genius-level keyword stuffing, but I think the simpler answer is that they were trying to fit more into the title.

It does look nice, but I don't think it's a prototype. According to this page the earliest models didn't have the Whetter logo.

I don't see that explicitly stated anywhere there, so if you're just taking it from the one pic I'm pretty sure that all those pebbled-finish sets had the whetter logo on only one side, like this one here. I doubt it was a "prototype," per se. But it does seem pretty likely that it was an even earlier model than those pebbled ones, which have the press-button latches for the side panels where this smooth-side model seems to just use tension latches. According to this history of Middlesex, Rolls Razor moved their factory from Battersea (as is mentioned on the case of this razor) to Cricklewood in 1926. So assuming that that's correct it would at least be older than that.

Since no one's grabbed any pics for posterity yet, here we go:

 

[MacDaddy]

Here we go -- I found another instance of this razor here in Tom Willard's collection. He lists it as, "First Rolls Razor model without lid design and push buttons" and I'm inclined to believe that. I'd bet that the info on Waits's page is just incomplete.

So it's very interesting that it may well be the first Rolls model, but I'm still betting that the bidder who won it wasn't intending to actually bid that high for it (like bidding $5000 instead of $50.00 by leaving out the decimal), and the under bidder was just putting in a ridiculous number at the last minute figuring that he'd knock everyone else out and win the item somewhere around $100. The bid was only at $43.19 until the very last seconds.

 

[NCJack]

That one's been ridden hard and put up wet. Bet it's chrome and not silver plate, and can't see going more than $50 as a model to fill in the gap in a collection. All three of my under $30 Rollls are in better shape and users.

 

[boar.master]

Crazy bidding imho.

 

[RocketMan]

Other than Tom Willard's razor, this is the only other I have seen of this model. This is indeed the first model Rolls and was manufactured prior to the 1920s. In the box, it is really extremely hard to come by one of these - actually I have never seen without a box either. Price is based on more than whether or not it was put away wet. Scarcity is a very important factor. Thousands of available Imperials vs a handful of first version models... Rarity + condition = price.

I was in on this auction - and prepared to be 'horribly ripped off' myself, but just didn't have a big enough jar to dip into. Rather disappointed really. I will lament missing this for some time.

 

[Merkur25]

I agree. You dont see ones like this everyday

 

[pudentaine]

????

it definitely looks like an early model being pre-patent # - alas not sure why it went for so much, obviously the buyer thought it worth it (and hopefully they didn't assume it was NOS)??

I've picked up 4 of them (3 #2s with the 3 greek style stripes and one "Viscount" model with a single stripe design) and have yet to pay more than $10-15 a piece. all but 1 are in decent usable condition, one has some rust and is missing the handle.

one of these days I'll shave with one, I just love the look of them as collectables.

I started shaving with a Gillette adjustable (slim) in 2009, I also started collecting. I've had a Rolls since that year that I got on ebay. I too loved to look at it but I never realized the the top of the razor is the blade until about 6 months ago, Well i sharpened the blade then sharpened it again and thought, I'm gonna give this a try. It's the best shave I've ever had...and I don't know if I've gotten good at shaving or if I'm just extra careful so that I don't slit my throat but I didn't and haven't (well maybe a couple almost not worth mentioning) I haven't had a knick one, even after shaving with the Gillette several years I find I get less knicks with the Rolls, I love it and will probably use it for the rest of my days. Unless I find something better that is. And there's nothing more relaxing than honing and stropping my blade while I watch TV....you should give it a try, plus you never have to buy razor blades again, at least not more than every few years, great for the environment, he, he!!