Family business, I had to drive, might as well stop and hunt the wild razor at least once in a while.
3 weeks, 4700 miles, 11 western and midwestern states, this is what I found to buy:
Cased: (7 items)
> Gillette Cavalier New Improved (minus 1 blade case), gold, first purchase, blew me away!!
> Gillette Tuckaway, silver, tarnish and corrosion, a bargain
> Aftermarket (?) Gillette fat handle prewar Tech, chrome in alligator (?)
> B-1 Gillette red tip Superspeed - looks NOS, case springs still function, 6 cased Blue Blades in cellophane wrapper. Will I keep it?
> E-4 Gillette Fatboy, case hinge receiver cracked, stiff mechanicals but fully functional, should clean up perfectly
> Gem Micromatic open comb, complete set, 1 used blade and 4 still wrapped
> Valet Auto Strop VC1, brownie-like case
Safety razor only: (4)
> 1920 Gillette Single Ring - painted (?) black M692687, the roughest looking item I bought
> Valet VC4, gold wash
> Star 1912 SE, nickel or chrome
> Schick J1, gold head and cream handle
Brushes: (4)
> Solid Set badger look, black and red
> Ever-Ready Badgerlon 500BN BADGER & NYLON cream
> Ever-Ready 100 striped boar, red and cream
> Ever-Ready 100T striped boar, black and cream
Miscellaneous: (5)
> Gunkel strop, might be usable, but another vintage strop will get the hardware
> Rolls Razor strop dressing, near full, looks good
> Old Spice late glass mug 04, a duplicate, maybe a PIF?
> Mennen Brushless Shave jar only, might even get it to open
> H.G.H. Co. Premier Razor Hone - aluminum case, instructions in English and German, I will be seeking B&B expertise on this item
Straight razors: (0)
I saw many, many overpriced rust buckets. Some had colorful or otherwise notable scales. Vintage dealers have decided that a heavily rusted straight with broken scales, even with a massively broken (not just chipped) blade is worth $40 or more.
The most tempting was a DublDuck "Short and Sweet" shorty with interesting scales. Only an expert would have been able to make it look good and the edge was probably very rotten. The only razor I seriously considered was a Wade & Butcher "Bow" razor that would probably have cleaned up and honed OK. By the time I saw it, I was about ready to abandon SR shaving entirely in fear and loathing of the equipment. Another day I would have snapped it up.
3 weeks, 4700 miles, 11 western and midwestern states, this is what I found to buy:
Cased: (7 items)
> Gillette Cavalier New Improved (minus 1 blade case), gold, first purchase, blew me away!!
> Gillette Tuckaway, silver, tarnish and corrosion, a bargain
> Aftermarket (?) Gillette fat handle prewar Tech, chrome in alligator (?)
> B-1 Gillette red tip Superspeed - looks NOS, case springs still function, 6 cased Blue Blades in cellophane wrapper. Will I keep it?
> E-4 Gillette Fatboy, case hinge receiver cracked, stiff mechanicals but fully functional, should clean up perfectly
> Gem Micromatic open comb, complete set, 1 used blade and 4 still wrapped
> Valet Auto Strop VC1, brownie-like case
Safety razor only: (4)
> 1920 Gillette Single Ring - painted (?) black M692687, the roughest looking item I bought
> Valet VC4, gold wash
> Star 1912 SE, nickel or chrome
> Schick J1, gold head and cream handle
Brushes: (4)
> Solid Set badger look, black and red
> Ever-Ready Badgerlon 500BN BADGER & NYLON cream
> Ever-Ready 100 striped boar, red and cream
> Ever-Ready 100T striped boar, black and cream
Miscellaneous: (5)
> Gunkel strop, might be usable, but another vintage strop will get the hardware
> Rolls Razor strop dressing, near full, looks good
> Old Spice late glass mug 04, a duplicate, maybe a PIF?
> Mennen Brushless Shave jar only, might even get it to open
> H.G.H. Co. Premier Razor Hone - aluminum case, instructions in English and German, I will be seeking B&B expertise on this item
Straight razors: (0)
I saw many, many overpriced rust buckets. Some had colorful or otherwise notable scales. Vintage dealers have decided that a heavily rusted straight with broken scales, even with a massively broken (not just chipped) blade is worth $40 or more.
The most tempting was a DublDuck "Short and Sweet" shorty with interesting scales. Only an expert would have been able to make it look good and the edge was probably very rotten. The only razor I seriously considered was a Wade & Butcher "Bow" razor that would probably have cleaned up and honed OK. By the time I saw it, I was about ready to abandon SR shaving entirely in fear and loathing of the equipment. Another day I would have snapped it up.