So a few towns over from mine is a hardware store that has been in bussiness for well over 100 years, in the same building, run by the same family. I jokingly asked if they had any piles of old razors, and he said yes. He has some NOS Dime Safety Razors. This picture is one @Darkbulb sent me, but this is the razor. Pictures below are what I took of the unopened cans. The price he hit me with was a little higher than I could swallow without knowing anything about the razor. I sent a few messages to Darkbulb, and did some google work. I am going to go back this week and see if I can talk the old man down a little in price. Here's a thread on the razor from another site: http://forum.shavemyface.com/viewtopic.php?t=46743
It's really astounding to me that you can still find a store these days that have NOS inventory dating back a good 80+ years. The Dime razor is almost the quintessential no-frills razor. It has a very light wooden handle and a simple wire-frame that holds the blade. The challenge is that it doesn't, without modification, take a modern SE blade (but I believe there should be a NOS blade in the tin - maybe, if possible check the blade first to make sure you pick one, if you're buying one, that has a blade without any rust). It really is quite a bit of history there and again, I love that it's found as NOS in a h/w store selling it as if it had been sitting on the shelves since 1908
What was the price he hit you with? These seem to be really rare, but on the other hand, they don't take modern blades (without modification), so that should lower the price somewhat, in my opinion.
I don't see them that often but when I do are normally advertised at rather high prices $90-$150 or so...thing is...I can't recall ever seeing one actually sell.
Ha ha. I am going to see if I can talk to the owner today. I will post up about prices and where it is afterwords.
I went back and talked to the owner, and purchased two of them today. He had done some research on prices, and honored what he quoted me, but said if he sells any more they will be for at least double what I paid. @Darkbulb it's in Lawrence. The two I purchased are still sealed. The lid is stuck to the tin tube, and I am going to try and get one of them open tonight, without damaging the tube. Took a bit of a risk with them still being sealed, but I can hear the pieces inside. I am pretty excited. Going to try a little bit of WD40 on the lid to see if that will loosen it up. I want to avoid using any pliers on them, so as not to damage the lid.
Lawrence....old stomping grounds. Moved there after leaving Baker and did two years on KLZR. Amazing I remember those days. Lots of alcohol. lol
Got one opened! These are indeed NOS. I used a small screwdriver to very carefully remove the lid. I opened the tin that already had more damage than the other one, and did manage to bend the lid a little bit. The tin included the wooden stick, the head with a blade installed, and instructions. After taking the pictures I carefully packaged it back up again.
Wow, it's like opening a time capsule. Very, very neat. Next obvious question...will you shave with it?
Wow. Yeah, that is quite a find. I'm impressed and jealous all at the same time. Now, @Darkbulb has asked the question....will you shave with it? Because I know I would.
It depends......is it either a Russian rock or vintage rock? Hey if it's a vintage Russian rock I'll try it twice!
