Picked this up today at the old stuff store for $20, got actual pictures of it this time! Unfortunately the phone on my camera is pretty useless for anything close up, and photoshop can only do so much...anyway. Like you guys said, I think it's the NEW, long comb style. It's in great condition, altough it has been used. a small spot of oxidization, but no corrosion on the handle, tiny chips and dings on the side of the head, other than that it looks great. I do want to clean it, but I don't want to mess up the finish. Pat. Nos: 1815745 and 1858316, reissue pat. 17567 Here's the one I didn't buy. They want $30 for this one. The case says picollo, and the outside shaft piece has some signs of aging, while the smaller inside piece literally looks brand new. This razor is also in great shape, but more tarnished. That's all I've got to report today. Got eBay stuff coming in the mail, and I think I better tone it down for now - getting a little spendy over here. But man do I need a camera. Also, when you walk into an antique store and you're 26, you definitely get some looks...
Congrats. The New head is probably the best that Gillette made. It is not aggressive and I get a great shave with two passes. A Super Speed or any of the adjustables takes at least 3 passes for me. Len
I wouldn't mind having that Piccolo since I have their other model (seen below) but it's not worth $30. More like $10 at the max. Awesome score on the Red/Black NEW. Fine razor. My Piccolo.. neck and head fold out, case becomes handle.. really neat travel razor...
Being only 28 myself, I have never really been interested in antique stores. Now as I am learning about wet-shaving and seeing all of the old razors that still work great, I am trying to think of any local antique stores. Is there any reference guide or something that I can use to determine an estimate value of old razors? Or do I need to go to the antique store, see what they have, go home and research online, then go back and buy if it is a good deal? Thanks, CZ
Yeah what flat_tire said! And do antique store owners actually research stuff? I know a woman who owns a "vintage store" and basically it seems like she'll look for stuff at other stores, buy it, and jack the price up some...so I just assume that stuff there is either A) overpriced, or B) a good deal because they don't know what the item is worth. True? False? Both? The NEW seemed like a good deal, but then not the piccolo so it kind of seems like a crapshoot to me...
First, I think you paid a fair and good price for the NEW judging it from the photos. If the case was in better condition, another $5-$10 wouldn't have been something to walk away from either. There's really no price guide for razors - nothing like those books to look up, for example, coin values. The main reason for this is because there's just so many different brands and models of razors, it's almost impossible. With, again for example, coins you at least know what was made each year for any particular country. There was a book published about 10, 12 years ago that attempted to "value" many razors but prices have obviously went up since 10, 12 years ago so that book is pretty much worthless in 2010/2011. If you're a collector of razors, value on them is mostly "learned" as you gain experience in the "market" - learning what is unique (such as a regular Gillette Fatboy vs. a red dot Gillette Fatboy), or rare (such as a Gillette double ring without any patent info on the handle), or condition (New Old Stock, Mint, Shaver grades), or where they are made, or recently selling price point, which ones are a "dime a dozen", etc. When I got bit by the collecting bug, I was buying pretty much anything and everything, condition be damned, and usually paying too much for it. Of course, in the end, it all comes down to what it's worth to you and how much you are willing to spend. The Piccolo is a good example. I highly doubt it's a particular brand of razor on anyone's radar. I just happened to like the uniqueness of the one I bought - the neck and head folding out of the case and the case becoming the handle. I saw it, said to myself "Well, that's a neat razor for sure." and bought it. Had I never seen it before and instead seen the one you posted, I would have passed it over and never thought about Piccolo again because those kind of travel razors from Germany are literally "a dime a dozen" - there's probably 100 different brands of those 2-piece little travel razors, if not more. But I came to know of Piccolo by knowing of their unique travel razor that folds out, first. And since I have the unique Piccolo, as a collector, now I wouldn't mind having their run-of-the-mill model too. Hope all of this makes sense and it's by no means definitive, it's just what I know.. and that's how we all learn on these forums.. sharing what we know.
Looks good to me. Last year when I was getting back into shaving with old razors a New was my first good razor after stumbling across the Slim Adjustable that really hooked me. Today, my favorite razor is a New Deluxe. The New head is just as good as everybody says, IMHO. Enjoy.
Iamthe jody:"When I got bit by the collecting bug, I was buying pretty much anything and everything, condition be damned, and usually paying too much for it. Of course, in the end, it all comes down to what it's worth to you and how much you are willing to spend." Iamthe jody has captured what many of us have gone through with a shoot into the woods then go see what we killed mentality as we first started. There is the "Den Factor"....I just coined that expression....which means that you enjoy seeing the razor in your den and either do not use it or have used it, don't like it to shave with but it is a great piece of shaving history. The ABC sets, Silver Wilkinson Seven Day set, and the Gillette Toggle are in that genre for me. The ones you shave with and are in your rotation are where I am right now with the Paul Revere Schick and the Gillette Injector razors. Have fun and watch those RADs.
The bulk of my collection came from either antique stores or flea markets. As has been said, in both cases it seems there is no middle either razors are way over priced or someone who sees razors (either safety or straight) as just trinkets that they are in a hurry to get rid of and hope to make a couple bucks on. In both cases I've seen both pristine razors for < $10 and completely unrestorable crap for exhorbitant prices. Of course the former is the situation I like most to stumble on. Occassionally it amounts to a long stalk or some ruthless haggling. The Fat Handle Tech and Shumate cost me a total of $20 and both are very serviceable razors. A big tip is to become "the razor guy" to some of these people. I think some of my sources are willing to cut me deals because they know I'll be back and generally, if they've got something worth buying, I'll probably do so.
