Most Over Priced Shaving Gear

Discussion in 'Safety Razors' started by well-groomed, Feb 23, 2019.

  1. well-groomed

    well-groomed Member

    Why are vintage blades always so expensive? I would never use one....I really don't see the point in buying them.
     
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  2. brit

    brit in a box

    nostalgia, many folks moved on when they disappeared from stores here..they were good blades..
     
  3. johnnyflake

    johnnyflake Well-Known Member

    They only have that high value, in the minds of the sellers! As brit mentions, most that ever buy them, are for nostalgic or collection reasons. I guess some people will use them, but why?
     
  4. gorgo2

    gorgo2 geezerhood

    What vintage brands have you tried? Not all vintage blades are expensive, depends on what one is looking for. But why are you upset with what other people do with their money?
     
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  5. gorgo2

    gorgo2 geezerhood

    Because they work, and sometimes can be found very cheaply.

    For my money, nothing beats the old Gillette Super Stainless/Spoiler for the trifecta of sharpness, smoothness and longevity. Others say the same about old Wilkinson blades, that there's nothing made today that quite compares. It's all a matter of taste and preference, about which none may rightly judge another.

    And even older carbon blades are 99% of the time perfectly shave worthy even if they go back 75 years. They're a different quality of shave from either coated or uncoated stainless but can be very enjoyable as an acquired taste (I have a box full of a few hundred that I intend to shave with eventually).
     
    Last edited: Feb 23, 2019
  6. HolyRollah

    HolyRollah BaconLord

    Limited supply. High demand = higher cost.
     
  7. brit

    brit in a box

    the same reason old spice soap is $60 a puck ,is great stuff to those who want it and supplies are dwindling..no longer made..
     
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  8. Badgerstate

    Badgerstate Well-Known Member

    Some people like using vintage blades so they can see what vintage razors were like with period correct blades. DE blades used to be thicker than they are today, which is partly why razors like Techs seem to mild.
     
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  9. johnnyflake

    johnnyflake Well-Known Member

    I do understand, some of the good points, of using the really old blades, as pointed out above. However, IMHO, I don't think that's enough, to justify the crazy prices, that most vendors are asking. That's just me!
     
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  10. brit

    brit in a box

    fair enough.. they are selling to those who will pay..,or they wouldn't be selling them for long..what is lots of $ to some is little to others..
     
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  11. CrustyCat

    CrustyCat Well-Known Member

    Has anyone ever used a Gillette Thin or Blue blade? Just curious as I have a few.
     
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  12. well-groomed

    well-groomed Member

    I have never used a vintage blade, and I don't plan to. I am not upset with what other people do with their money, and I never implied that I was.
     
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  13. gorgo2

    gorgo2 geezerhood

    Oh. Odd topic for a thread, then.

    If you've got no dog in the hunt, ignore the hunt.
     
    Last edited: Feb 24, 2019
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  14. gorgo2

    gorgo2 geezerhood

    I have never gotten as good a shave fron the Thin as I've gotten from the Blue. Not sure what the difference is.
     
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  15. gorgo2

    gorgo2 geezerhood

    But with vintage wetshaving stuff, demand doesn't always set the prices. Hype, ignorance and greedy speculation often do.

    Again, the only vintage blades I'm aware of that regularly go high due to wetshaver demand are the Personna 74, also Spoilers and Wilks. Maybe a few very rare others.

    So the problem here is what it always is...sellers who have no clue (and don't care) about what shavers actually want, but who have heard some wetshaving hype, will jack up the asking price sky-high on anything. That's why you can see a handful of loose Don Juans, or some now useless proprietary oddball blade, or a worthless sharpener, with a starting price of 20 bucks. Stupid? Yes, but it's not the fault of guys who use vintage.

    Also, those sellers are the ones who cruise through here with a one time post asking what a razor is worth.
     
    Last edited: Feb 24, 2019
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  16. Primotenore

    Primotenore missed opera tunity

    Article Team
    Well, sir, that will leave more of them for us! :)
    But to answer your question: Supply and demand. BTW, until you have used a vintage Personna 74, or a Gillette "Spoiler" or a Wilkinson Chromium, you don't know what you are missing.
     
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