While at the local antique mall today I found a counter top display box full of the razor blade sharpeners it is still closed up and never been used. I think it has a dozen of these "Conditioners" in it. I took one out of the box and it seems to be a man made type of sharpening stone, It's concave in the middle and you are supposed to lay you DE or Gem blades on it (dry) and take your finger and swirl the blade around in circles. It says that it sharpens and strops at the same time. It also says something like "Money for you and more steel for Uncle Sam". The display looks new and they want $25.00 dollars for it, what do you guys think about this? Should I get it? Would you? Here are 2 links to show you what it looks like.http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=400132724346 http://www.stropper.com/stropper_website/stropper_view_picture.php?picture1=2Glover.jpg Remember the one at the antique mall is a full box and the display part hasn't even been opened yet.
I dunno if it's worth 25 bucks. But I have a hone I bought and it is concave too and says "speedway" on the box. Obviously old and used, I got it for $17. So if this thing you speak of is NOS, it might be worth it. I got mine as a barber's hone, and was going to use the other, flat side to sharpen a straight. So maybe you could use it for that. But let me get this straight, there is a whole box of how many? And they want 25 bucks for the whole box? I'd actually say that's pretty good if that's the case. You could even sell the extras if you wanted....
These were small pieces, some were made of the type of material barber hones were made of and others I've seen were made of glass. Your supposed to take your blade, press it down and slide it back and forth a few times. It ends up acting just like a barber's hone for a straight razor and was supposed to make your DE blades last longer by keeping them sharp longer. A nice piece of barbering history but I think $25 might be a bit pricey but that's relative. If you are willing to pay the price, then it's correctly valued for you. For me, it's way too much. Unless its $25 for the whole lot.
If you are planning on keeping it for display, I'd say $25 really isn't a bad price for shaving nostalgia; plus the WWII propaganda. If you're looking to use them, then I'd have to say no. Whatever value it does have, when you open it or use it, it'll depreciate it's value. Then again, it's true worth is really what someone is willing to pay for it. If you feel it's actually worth the $25, then go for it.
