Identifying DE Razors

[rbaruch]

I will be heading tomorrow to an antique market to check out some razors with my buddy (unfortunately, he's the one buying them for himself) but he asked me to come as apparently I'm a "jack of all trades" even though my experience with DE's are very limited.

Which are the most common types of DE's found in an antique store? How do I differentiate between the different companies/models?

Are there any he should look for specifically?

[rbaruch]

Also, which ones should I stay away from if any? And how would I come about getting some good deals/haggling for a good price? is there a certain technique to it :P

[wallstreet77]

I found a gillette fatboy on my first trip to an antique store for $15. Ever since then, I have not been able to find anything at a reasonable price. Some of the antique stores don’t like to bargain. I get the feeling they buy stuff new, set a really high price, reject any reasonable offers and wait an eternity until the item actually becomes and antique and finally worth their high asking price…. others on this site have had a lot of luck at it though.

Its just random...

[santamariasteve]

Good luck for tomorrow!

I would look for the older razors that are no longer manufatured. Such as:

Gillette Tech An old 3 piece razor that is a mild shaver.

Gillette Fat Boy One of the best razors ever manufactured. It's adjustable, so you have 9 razors in one.

Gillette Slim A cousing of the Fat Boy with a slightly longer and thinner handle.

Gillette Super Speed with a Red Tip on the handle. An outstanding agressive razor.

Schick Double Edge razor. The most underrated razor out there. A mild shaver. Inexpensive.

For pictures go to ebay and type in the names.

And for a single edge razor (and you shoud have one) look for one with a yellow plastic handle. It is probably a Schick injector Type G or Type E. Marvelous shavers, commonly available, and inexpensive.

As to price I tend to pay the asking price, as I respect everyone's right to make a good and reasonable living as I have done over the years, unless I feel the price is way too high. Then I might make an offer. So you pay $10 too much. If it is a desirable razor, no big deal. Ten years from now that's only one dollar a year you overpaid.

Don't buy anything that has rust on it, or that mechanicly doesn'[t open or close easily, well, or tightly. Look the razors over carefully.

It may take weeks before you see anything that catches your interest. Be patient.

Again, good luck and good hunting!

[dgilman]

Also, which ones should I stay away from if any? And how would I come about getting some good deals/haggling for a good price? is there a certain technique to it :P

The age-old haggling technique is to remain friendly, but never demonstrate too much interest in an item — and ALWAYS be willing to walk away from an unacceptable deal. You'll have to develop your own judgment about which antique store operators are willing to haggle like camel traders at the bazaar, and which will refuse to play along.

As for what to buy, that's entirely up to the buyer and how he likes to shave himself. Frankly, I can't understand at all what purpose he expects you to serve in all this, unless your job is to be an extra dose of pressure by encouraging him aloud to refuse to overpay for some old razors. Unless you actually know a lot about razors by sight, then you and the store owner could likely end up in a really silly bluffing game:
Him: "It's incredibly rare! I couldn't charge less than $100 for it!"
You: "Ah, I've seen twenty of them today, I wouldn't give you more than a five-spot!"
Both of you, to yourselves: "???"

[rbaruch]

He doesn't really know how to haggle, not a very social person so I usually do all the talking for him in most cases.

Do the razors say the company name on them?

[DOLLARBILL]

Report back with your finds ! Good Luck!
Enjoy Your Shave !

[mblakele]

Take a look at http://mr-razor.com/ before you go. Our wiki may help, too.

[nero82]

The gillettes will have the gillette logo stamped on them under the head usually. If you have a smartphone you could a) check mr razors site on the go, or google around to try and identify what you are looking at or b) take pics and upload them here to get them ID'd for you.

[mdunn]

Re identifying them - should be much easier to do soon. Nothing to do with any secret projects im not working on.

[ackvil]

It really depends on your location. In my area razor ID is easy: I have yet to find any DE razor in any antique store with the exception of one overpriced slim.

Good luck. I hope you have better luck than me.

[rbaruch]

On the way to an antique market right now! I will post pictures as soon as I can! Wish me luck guys!

[rbaruch]

On the way to an antique market right now! I will post pictures as soon as I can! Wish me luck guys!


Ok due to my stupidity I think I mightve gotten hosed. Had a tiny bit of money left from fixing some computers and decided to buy 2 razors. One came in a superspeed container, plastic clear top red bottom. The razor is a gillette with 2 greenish stripes on the opener at the bottom.

The other ne I know for sure I got hosed on as the bottom opener is showing red (plating coming off I guess). It has vertical lines going down with tiny rectangles here and there with a diamond pattern. I will post pics asap, my blackberry is being super dumb. Payed $55 in total and am super upset for not thinking with my head

[Go West Young Man]

I dunno, $55 for 2 razors and a case isn't necessarily a bad thing. I have no idea what the "greenish stripes" one is, but it sounds like the second one is a Rep Tip Superspeed? That by itself would be worth $20-25 depending on condition. Cases are worth more than you would expect - collectors like having complete historically accurate sets, and there's always someone looking for a case to match a razor they already have.

Is it this one?

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=174980&d=1307416067&stc=1