Am I an idiot for buying this Aristocrat?

I was browsing ebay and came across a 1934 rhodium-replated open comb Gillette Aristocrat. $120. Gorgeous gold box, gold blade bank, supposedly works beautifully. Was listed as "buy it now" for $120.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1934-USA-Gi...mia6AFhf%2Fl%2FfjTufA%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

To make a long story short, I bought it, justifying the price by saying that a rhodium replate would be $60 at least after accounting for shipping/handling, which makes it a $60 razor. I certainly think it's worth $60.

I will admit the fact that it was being sold by a fellow shaver and that it was replated by Reliable electroplating helped.

I do feel like an idiot for spending that kind of money, but I hope that I will not be buying an expensive razor for a long time.

Does anyone else feel like you can burn a ton of money looking for razors?

Last question - can razors like this be safely autoclaved?

Great looking razor! And the way I see it is, if you like it, want it, and are willing to spend the $$ and you think it's worth it, then I say great score!

I know I have have spent more on some razors than I should have but what can I say, I am hooked on 32' Fat Handle's I think I am up to four now.

I would have bought it if I had seen it first. Congrats on a nice razor!

That's a really nice looking razor. Id be happy with that for the price

Done well

I was looking at that one last night, but just couldn't quite pull the trigger on it. Thought about it for a long time though... Congrats.

Dang, just realized the link had a bunch of personal information on it. Oh well . . .

I am amazed at how much money one (myself!) can spend on shaving . . .

Looks like a reall ynice razor! Hopefully any buyer's remorse will abate after the first shave with that beauty.

An excellent buy, if you ask me.
If remorse hits you hard, well, there's always the old 'PIF to that nice Dutch fellow in Amsterdam' option .

Remember, if you feel too guilty about it you can always sell it and get your money back if you are patient. But, I would just keep it and be happy with it.
ct

Some would say the we are all idiots here for spending so much money on shaving gear. Those people also blow their money on rounds of golf, food, boats, atv's, jewelery..... you name it. You did fine by the way it sounds.

And yes..... you can burn a ton of money looking for razors..... but looking for razors is enjoyable to me so it's easily justified when I spend the rest of my time either sleeping or working and doing things that I don't want to be doing. It's all about perspective.

Ben

It seems with the popularity of wet shaving on the rise that certain razors are going up in price. I think a lot of it is fueled by sites like B&B giving some razors an inflated price tag because several members make certain razors "got to haves". I've been guilty of this in the past. If you like the razor and can afford it, then enjoy it. I've regretted paying for an Ever-Ready Streamline or two, but once it arrived I was more than glad I paid for it, (although just recently they have become retardedly inflated in price). Good luck with your razor!

I think it was a good purchase. Congrats!

InfernoOrangeSS said:

I've regretted paying for an Ever-Ready Streamline or two, but once it arrived I was more than glad I paid for it, (although just recently they have become really inflated in price)

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I am reminded of a phrase common to investors: "The market can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent" which seems appropriate in my case.

Personally I have never spent that much on a razor but if your going to use it then its well worth it. I have a ton of razors in my collection at this point, at last count a bit over 70, 55 of which are usable. I have spent well over $120 on all of them and use maybe 3 of them with any regularity so I guess I have spent well more than that in the pursuit of a perfect razor. And remember if for some strange reason you hate it, there is always the BST.

Regards
Dave

I was looking at that one last night. I have to admit that I was saying to myself, the replate was worth $90 or so. I really want a TTO OC Aristocrat and that was a nice example of one and fairly priced. Shoot, some clown is looking for $499 for a razor that needs a replate and another is looking for an opening bid of $175 for one in not much better shape.

I would say you did fine. The only reason I did not pull the trigger is that I really want mine in gold and I could not see replating that razor as it was so nice.

KingGordon said:

I think it was a good purchase. Congrats!



I am reminded of a phrase common to investors: "The market can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent" which seems appropriate in my case.

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Excellent quote!

I love this thread!!! love the comments, especially Ben's.
I just did almost the same thing as Tepanyaki...bought a President (no box), fully rhodium-plated beauty for 130.00!!!! And the thing that kills me is that you see the old sticker price on these for $5 back in the day!

I just could not help admiring that beautiful thing, I felt the world was running out of gillette presidents! lol (after having lost a bid to another one the other day...) Anyways, it should arrive soon, perhaps today.

Thanks for the encouragement (which I know could be good OR bad in some cases!). I was feeling a bit remorseful, but after reading the above comments and thinking about how just plating alone can cost 60-90 bucks; and how I can spend money on other stuff, like my car, I dont regret the purchase at all. I'm sure I'm going to enjoy the h*** out of it!

I love this thread!!! love the comments, especially Ben's.
I just did almost the same thing as Tepanyaki...bought a President (no box), fully rhodium-plated beauty for 130.00!!!! And the thing that kills me is that you see the old sticker price on these for $5 back in the day!

I just could not help admiring that beautiful thing, I felt the world was running out of gillette presidents and I had to get the last one! lol (after having lost a bid to another one the other day...) Anyways, it should arrive soon, perhaps today.

Thanks for the encouragement (which I know could be good OR bad in some cases!). I was feeling a bit remorseful, but after reading the above comments and thinking about how just plating alone can cost 60-90 bucks; and how I can spend money on other stuff, like my car, I dont regret the purchase at all. I'm sure I'm going to enjoy the h*** out of it!

Enjoy it! Of course, I've done the same thing myself, more than I care to admit. I always rationalize it by reminding myself that for that amount of money I would have bought about 3 small bags of groceries at Whole Foods--and they'd be gone in about a week. The razor, on the other hand will last for years.

My view on any vintage razor purchase is its not burning money to buy something that should hold its relative value for years to come. The best part is you get to enjoy it. Just don't overpay for Vintage shaving gear by getting into bidding wars!