Birth year razors - How much you prepared to pay?

U

UKMerk

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Seems as though i'm on a spending spree at the moment...

I decide what i'd like, then trawl through historical pricing on the forums (tsr + b&b) and 'completed' ebay transactions to get a good idea on the prices i should pay. The general pattern is we (UK) will pay upto 100% more than our US counterparts for a similiar item, which also applies to any luxury good. I'm glad i found TSR since almost every item is located in Europe, so no nasty duty/vat charges.


Most of us would like to collect our 'Birth Year + Quarter' razor and would jump at the chance to acquire a mint condition piece.
My question is: what would you be prepared to pay to get that razor versus the same razor with a different date?
*Do you just walk away and wait for the next one to appear?

I'm just interested in your mindset :icon_razz:
 
Is there an easy way to find out what was being made in our birth years? Mine was '75 and I'm not sure what was coming out then.
 
Following is the gillette code. The numbers 1-4 are for the 1/4s of the year. V 1 would be 1975 jan/feb/mar.
Gillette Twist To Open (TTO) Date Codes
1950 V 1966 L 1982 C
1951 W 1967 M 1983 D
1952 X 1968 N 1984 E
1953 Y 1969 O 1985 F
1954 Z 1970 P 1986 G
1955 A 1971 R
1956 B 1972 S
1957 C 1973 T
1958 D 1974 U
1959 E 1975 V
1960 F 1976 W
1961 G 1977 X
1962 H 1978 Y
1963 I 1979 Z
1964 J 1980 A
1965 K 1981 B
 
I look trough Mr-razors site to get an idea of what was produced for my year.
http://www.mr-razor.com/Rasierer/Gillette%20Rasierer.htm

This may also help: http://www.safetyrazors.net/gil_ser2.htm

'75 you will likely find a Black handle Super Speed or Super Adjustable.


I think from 86 onwards it gets a little tricky since gillette was moving into dispoable technology
 
I looked at getting a birth year razor but in trying to get one i found that i would have to pay more for excactly the same razor from either a year or 2 apart from my birth year and thought hang on a minute i must be crazy. There is nothing different in the way a super adjustable from 75 will shave compared to a 72 so for the time being i bought some razors from the years around mine in the hope that eventually someone will have one to trade and i may have there birth year to trade them for it...
 
Halk said:
Yep.. but which TTOs were being made then? Rockets, slims, etc?
Click to expand...

3 piece tech, black handle super speed or black handle super adjustable. same as mine in 1976.

I put a wanted post up on a couple of forums and within a few days i had my birthyear & quarter super speed on the way to me from someone on B&B. it was in VGC, $27 (iirc) delivered from Merica.
 
I wouldn't pay over and above rough market value, unless you're from a weird year your razor will always come around again. The birth year fact is moot, to everybody else including the seller it's just a standard slim twist or whatever.
 
I agree - don't pay over the odds. Been on the look out for about two years and picked up birth year (but not quarter) super adjustable on ebay for about £21 including postage and it's a very nice example. It will turn up eventually. In my case I thank ids as he pmed me because I mentioned it in my forum signature. I recommend doing the same.
 
I'm not into vintage razors at all. For some reason I have a pathological aversion to anything I regard as "second-hand"... whether it's sold as vintage or antique or whatever.
Having said that... I saw a birth year and correct quarter blue tip Gillette on Executive Shaving website and was actually tempted for a short while. In the end, I thought I wouldn't buy one under any other circumstances, and it would just be an ornament.
I can see why people buy them, but don't panic and don't pay over the odds... as NTS says, another one will turn up when you're good and ready
 
NotTheStig said:
I agree - don't pay over the odds. Been on the look out for about two years and picked up birth year (but not quarter) super adjustable on ebay for about £21 including postage and it's a very nice example. It will turn up eventually. In my case I thank ids as he pmed me because I mentioned it in my forum signature. I recommend doing the same.
Click to expand...

Yep that was exactly the reason, in searching for mine I came across your birth year so PM'd you after remembering a member has that year in their signature block, I'd do the same for anyone else on here as (I like to think) most members would do.

Not sure what I would pay I've seen my birth year razor once but it was expensive and in poor condition so I moved on.
 
I managed pick up a J3 Superspeed and a Slim Adjustable. The Superspeed was something like £9 from an American EBayer. The Slim was £25 it is a silver plated, must be a re-plate. Unfortunately it has uneven sides so I guess I paid too much !
 
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