If you've been to an antique fair or hung out in Grandpa's house at all before, you've probably come across some vintage shaving accessories. You might even have seen something like a razor strop, honing stone, or spare parts for the blade and not even known what they were. For years men relied on these wonderful tools for shaving, and now they are mostly demoted to the antiques category.

Some people still shave with straight razors though, and I am one of them.

Believe it or not, there is still a relatively large market for newly manufactured straight razors (also known as "cut-throat" razors) and their accessories, and this is where I started out. I wanted to get the best quality shave when I was a newbie and therefore I went with "new". Sometimes with the vintage items you are not sure whether "vintage" just means "broken".

That said, there is still a definite appeal to using something that is a relic of a time when they were considered every day objects. If you can find some good quality accessories out there (and you can), using one from days gone by adds a sense of romance to the whole affair.

"I'm shaving the old fashioned way, using something old fashioned".

Like I said, when I first started out I went with something new because I wanted to make sure I was getting quality. I didn't want to get burned in a market, either online or offline, and end up buying junk. I knew that there were people who would repair or restore an old blade, but since I knew nothing about them in the first place, I figured the chances were quite high of me buying something useless.

Since then, I've discovered that there are plenty of gems out there and places like eBay can be a great market for collectors or those who want a bit of nostalgia to their shave. Even those who want to buy a shaving set on a budget can find something of use at eBay.

One thing I would say though is to make sure you follow the guidelines offered by various straight razor shaving sites, as they know what they are talking about and will help protect you from making a bad purchase.

While I recommend Dubl Duck, Dovo, and a few others for the actual razors, the accessories have more leeway as it is not as difficult to produce good quality strops, hones, cases, stands and so on. Additionally, since you never know what is available online at any given moment, it would be better to have a look at what's on offer and then conduct some research at a shaving hobby site or check to see if that brand gets lots of bids in general.

Buying vintage razors and vintage razor accessories can certainly be a fun pastime and antiques collectors will enjoy it too. You needn't even bother shaving with them, they make great ornaments.