Barber Set

[AmateisGal]

I figured I'd pop in here and ask this question for those that know a lot better than I do. My cousin, a hair stylist in Tennessee, recently bought this barber set from a guy for $20. She'd like to know the approximate year it was made and value (if any) it might have. Any one know?

 

[dhermann1]

My guess would be around 1950.

 

[Shangas]

I've seen a lot of those handheld hair-trimmers. Most of them seem to be postwar. So I'd agree with Dhermann. It's around the 1940s/50s. Value? Probably not much.

 

[dhermann1]

Not very valuable, but USEFUL in the right hands.

 

[Fifty150]

I see that the box says Craftsman. This indicates that it is a Sears Roebuck & Co item. Sears still sells tools under the Craftsman name, and their hand tools carry a lifetime warranty. At one time, Sears was a large reputable retailer that the American consumer could trust for well made goods. Their home appliances and tools were practically the best that you could buy over the counter. They even had a line of jeans that rivaled Levi's.

What you have there appears as if it could easily be taken apart, cleaned, oiled, and put right back into service. Since thousands of these things were made over the years, and they were so well made, you do not have a unique item. Eventually, barbers all turned to the more efficient electric clippers and there are probably still thousands of these across the country in long forgotten drawers, attics, storage lockers, et cetera. Clean it up. Polish it. Display it in your shop window. Or better yet, use it.

 

[The Soph Gent]

Not to burst your bubble, but I collect and restore old safety razors and I see those manual clippers all the time in flea markets for a couple dollars.