Show us your Thrift and/or yard sale finds

[repeatclicks]

Call me crazy but I bought a straight razor.

I tossed it into the ultrasonic cleaner, gave it a clean and a disinfect with some hot water and other stuff, then I spent about half an hour sharpening it on a stone and gave it a simple stropping on an old belt (the only suitable piece of leather I had) and took it for a whirl.

Well...

...I'm still alive.

Whoa whoa whoa... before you go any further with your sharpening stones and leather belts, STOP. You will certainly get a close shave by cutting your face off this way.

Straight razors need to be honed by a professional on professional hones to be able to shave a human face. They start with a rougher stone (around 800) and work down to at least 1500 grit or more. Should run you no more than 15 bucks and will last you years.

You also need to buy a PROPER horsehide strop to sharpen it on. By the time a pro is done with that blade, they will be able to literally just touch a human hair to the blade and it will cut in half (called the hanging hair test).

Join a straight razor forum (start here), introduce yourself and get on the right track. Whatever shave you had with your method won't even come close to the one you will have if you have it properly honed and daily sharpened on a strop.

Chances are you may have trashed a perfectly good blade already though...

 

[Wire9Vintage]

Went 78 hunting at a Goodwill Outlet store the other day. No records, but I came across this vintage edition of The Sea Wolf by Jack London. Last due date stamped was Feb. 18, 1925. Normally I'm not that interested in old books, but it just so happened I was on the look out for an adventure novel in a compact size to take with me to work. Interesting that the name of the library is embossed right on the book cover.

That's a library binding. They either replaced the cover or got it coverless and bound it. Libraries used to do that. Many still do something like this for paperbacks. As far as London goes, his novels are fun enough, but if it's adventure you're after, find a collection of his short stories. Either his tales from the South Pacific or his Alaskan ones (but really, most of his stories beat his novels hands down). But I do have to giggle at the "racy" part near the end of the Sea Wolf...

 

[HHISIII]

It's not vintage, but I snagged (5) Pelco EH8104 housings at an auction for $15 total and just sold the lot of 'em for $500.

I'm heading out to the thrift shop now to go hunting.

 

[MikeBravo]

It's not vintage, but I snagged (5) Pelco EH8104 housings at an auction for $15 total and just sold the lot of 'em for $500.

I'm heading out to the thrift shop now to go hunting.

Okay,I admit it. I had too Google that :eusa_doh:

"The Pelco EH8100 Series are sealed and pressurized environmental enclosures designed to protect CCTV cameras operating in adverse environmental conditions"

Nice find, sir

 

[Shangas]

I bought a pair of beautiful, vintage-style hardcover books with the gold-leaf on them and everything.

"The Prince and the Pauper" by Mark Twain.
"The Old Curiosity Shop" by Dickens.

Two of my favourite stories, but I never had copies of them until now.

 

[HHISIII]

This is another auction find, but VERY vintage

on the back, it's signed 'Alfred Waud' and it has been authenticated. The inscription at the bottom is '1863', 'The Capitol of South Carolina' and 'Death to Abolition' I paid $150 after fees.

 

[Shangas]

"Abolition" would refer to the abolishment of slavery in the USA, right?

 

[JT]

my coffee table

 

[Shangas]

If you put that in the living-room, you can serve coffee and fire up the flames in the fireplace at the same time...

 

[AmateisGal]

"Abolition" would refer to the abolishment of slavery in the USA, right?

Yep.

 

[Honey Bee]

CANISTERS!!!
I FINALLY GOT'EM!!
Now if someone could tell me if they are 40's, 50's or 60's...the 'net is giving me conflicting info....but there are smaller sets of these on Ebay going from $30to $90 so my $13 dollar buy for all 8 pieces is a steal!!

 

[repeatclicks]

Canisters are 50s.

 

[Honey Bee]

Canisters are 50s.

Thank you

I looked online, found a set of three and a set of four but they were both silver, going for $30 & $90 respecfully...I guess my bargain of $13 is pretty good!

 

[LocktownDog]

Found this at a local thrift store for $2.00. Doesn't look like its ever been worn. Ignore the dog hair ... my terrier has to sniff EVERYTHING that's brought home. [huh]

 

[HHISIII]

"Abolition" would refer to the abolishment of slavery in the USA, right?

That is correct.
It's an interesting piece for a number of reasons, most relating back to the quality of the paper on which it was drawn. The paper is quite thick and very smooth. It was a very high quality and very large piece of paper for the time, not something that would have been easy or cheap to come by in the South at that time. That is a handy clue in speculating who the original owner could have been. It would have been a fairly wealthy Southerner, most likely a plantation owner...

 

[wahine]

Congrats to your great buys!
I got to admit I kinda envy you for the existence of "thrift shops". We don't really have that in Germany. Of course, there are some tiny shops for used stuff, but they get less and less and the ones that still exist mostly sell modern fashion brands at high prices or often kids' stuff.
*sigh*

 

[Brinybay]

That's a library binding. They either replaced the cover or got it coverless and bound it. Libraries used to do that. Many still do something like this for paperbacks. As far as London goes, his novels are fun enough, but if it's adventure you're after, find a collection of his short stories. Either his tales from the South Pacific or his Alaskan ones (but really, most of his stories beat his novels hands down). But I do have to giggle at the "racy" part near the end of the Sea Wolf...

That's actually a good suggestion. To be honest, short stories would be more practical for me. I have so many other projects that by the time I pick up a book I've been trying to read after putting it down for a week, I have to re-read several pages to refresh my memory on what's going on.

 

[Quigley Brown]

An interesting yard sale find from this past weekend....not for me, of course. I have a friend who'd be interested in this.

[/IMG]

 

[Shangas]

Pardon me for asking Mr. Brown...but what is that?

 

[Quigley Brown]

Pardon me for asking Mr. Brown...but what is that?

It's a leather carrying case for a young ballerina's shoes and accessories.