Thread: Sometimes a Gamble Pays

I don't mean to make anyone gnash their teeth over this - well - okay maybe a little...

I was wandering through the listings on ebay looking for blades that may have been listed generically (and missed by most) and came across an auction for what was listed as a "No Name" razor. It looked too heavy and balanced to be a Pakistani blade and I've not seen a Chinese blade that looked like it, so, I took a chance. Won it for less than $40 delivered and received yesterday.

Well after cleaning up the tang a bit and looking at it through a loupe it's actually a Southington Cutlery 15/16 from New England (late 1800s I think). A little rust that's easily cleaned up, a honing, and maybe new scales and this should come out pretty sweet for a bargain purchase! Almost no hone wear and the bevel is pretty small. I guess the seller didn't take the time to look it over very well and didn't look at the tang using a little magnification - or didn't care. Too bad - the manufacturer's name and mark was under just a little grime.

Here's pics from the auction. More to come after I can clean it up completely and maybe rescale it (scales are not likely original, they're too long). Looks to be dead-on straight so it should turn out to be a smooth shaver after honing. Not sure if I'll keep it or not but I'll decide after making it pretty again.