Thread: Tired of Rounded Up Measurements!

Recently bought a German razor that was supposed to be 8/8". It was under 15/16". To me that's a big difference!
Why round up to 8/8"? Why not round down to 7/8"?
Well most of the time there's one reason, and we all know it.
I'm just sick of it.
Usually I write and ask if the measurements are indeed that stated size. This time I didn't. Always maintain vigilance guys! We need to protect ourselves from greedy people, at the very least they just "don't understand" the world of straight razors where 1/16" is significant.
I've had then come 1/4" off before with very clever photography.
I've also had them come 1/8" over! But that is the exception.
Always buyer beware!

Originally Posted by MikeT

Recently bought a German razor that was supposed to be 8/8". It was under 15/16". To me that's a big difference!
Why round up to 8/8"? Why not round down to 7/8"?
Well most of the time there's one reason, and we all know it.
I'm just sick of it.
Usually I write and ask if the measurements are indeed that stated size. This time I didn't. Always maintain vigilance guys! We need to protect ourselves from greedy people, at the very least they just "don't understand" the world of straight razors where 1/16" is significant.
I've had then come 1/4" off before with very clever photography.
I've also had them come 1/8" over! But that is the exception.
Always buyer beware!

This is why I either just mention the width excluding the spine or both including and excluding; never just including the width of the spine. When people spend money on my razors (or even when they are not) I feel they have a right to know what they are getting. Full disclosure may lead to less buyers, but also to less unhappy buyers.

I feel you, I've had it go both ways. Unfortunately the value from 8/8 to even 15/16 is quite a leap. I've only sold one razor on the bay but I measured it to the thousandth with some calipers for the exact reason you stated.

I did ask one seller the width of the blade and the answer was, "it is a standard size razor". Sometimes even when you ask the answer is not what you were looking for. As always, try to be as vigilant as possible. We all let out guard down from time to time and WAM, a quick reminder.

From a purely numerical point of view, rounding up is a legitimate means of expressing a measurement. Some people though seem to take liberties with what's a genuine round up. If a razor measured 24.8mm then it would be proper to round it up to 8/8 as opposed to 15/16 as it is closer to 8/8. Some people also use eighths as their rounding point instead of sixteenths which can also muddy the waters regarding size.
When I sell a razor on ebay, I list the exact measurement in mm's and then convert that to a legitimate round up or round down to the nearest 16th of an inch so there can be no dispute over the size.

If I have a razor that measures between greater than 13/16's but lower than 7/8's with calipers, I'll list it as "approximately 7/8's". The reason for this is I don't want to list a razor as "55/64's", and nobody is going to bother to figure out what "21.828mm" is in straightrazorspeak.

It can go the other way too. Had a buyer throwing a hissy fit once because the blade was just a hair over 1/64" shorter than I had measured. So now I just put some plain photography in with a ruler that shows the width. Though with some sellers the angles can be manipulated even with that to make it seem larger.

Go metric, man!

Originally Posted by RezDog

I did ask one seller the width of the blade and the answer was, "it is a standard size razor". Sometimes even when you ask the answer is not what you were looking for. As always, try to be as vigilant as possible. We all let out guard down from time to time and WAM, a quick reminder.

I agree, sometimes it's impossible to get a seller with no knowledge or understanding to get a measurement. I think they could screw it up even with a picture showing exactly what I want measured!

I've had one sent back for being 1/32 under 7/8. Not to mention he used calipers 100+ times up and down the once shave ready edge. It's ridiculous these days...

Originally Posted by johnmrson

From a purely numerical point of view, rounding up is a legitimate means of expressing a measurement. Some people though seem to take liberties with what's a genuine round up. If a razor measured 24.8mm then it would be proper to round it up to 8/8 as opposed to 15/16 as it is closer to 8/8. Some people also use eighths as their rounding point instead of sixteenths which can also muddy the waters regarding size.
When I sell a razor on ebay, I list the exact measurement in mm's and then convert that to a legitimate round up or round down to the nearest 16th of an inch so there can be no dispute over the size.

I don't think anyone is disputing the practice of rounding in normal circumstances; it is just when it is done in a way that is misleading they are not happy with. Anyone with experience selling razors knows what impact the width has on the price. If an experienced collector is rounding up the width of the blade by an 1/8, that is just dishonest.
I list my measurements as approximate, but I try to be as specific as possible using my $3 plastic calipers. I may round to the nearest 1/16 when measuring the scales, total blade length, etc, but I'm very careful about what measurement I put for the blade width.

Originally Posted by RezDog

I did ask one seller the width of the blade and the answer was, "it is a standard size razor". Sometimes even when you ask the answer is not what you were looking for. As always, try to be as vigilant as possible. We all let out guard down from time to time and WAM, a quick reminder.

I had a similar interaction with a seller on ebay.

Me: What is the size of the knot?
Seller: knot?
Me: (explained what the knot is, how it is measured, etc.)
Seller: I believe it is the standard size.

I didn't buy from them.