Thread: An Evaluation from a More Knowledgable Member?

I have been very cognizant of the warnings about beginners buying SRs on Ebay but I figure that you have to actually do a little looking to learn. Last night I was doing a little browsing and came across a number of blades and a couple of them caught my eye but these two in particular have me curious:

6/8 Wadsworth & Son "Boss"

5/8 J.A. Henckels "Emperor"

They both look nice and the prices seem reasonable but there are a number of things that make me nervous about placing a bid on either. The first is that the seller has few reviews and the fact that he suddenly selling a number of straight razors concerns me. The blades themselves look nice but how much of that is the photography and/or a pass on a buffer that may have created problems that I want to avoid? I also have no illusions about these razors actually being shave ready (to be fair, the "Emperor" may, in fact, be sjhave ready if such an act interests you) but the possible condition of the razors themselves is what intrigues me.

To be clear, this is largely an exercise in learning about vintage razors and how to shop for them. I have some interest but at this point I'd rather pass than make a truly bad purchase so I leave it to the membership to give me some advice and tell me if I'm being overly cautious or far too gullible.