Thread: Looking on the Bay to test my eye for flaws, Please chime in!

I am starting to look on the bay so that I can test my eye for potential issues in razors as I would like to also go around to some local antique and pawns etc and avoid getting burned. I will post pics or links of some of my finds and what/if I see any issues. Any vets of the bay please chime in if there is something that i miss or anything I should know about.

First Up:Vintage-C-V-Heljestrand-Eskilstuna-Sweden-6-8-Straight-Razor-M-K-No-6

This guy i see a small chip down by the shoulder, maybe some uneven hone wear in the middle of the blades spine

I'll be honest, that actually looks like a decent razor. perhaps not for the price. but none of those "flaws" would turn me off of that razor. the chip is minimal and the hone wear is far from what I would consider a deal-breaker.
Just my thoughts...

If I see small nicks or a little hone wear (fairly even) minor smile or frown and minimal pitting I might take a chance. Size of blade is also important. Scale condition does not bother me as I can make new scales. I am partial to certain manufacturers. Rust or pitting near edge is a turn off. So are cracks in blade.

Price not being factored into this, I would consider buying that blade.
I always price stuff by its landed cost. Sometimes shipping can kill the deal. Take for example if global shipping is involved. It has to be one heck of a deal for me to consider that. It is super expensive, and it is slow, slow, slow.
The wear on that razor is minor and even, the chip does not go past the bevel. A chip that goes past the bevel has a risk of hiding a crack, even with good pictures.

As others have said, that blade doesn't look that bad. Veey small chip. If a chip forces you to hone into the stabilizer, then you have to reshape the stabilizer. That is one benefit of blades that are shoulderless or have no stabilizer.

If you have not already read this section in the Library you may find it useful.

Purchasing straight razors - Shave Library

For the razor linked to I go along with what the other posters have said.

Bob

Looks like a winner to me. The MK 6 is the same size as the MK32, 6/8. The blade looks clean and would polish up nicely. More importantly the hone wear and bevel are equal and minimal, should hone up easily.

Oh, Heljis are great shavers!

If I saw that one in an antique store for a good price i would buy it in a heartbeat. One thing to always look for are small cracks, they don't always show in picture

There is a very small chip near the heel, but that's nothing overall that's an excellent razor the chip will easily hone out and with a very small amount of TLC that would make a great razor.

One other thing to watch out for is razors with odd angle pictures. Usually there is something the seller is trying to hide. With the right angle even pitting can be hidden in a light glare