Better look out, Jimbos been at it with the power grinder again!
Like most here who occasionally buy off ebay, I've had the pleasure of buying a razor that's been ruined by some pot-bellied dimwit who, after having a few miller lites, attacked the razor with a power grinder in an attempt to squeeze a couple more bucks out of his sordid auction. Since I really don't like losing money, especially to pot-bellied dimwits, I keep an eye out for this sort of thing, as I'm sure many others do here. Now, I cant say for certain that ebay seller jimbo14__ is a pot bellied dimwit (not having met him) but I can say with relative certainty that he has gone after his razors with a power sander... or perhaps even an angle grinder. Here are a few of his current listings. I think he has about 20 razors up now, ending today, Sunday the 11th.
(I should note this has nothing do do with Jimbo here on SRP)
This one just looks too shiny, the brass spine is especially suspicious since brass of any age has a patina.
Antique Straight Razor Joh.Engstrom ESKILSTUNA Sweden " - eBay (item 320434395029 end time Oct-11-09 20:12:57 PDT)
Final close up here looks really ground.
Antique Straight Razor "SPIKE"Union Cutlery - eBay (item 320433649772 end time Oct-11-09 18:08:37 PDT)
This is pretty conclusive proof. There is still rust in some of the pits, and many large deep scratches visible.
Antique Straight Razor"BENGALL"Extra Holoow GroundRazor - eBay (item 320433646436 end time Oct-11-09 17:53:35 PDT)
This one is particularly interesting. The razor might look OK, except on closer inspection it looks like the tang has retained the original patina, while the rest of the blade has a fairly normal mirror-like shine, at least in these pictures.
Antique Straight Razor "Green Lizard" - eBay (item 320433402583 end time Oct-11-09 07:08:51 PDT)
The last one is pretty much a warning to stay away from all of this sellers listings, in my opinion. Even the razors that might be ok (from what can be seen in the pics) have likely been cleaned with a power tool. I'd recommend extreme caution if you're considering any of these... or just make sure you have a extra blade to go with the scales you just bought.
EDIT--
I came back to look at the thread, and I realized how much I hate exclamation points. Unfortunately I can't edit the title.