Thread: Broken DD #1, just sold for . . . $305!

Originally Posted by JeffE

Thanks, Max!! I was worried that everyone was going to start running for their torches and pitchforks!

Look, I honestly don't know how to do all of the black magic that Max and other people here do to bring these razors back to life, so I try not to speak on issues that I know nothing about. (And, by the way, I've asked Max for help with some razors too, but he's booked through 2015!)

You say it was wrong to grind the tip in the first place? No argument here. You say that someone who would grind the tip should should never be permitted to restore a razor ever again? I say, please, give the dude and me a break. He broke my razor, he paid me back, and now that same stupid, broken razor has been resold on eBay for about what you'd pay for A LIGHTLY USED MASTRO LIVI! That's really what I'm getting at here. Thanks!

No pitchfork here. The statement that he should never touch a razor again was hyperbolic, and unfortunately the finer nuances of speech never come out across the internet. I think he should keep working, and I'm sure he learned a lot... but this was a pretty major lapse in judgement for an 'expert'.

That said, the auction is NUTS! I wonder if someone misplaced a decimal or will otherwise be feeling some serious buyer's remorse... DD 7/8 aside, since it is shortened and in run-of-the-mill acrylic scales I don't think I'd have put a tenth of the max bid in on that...

...but I'm snapping the toe off all my razors as we speak. I should see if I can get a box of discarded Gold Dollar scales from Seraphim... I'm going to make a killing!

Thanks, guys! Trust me, the person who made the mistake about grinding the razor felt SUPER BAD about it!!! I actually spent about 45 mins on the phone with him telling him that it was ok, I wasn't ****ed about it, and so forth. He was kicking himself for a long time over it, and because he's such a good guy to work with, I wanted him to know that this was not a big deal.

For what it's worth, I know those DD Special No. 1's come up all the time, but this 7/8 model was really, really nice (back when it was in one piece, that is)! I wouldn't spend $305 for it, but I was bummed about losing what I had.

Originally Posted by jdog006

I'm not looking to raise up a pitchfork. I have had similar situations, myself. I always try to leave the smallest amount of gap possible between the wedge and the blade. When a blade has a worn pivot hole, I have found the best way to measure where to cut the wedge is to fit everything together and pull the blade toward the wedge if there is any "slop" in the pivot hole. But I thought I would offer a suggestion for anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation.

A set of diamond burrs like this:

20 DIAMOND BURR burs bits dental DREMEL 1/8" +Ships USA - eBay (item 360195509691 end time Mar-03-10 18:57:37 PST)

works great for situations like that. I find it easiest to fit one in the drill press, lower the burr between the scales and put a slight amount of pressure between the burr and the wedge. It will file down the wedge in no time at all.

I also use them in the same manner to remove old epoxy when restoring old shaving brushes. They are very handy and can save someone a lot of headaches.

I use round hand file and it works great, those bits are very handy when one has to fix or drill larger hole in the tang.
@ JeffE,,
sometimes people do not well thought things in the heat of the moment. restoration work can be very addictive, and one wants to finish the task once its started, and challenges on the way makes you want to push even more. I would not blame the person because they have put effort, only thing to regret is the loss of a rare blade.

Originally Posted by mainaman

I use round hand file and it works great, those bits are very handy when one has to fix or drill larger hole in the tang.
@ JeffE,,
sometimes people do not well thought things in the heat of the moment. restoration work can be very addictive, and one wants to finish the task once its started, and challenges on the way makes you want to push even more. I would not blame the person because they have put effort, only thing to regret is the loss of a rare blade.

My round files are too large to fit inside a set of scales and now that I see how easy it is with a burr, I'm not motivated to buy smaller files.

Next time you find a Rembrandt in a yard sale for 10 dollars, perhaps you will let me put hole in it, and pay you back the 10 dollars? It only seems fair for me to buy it off you since I damaged it like that

Just sayin is all.....

Anyway, like I said, I wasn't too happy about losing the blade, and if I was watching over his shoulder, I certainly would have told him to use a set of scales that fit the razor rather than trying to grind the razor to fit the scales.

As for Magpie's point, I agree. Let's just say that if he had done the same thing to a brand new Livi or Filly #14, I would have asked for the REPLACEMENT cost of the razor and not just my purchase price.

I guess my original point of writing the post got lost along the way, too, but that's ok. I guess the message here is that we all need to keep our wits about us, whether restoring blades or merely bidding on them, right?

Originally Posted by JeffE

I guess the message here is that we all need to keep our wits about us, whether restoring blades or merely bidding on them, right?

Amen, Brother Jeff!

"Hi, my name is George . . .

I just bought the rarest razor in the world off Ebay . . . I will soon be selling it for $500"