Thread: eBay 101

I've only been a member just over a month. I've been using str8's for 3 years, but mostly new ones. I don't post a lot as I'm still studying the wiki. At 60 I've done a lot of steel work. Fabricating, repair, sharpening...It's kind of one of my quirks. I've tried to look at the pictures and titles, but not the posts to see if I have the correct approach. I've not refurbished anything yet, but I plan on it. This gives me a chance to tell you what I see from pictures, and perhaps how close or far I am off my assumptions Have at it, I'm thick skinned and used to criticism.
Razor 1.......A vintage dubl duck with clear acrylic scales grabs me right off the bat. It has patina around the pins, but I'm not so sure about the clear scales. Bad picture quality, but I can see definite pits, might be repairable, maybe not. Pic 3 clearly shows the toe is blue and brown from over heating. We're not bidding on this POS.
Razor 2.....Cool etching but obvious rust pitting. Scroll down and the tang is rusted but might have possibilities. Keep scrolling and the rust on the tang becomes more obvious, but the toe is clearly worn from stones that might have needed lapping. Keep scrolling and the bevel is out of kilter as well. No bids on this one either.
Razor 3......At first glance, this one could have possibilities, but before I bid, I need more pix. A second glance tells me that there is a lot of wear on the blade by the heel, and once again the stones might have needed lapping. Then as you scroll further the bevel is not right. For the right price maybe, but still not ready to bid.
Razor 4.....At first glance doesn't reveal enough and need more pix. Crappy pictures and I'm for sure not going to bid. Scroll down and that blue fading to brown spot on the spine tells it all. This one is cooked too.!! Scroll to the last picture and it's clear this one stayed on a buffer too long. No bids here either.
That's my take....right or wrong. I would sooner bid here as opposed to ebay, provided there are enough pix and viable information........which when I say viable is stuff I can rationalize or confirm. Still might not be right, but trial and error can be an expensive way to learn. Some days the bear gets you, other days you get the bear.
It's still fun no matter what your age is.

Doing good Mule. While the toe wear may or may not be due to hone issues it does have major tow wear. While I do have some with heavy toe wear from my early purchases, and they shave OK, I would not spend a lot on them. Rust on the tang/shank isn't a major problem if you plan on taking the scales off and don't mike it the maker's stamp is possibly ground away.

My desire for this thread is to note issues with razors that either are beyond repair/restoration and/or what to expect if you try, like loosing the etch.

There are bunches of them on eBay so I am using that as the thread title and source for the pics. This is not limited to eBay and are also available in Flea Markets, garage sales and antique shops.

To everyone, please post some pics of razors you feel may have issues, hidden or otherwise. Let's not waste our money on junk that can never be made shave ready or would cost in appearance or money to restore.

Restoration guys/gals, please feel free to give a SWAG (Silly wild a$$ guess) for the cost to restore some of these gems.

Thanks.

the razor i posted has horrible wear. the edge is quite wavy which is obscured by the bad angle of the photo, but it will take a lot of work to fix and then you'll still have a razor that's way past what it was originally meant to be.
I suspect if it shaves it'll be below average.

The famous W&B,
this one is not so obscure, but people get anxious over big names an forget to pay attention

wow that thing has some nasty hone wear. How wide is that bevel?

To the powers that be, maybe we should assemble a bunch of disaster pics for the wiki showing what to avoid.

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

To the powers that be, maybe we should assemble a bunch of disaster pics for the wiki showing what to avoid.

By The Power of Robin, I appoint this ass to make it so!

you're welcome

What's wrong with that W&B? That kind of hone wear is pretty typical on wedges.

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

What's wrong with that W&B? That kind of hone wear is pretty typical on wedges.

Pretty worn out no?
I have not seen many with that kind of wear.

I've seen and honed plenty with that much wear. Doesn't bother me - the wide bands are more a function of the grind than excessive use. I bet that razor was never more than 1/8 at most wider than she is now, and even that is probably a stretch - could have been as little as 1/16 wider.

Looks a lot like this one, eh? http://straightrazorpalace.com/564971-post36.html