Thread: Needed feedback on some razors and a strop....

Ok I just bought ravors and a strop off ebay, was it a good deal and some good items or should i sell them??

Simco 7/8" Straight Edge Razor in Black
Overall Length: 6"
Blade Length: 3.5" Hollow Ground
Blade Material: Carbon Steel
Handle Material: Black Acrylic

Catonsville Acid Etched MOP Straight Edge Folding Razor
Overall Length: 5.5" Closed
Blade Length: 3.25" Hollow Ground
Blade Material: 440 Stainless Steel
Handle Material: Mother of Pearl, Imitation
Liner Material: Stainless Steel
Bolster Material: Stainless Steel, Acid Etched

Catonsville 6" Straight Edge Shaving Razor, 3/4" Blade
Overall Length: 6" Closed
Blade Length: 2.75" Hollow Ground
Blade Material: Carbon Steel
Handle Material: Black Acrylic
Liner Material: No Liner
Bolster Material: No Bolster

Zeepk 21" Leather RAZOR Strop
Leather with canvas back. Swivel hanging tab, 21" x 2"

Was this all a Good buy or i just wasted my money??

Hass

Well, the Zeepk strop is a piece of garbage. I don't think I would use it as a final strop. It might be suitable to use as a pasted strop though.

I'm not familiar with the razor brands but I assume they are vintage razors. It would depend on the condition and where they were made. If in the U.S they are probably good quality wise. Otherwise if they were made in Germany and the retailer was in the U.S they are still probably good razors.

Spender, I agree with you. Trash the strap (I don't think they are worthy of being called a strop). Can you post some pictures of the razors. That would help allot.

Phil

here is some pics of the razors, and really the strop is crap? i cant do anything with it? can i use a paste would that do anything? and hows these razors?

I have never heard of those brands before and they are not giving me a good feeling. If the price was too good to be true then most likely it was too good to be true. I would absolutely not count on those being able take an edge, and the Zeepk is definately junk.

I just looked up the Simco razor on google and found that this razor is "handcrafted in Pakistan". This is a very bad thing (to my knowledge Pakistani razors are almost always made out of junk metal) and I am pretty sure that the razor will not take an edge. The other razors are probably the same, I don't really want to research them. I would recommend that you buy a cheap shave ready vintage razor from the Buy/Sell/Trade section and a decent strop if you want to give yourself a chance at straight razor shaving success.

Ok so I'm replying now to the seller, I'm asking for my money back and if it’s sent I will return them....and if they don’t want to do the transaction then ill try n sell them. On the other hand, do you know any one that might have a good SE razor so I can start out, n the other necessities to start up this new hobby?
Thanks a lot
Hass

I sell inexpensive and high quality shave ready razors in the buy/sell forum as do several other senior members like JoshEarl. I am really not trying to sell to you, but the Wapienicas that I have listed in the for sale section are absolutely amazing shavers compared to razors costing over 5X the cost IMHO. If you purchased one of those razors and an inexpensive starter strop from Tony Miller at thewellshavedgentleman.com you would definately have a great setup and a chance at success. If you pm JoshEarl then he might have a shave ready razor that he has not listed. Also, if you don't mind spending more money, Tony Miller also sells complete straight razor shaving sets with high quality shave ready razors and strops; however, you will be paying a little more for a new razor.

David

Yeah - these aren't likely to get you anywhere

Good advice from Dave

Good luck
Ivo

its very good that you found this website for answering those questions. also there is a sticky about which brands to stay away from. as others have pointed out those are brand new razors and at that price...from pakistan.

if you are looking for something fancy then like most things in life it will cost you a bit more money. however SE razors are going to last you forever so its an investment...and as you can read thru these posts you will come to want more of them.

please help youself by reading these forums, there is a ton of info on here on razors,strops,brushes..etc etc that will help you learn and pick out good equipment that will give you success (with technique building).

look at the buy/sell/trade forum. you will find great quality razors that are shave ready in there. from lower cost wapiencias that work very well to high end custom made razors. alternatively you can buy a complete starter set with still a great razor from some of the vendors here. tony miller at www.thewellshavedgentleman.com for an example.

lastly your razor will need to be shaving sharp. i bet those ones you bought are about as sharp as your kitchen knives. yes thats sharp but that is no where even in the same ballpark as shaving sharp. you don't want to be ripping your face apart trying to remove whiskers. as you are starting out buy a shaving sharp razor from a vendor here or on the b/s/t forum.. alternatively buy a good razor and send it to someone to hone for you at least your first time. that will give you a razor you can use, practice, build skill with. you can't do anything but hurt yourself with a dull crappy razor. save yourself and don't try it.

lastly, sit down and read these forums. read posts going back a month or 2 and you will find endless question about every little detail around shaving. all this will only help you. probably confuse you at first but it will all fit together before long. the knowledge on this site is well worth your time reading. your face will thank you.

~J

ps. welcome aboard and best wishes with your adventure. its fantastic and well worth the time to learn.