Greetings! For a number of reasons, I've decided to give shaving with a straight razor a try.

After some initial research on this great site and a few other places I've decided to look in the local antique stores and malls for a relatively inexpensive good starter razor which I would then have honed by someone with some experience and competence with the task.

Would any of you fine gentlemen have some advice for me on purchasing a razor from an antiques dealer. I don't want to get taken, obviously, but I'm mostly concerned with getting a useful razor. What are the main things I should look for? What would be the characteristics to avoid? And what's a reasonable price range to consider?