Thread: I've got razors, yay!

Alright. I took all the wisdom I found in the annals of this here fine site and applied it to some purchases. These are the three I came up with!

Vintage Wade & Butcher Straight Razor Sheffield England,

Fram,

and Jung

The Wade and Butcher needs some work and the Fram has some minor scale damage but the Jung is lookin pretty sweet, I think. I'd like to restore the W&B if I can. Perhaps I can recover some of the money I spent. That's what I'll tell my wife anyway!

Nice haul! The Fram & Jung look like they just need a wipe down with Maas, and a good honing (are you honing yourself?).

The W&B will probably clean up to a usable state with relative ease -- not a looker, but will get the shave done. Of course, there's always the option of a full restoration; plenty of guys here that can be commissioned for it, or read one of their threads/tutorials on doing it yourself.

That's a tough decision! I'd like to learn how myself but then again I'd like not to mess up a nice new collection. My thoughts were this. I got the W&B for a little less than the other two. I thought I could try and err on that one to see if I have the stuff. Of course I have reservations about that because they don't make those anymore (I don't think). I'm open to having it done by someone knowledgeable but I am a little nervous about sending my stuff to a stranger. Is there a protocol that I can follow to protect my belonging without causing offense to some of the folks who offer the service? I'm shopping right now for the equipment. I'm looking at the Illinois Strops and trying to decide on Arkansas, Oregon, or diamond hones. So many options!

What's your suggestion?

First off, congrats! It should be fun getting those shave ready. As far as doing it yourself, the options are limitless as far as hones go. I would suggest a set of nortons and a barber hone, you'll be set for years to come with that combo. The norton set can be had for 130 bucks on amazon and it comes with a lapping stone to flatten the hones. Scroll down in the "general" forum and you will find the post from me about a good deal for hones. As long as you're careful, don't worry about destroying the razors. Yes, they are old, but the damage you could possibly cause by restoring them will always be reversable as long as you use common sense when restoring/honing them. Watch Jockey's videos on here about restoring razors and honing-stropping. That should get you going in the right direction. Good luck!

Good deal!! Congrats on the great score!!!! Enjoy!!

I like the Jung and the Fram is not bad either, even though the round point is not to my taste.

You'll notice you've already spent almost $80 and still have no razor that can shave. For the same money or less I'd have picked up a nice shave-ready one from the classifieds.

Originally Posted by razornewbie

I'm open to having it done by someone knowledgeable but I am a little nervous about sending my stuff to a stranger. Is there a protocol that I can follow to protect my belonging without causing offense to some of the folks who offer the service?

Sure - spend some more time on the forum and you'll probably get less nervous.
Other than that finding somebody local to you and convincing them to help a stranger is another option you could try.
USPS insurance isn't terribly expensive, I think it'll set you back an extra $5 roundtrip and you can always send the razor for honing to straightrazordesigns, classicshaving, or vintageblades, if a business makes you more at ease.

Originally Posted by razornewbie

I'm shopping right now for the equipment. I'm looking at the Illinois Strops and trying to decide on Arkansas, Oregon, or diamond hones. So many options!

That's easy - forget about the Arkansas and Oregon hones - get something that actually works well.