Thread: Ebay straight razors... need help

i'm new to the world of straight razor shaving and was wondering if the straight razors on ebay that usually run 10 to 20 dollars are worth my time or money. or should i just stick to my 80 dollar dovo? i'm just looking for another good daily shaver.do i have to spend $60 or more for a good razor? can somebody help?

If you don't mind honing and restoring them, they could be something.
If you want a shave ready in a good condition, go to the classifieds.

+1 on everything Olivia said.

I'd add to that, be sure you read the list of brands to avoid in the wiki before buying off ebay.

There are a lot of brand new razors on ebay in the $10-$20 range, and they are useless. I made the mistake of buying some, but fortunately for me, I was able to get my money back. Most people are not so lucky.

the truth is quality razor will cost more.

It's very rare to get more than you pay for on EBay, but they are to be had if yo know what you are looking for, can do the work required to get them to shave ready condition yourself and have the patients to find them. Since you are just starting out I would say that it is not someplace you should be shopping if you want to get to shaving with a straight razor soon. I would recommend finding a Double Arrow or WAPI from a vendor here on SRP that sells them shave ready of buy a cheaper one from the classified section on this site. Get one or two of them to shave with along with a strop. You should be good for around 5 or 6 months if you get 2 and don't damage them. While you are shaving with them you can pick up an EBay special to restore and learn honing with. If you don't want to go past the DA or WAPIs all you will need is a barber's hone, small coticule or Chinese Water hone to touch up your shave ready razors when they get dull, in 5 or 8 months. I am assuming that youare not working with a large budget here. If money and time are not an issue and you don't mind a long learning curve, go for the EBAY specials and have fun learning from your mistakes. Good luck.

A quality old razor may not look good, but at least it has the potential to be a good shaver. If you don't care about having a pristine looking razor, you can get a great shaver for little cost as long as you buy a good brand and get it honed well.

Originally Posted by Utopian

A quality old razor may not look good, .

Am i missing something in here ?
Condition may not look good or bad but quality stays same? doesn't matter it is old or new blade?
Or this is just typing mistake Ron?

it's cheaper if you buy one already cleaned up, honed and tested.
you can save some money by doing the cleaning or most of it yourself, but the chances that you buy a razor that is not junk are not very high, so better rely on the expertise of somebody else to make that pick. plus until it's honed and tested you never know how it shaves.

if you want a new razor get the dovo and be done, that seems the only thing available in your budget.

Originally Posted by hi_bud_gl

Am i missing something in here ?
Condition may not look good or bad but quality stays same? doesn't matter it is old or new blade?
Or this is just typing mistake Ron?

I think he means that an old razor may not look good cosmetically; stains, scales worn, pins loose, needs cleaning, etc. On the other hand, IF it was of good quality to start with, it can still be a good quality shaver after a little work cleaning and honing. (Except if heavily rusted, pitted, chipped or cracked blade.)

At the same time, a brand new bright shiny blade made of poor quality steel will never be a good razor.

Originally Posted by fritz

I think he means that an old razor may not look good cosmetically; stains, scales worn, pins loose, needs cleaning, etc. On the other hand, IF it was of good quality to start with, it can still be a good quality shaver after a little work cleaning and honing. (Except if heavily rusted, pitted, chipped or cracked blade.)

At the same time, a brand new bright shiny blade made of poor quality steel will never be a good razor.

Yup, you got it right. I have some ugly old razors that I've never bothered to clean up yet. Some have severe pitting on regions of the blade that are far from the edge so it's only a cosmetic issue. They shave great but look horrible and I probably couldn't sell them for more than $10, but I never will.

My point was that the aesthetics of a razor might be poor, but it can still shave well. Contrast this with a nice shiny new Zeepk, Krieger, or Master razor on ebay. They are clean, shiny, new, and crap!