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I was looking around a local flea market for a good cheap straight razor to start shaving with. Some of the ones i was looking at had some slight surface rust, some had very small nicks in the blade, and some seemed to be almost new. The three that seemed to be in the best shape were Torrey, Krusius Brothers, and a Magnetic.
What all should i know about these razors before i buy one? How do i know if their shave ready? What should i stay away from, exc. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Being new to straights myself, I can't really tell you much about the manufacturers. Now having said that, from what you've described, I'm going to say that none will come shave ready and finding a shave ready straight at a flea market does not happen often. from the sounds of things, those razors will need a some cleaning to remove any rust and someone to hone them to get them ready to shave with.
Any idea what type of place you can get someone to hone them without sending them out? I was thinkin about maybe some old fashoned barber or someone like that.
You may try to find someone local to hone them,but best best just look on the classfieds. I am sure someone would be glad to hone them for you. I would not find sending mine out a problem.
Get a reputable member near you to do the honing, if you can.
As for the razors, Torrey makes a decent blade, but you may not know what exactly to look for (pitting near the edge, for example) when picking a razor. If you can, I suggest getting close-up pics of all three and posting them on here for people to comment on.
Personally I think you will find that since you need everything else to shave (strop, mug, brush, soap, etc..) the best economic value to start is one of the sets that any of the vendors on this site advertise. Once you factor in the cost of buying the razor from an antique store and sending it out for honing you're going to be near or above the cost of the razor portion of a set depending on how good your flea market/antique store prices are.
All the antique stores I've been to slap $30+ price tags on any razor just because they're old and hard to find now. Even ones with chips, cracks in the blade, etc...
Unless you're in love with the nostalgia of a vintage blade and want to spend to bring it back to shaving glory stick to one of the starter sets IMO.
Many pitfalls. If your starting out stay away from antique shops. Eventually when you know your way around straights then you can dabble in antique shop mdse. By the way anything you buy in an antique shop no matter how good it looks should always be assumed to not be shave ready and need honing.
My advise is get something from one of the vendors here or from the classifieds.
Vulcan500rider is right about Torrey being an excellent razor. I got mine in an antique shop and I count it among my best razors. However, as thebigspender warned, you do have to know what you're looking for. The kits will come with a brand new razor but it too, will most likely have to be honed. It's very unlikely that it will be shave ready. I know I'm not alone in my opinion that you can't go wrong buying from the Classifieds. The sellers here are all members and not out out to cheat anyone.
As Big spendur said, be very wary until you know your way around! Of the three mentioned my favorite would be the Torrey, nobody made better steel!
You should know how to evaluate the condition of the razor, what is important and what isn't, as well as some idea of the amount of work involved to bring it to a state that you like it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lucille92
As far as 'shave ready', that's easy - they aren't.
For suggestions on finding somebody local that can hone for you you should tell us what's local to you.
If you want a cheep razor to start out with, check out Whipped Dog Straight Razor SalesQuote:
Originally Posted by Lucille92
The guy who runs it is really a great guy, you cannot go wrong with him.
He caters in inexpensive straights for people to get their feet wet with. He even has a hone for trade deal, so that if your razor gets dull you can trade it in for the price of a honing.
If you find you enjoy straights, you can always get a nicer razor later, but this way you can check it out without spending a lot of money.
Thanks for the help so far everyone. I kinda figured the ones there wouldnt be shave ready, i just thought i would throw it in the post. I did find a place around here that sharpens grooming supplise and i plan to call them tomorrow sometime to see if they can hone one, and if they cant im going to talk to the place my mom sends her professional dog grooming supplise to get sharpened.
About what RobertH said, yes i do know i need to get soap, a brush, mug, strop, etc and i was thinking about getting a burma shave kit with the soap, mug, and brush for $5 on Amazon. Ive seen strops for around $25 or so too. I figure if i get that Torrey from the antique store for around $20 or so and add the price to get someone to hone it im still saving money then buying a $200 kit online somewhere.
Be careful with cheep strops. I got a 30 dollar one and its wavy and does not make good contact with the razor. Now its looking like I'm going to have to break for a slightly more expensive one, and the $30 I spent on the cheep one is a lesson learned on getting what you pay for.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lucille92
Torrey is a great razor I have one. I just scored a nice old Wade and Butcher pre 1890 at a local antique shop for a really nice price.
I just bought the Torrey today, im going to take it to a local shop and have them hone it and get it ready to use!:tuQuote:
Originally Posted by RKP
You're feeling pretty adventurous, eh. Have fun, and let us know how it goes.
Haha, well, i figure worse case i just use this razor to practice honing on whenever i decide to start thatQuote:
Originally Posted by gugi
Hello...I'm a NUB here but I saw a post today on Torry's and the feedback was all good. But I can tell you also as a newguy, the others are correct in their advice on buying from the classifieds and going with somthing new and more reliable at this stage. Dovo is probably going to be your best choice at this point and just as a personal opinion. A 5/8 is a good starting width usually and a full hollow grind is a good bet too. But as they say,it is all a personal choice. And whatever you get, get it honed as I have been told repeatedly,there is no such thing as shave ready till you are certain it is.Check the Wiki section out as it is extremely helpful with this kind of thing and they even have a recommended list of good brands and negative brands . Also look up topics in here for early shaving manuals.They really are quite helpful . Hope this helps ya out a little. Good shave to you :)