how to notice a good razor from a bad one?

i see all these great razors at the antique mall but i dont know how to tell the difference. what visible aspects that you can actually see makes something a better shaver? :shrug:

How: spend a lot of time here, read all the stuff in the wiki, and educate yourself on straight razors. That's a start... :)

Then there's the obvious: check for rust, chips in the blade, that the scales are whole, opens and closes without the blade hitting the scales and so on.

Well there are some other things you can look for to hint whether the blade is anywhere from bad to great. In addition to Blix's list of obvious things...

Most easily recognized is the country of origin. If it says something like Made in (Sheffield, Germany, Solingen, Hamburg, England, Sweden, Japan) then it is probably good steel and thus will hold a good edge if properly honed.

For a used razor, you want to check and make sure the hone wear (across the spine and bevel) is the proper width for the grind and size of the blade, as well as even along the entirety of the blade. Many times you will find a razor that has been honed improperly and thus has uneven hone wear, such as the toe being much thinner than at the heel or middle of the blade. I pay much attention to scales unless they have fancy bolsters on them that I would like to transplant.

This thread might help you a bit

http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...eb-2011-a.html

I have only been straight shaving since February, but I have found that the search for the "better shaver" has been all the fun for me.
If someone told me the brand of the of the world's best shaver;then I would get it, one way or the other.
I hope that does not happen, because God knows I love the search.

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Originally Posted by TwistedOak

Most easily recognized is the country of origin. If it says something like Made in (Sheffield, Germany, Solingen, Hamburg, England, Sweden, Japan) then it is probably good steel and thus will hold a good edge if properly honed.

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What he said, just an add: Old blades made in the USA are great as well. Print off the "list of razors to avoid". Rust is about the biggest killer of razors other than breaks & cracks.