Is this another unlucky purchase...?

Hello good people,

As you know there still few more vintage straight razor left out there (considering that 75% worldwide resources was purchased by this forum members :-) to be purchase. Someone from etsy offered me few vintage razors and honing stone. Send few pictures and items look be OK. I paid $60 for all items and I thought that it is good purchase. From pictures I can see that razors are in mid- to good shape conditions. Honing stone looks to be not damaged or broken.... however I couldn`t sleep so I decided to write to ask experts if my $60 was just flushed to toilet.


Now what I got....
1 - Ringdove Razor - Fromm Bros. New York, N.Y. Germany 6 - Mother of Pearl - 9 1/4".
2 - Tuckman Soligen - Germany (double duck spec. No 1) - 9".
1 - Marx & Co. 12 Slingen Germany - 9".
1 - Capelle H Dwe Co. - Chas. K. Randell - 9 1/4".
1 - Sharpening Stone - Franz Swaty, Vormals Mareburg. Austria - 2" x 5 1/4".

I guess 9 1/4" means blade length... Anyway please comment and be honest with as I would like to know your opinion since I had already few failure purchases from eBay....

Hey there....as you may know valuations are not allowed here on SRP so without pictures it's difficult to say if the razors and hone you bought are in good enough shape to be used. If you can post pictures I bet ppl will chime in on the condition of the blades. GL :)

Proximus, Without seeing the items it's impossible to tell. Chances are for $60.00 you may have a fair or even good purchase. If the Franz Swaty is in good condition and any of the razors are decent you're probably not hurt. But, even if all are unsalvageable, it's a not a large price to pay to remind you to research first! Hope you have a great purchase!!

Regards,

Howard

Hello good people,
I will find some camera with macro option, take pictures and posted for your assessment.

Regards

As everyone already said, it is hard to assess without photos and we don't do appraisals on SRP because these things are a matter of opinion. That said, the swaty alone, if it is in good condition, is worth almost what you paid for the lot. So if one or two of the razors are in good shape, along with the stone, my opinion would be that you scored.

It is unlikely that 9 1/4" refers to blade length. If it does, send it to me and I'll see if I can handle it. If you do that and don't hear from me, that will mean that I tried to shave with it and am recovering from my injuries.

LOL, you made my day, you are right... no way this blade is 9 1/4"... I`m still laughing LOL... stupid me:-)

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Originally Posted by ace

It is unlikely that 9 1/4" refers to blade length. If it does, send it to me and I'll see if I can handle it. If you do that and don't hear from me, that will mean that I tried to shave with it and am recovering from my injuries.

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Hello all good people,

First: I have try my best taking pictures but close up are not the best, so I will try to write some more about each razor.
Second: thank you for all your help:

1. Swaty stone:
Stone has very small chip, size about 2 mm, deep 1mm on the edge. Feels like 8k+ hone. As I have never used hone like that before I`m not sure which side of hone should be used for honing or refreshing razor. Hone is little uneven so I think need flattening and lapping. Otherwise look in pretty good shape.
Attachment 86820Attachment 86821Attachment 86822Attachment 86823Attachment 86824Attachment 86825Attachment 86826

2. Razor-Duble Duck Special #1
Blade looks to be (my opinion) in great conditions with very small wear to spine. Scale is in good conditions however pins need to be tightening. I will probably just use polishing paste or compound to polish razor, otherwise look fine to me. No rust at all.

Attachment 86830Attachment 86831Attachment 86832Attachment 86833

3. Razor-Duble Duck Special #1
Very small wear to spine, scale is in good conditions however pins need to be tightening. Blade has water stains and dust and tong has discoloration, like platinum/black color. I think this is soap and water which remain after shaving. No rust at all.
Attachment 86834Attachment 86835Attachment 86836
4. Razor 12 Marx&CO Solingen
In my opinion it is huge blade but not largest I seen in SRP post and could say it is about 9/8 -10/8 size. I don`t have anything like that in my collection. Surprising but it is light, balanced and holds very well. Scale needs cleaning and tightening. Blade has no rust at all, just satins from water and soap with very little spine use (but extremely even use, looks like someone was really good in honing). I will probably get 1200 water sand paper and polishing paste and will send for honing. I will not try to hone it myself as I don`t know how to hone yet (-: .

Attachment 86837Attachment 86838Attachment 86839Attachment 86840

5. Razor –Jackson
This is very heavy blade, thick and sharp with no sign of any rust. Scale will need some tightening and polishing.
Attachment 86841Attachment 86842Attachment 86843Attachment 86844Attachment 86845

6. Razor-Not sure about brand as it is cover by artificial mother of pearl (with crack) however I can see thru that “Special Razor No”
Attachment 86846Attachment 86847Attachment 86848Attachment 86849

7. Razor-Chask Randall (or Chaskrandall) 300 –Cappele HDWE Co.
Blade has visible rust and water stains. Scale… hmm not sure, looks like piece of copper plate bend in middle… in fact very nice idea as you can use only one pin and razor rest over edge of the copper plate.
Attachment 86850Attachment 86851Attachment 86852Attachment 86853

OK, so that’s it for what I got for $50. Now I`m asking you… Is this another unlucky purchase...? Did I made fool of myself even paying for these items? Be honest, I`m strong man... will handle pain with dignity :-)

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Originally Posted by proximus26

3. Razor-Duble Duck Special #1
Very small wear to spine, scale is in good conditions however pins need to be tightening. Blade has water stains and dust and tong has discoloration, like platinum/black color. I think this is soap and water which remain after shaving. No rust at all.

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Looks like a great buy!!! The discoloration is actually factory blue-ing. I would try and keep it if you can.

look a good buy.
Love the marx&co.. ihave one and thats a realy great shaver.

You got off cheap.

+ 1 you got a great deal. Congratulations.

Thank you everyone for your honesty. I have small question: what will be best way to remove water/soap stains from DD razor I have purchased. Should I use 1200 water sand paper or maybe I should just try do it with polishing compound? Razors (beside #7) are in really good shape and I don`t want to damage or wrap blade. In regards razor brand-does anyone seen Jackson brand or Chask Randall (or Chaskrandall)? I guess Jackson is just custom made razor and some how end up with me. Blade is very heavy and not sure what alloy was used to produce this blade. I can tell that will not rust so easy.

One question to kalerolf does your razor is also #12? What this number means? Razor series?

Regards!

Are you talking about #3??? Where is the soap residue?

It is on the tang and middle of the blade, close to cutting edge.

If it is actual soap you probably can just wipe it off with alcohol and a rag. And may try a light metal polish like Maas before hitting it with sand paper. It would, IMO, be nice to try and keep whatever blueing is left if possible since the tang and spine of the #1 were originally all blue.

Personally, the most that I would do with any of those blades is use metal polish with some #0000 steel wool. Enjoy your wonderful haul.:)

Will grassless compound do the job too? I have green compound which (from description) looks to be a perfect solution for this job.

I've used Flitz on all my blades and on the scales too. Many people also use Maas. Either one is fairly cheap and both are proven performers.

Good luck.

Hello,

Does anyone can tell me what brand is razor #6? I couldn`t really tell what brand name is that beside description seen thru artificial mother of pearl. Also one more questions… how to flatten this SWATY stone and when to use it? Is this just refreshing stone?

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Originally Posted by proximus26

Hello,

Does anyone can tell me what brand is razor #6? I couldn`t really tell what brand name is that beside description seen thru artificial mother of pearl. Also one more questions… how to flatten this SWATY stone and when to use it? Is this just refreshing stone?

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#6 at first sight looked like a Boker to me but now I'm second guessing myself as I've seen many brands use similar designs. I THINK I can see a very very feint etching in that mother of pearl, maybe if you could get a few letters out of it someone could figure it out for sure.

Thank you RonPopeil for your info. I was unaware that DD razor can be so expensive. I thought I paid too much, but looks like I didn`t. I try to not overpay for razor as I`m not familiar with all old manufactured brands.

Coming to razor #6 I think brand and name is like this ( I saw little more under MOP when I spot LED light on the tang) and it looks like: U.S Special No. That`s all what I could read.

Thank you :-)

Proximus, I hate to break it to you but you got ripped off! Send those razors and stone to me and I'll dispose of them for you. :D

Joking aside, it looks like a great set of razors. Now get the honed up and get your shave on.

Peace,
Jim

P.S.>>The Swaty's a great touch-up stone and can be flattened readily with a DMT325 if needed. Use the side without the words on it.

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Originally Posted by BigJim

Proximus, I hate to break it to you but you got ripped off! Send those razors and stone to me and I'll dispose of them for you. :D
BigJim, what is your home address... sending package :-)

P.S.>>The Swaty's a great touch-up stone and can be flattened readily with a DMT325 if needed. Use the side without the words on it.

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Regards this DMT 325... can I use sand paper attached to marble tile? I don`t have DMT 325 (as this is additional cost for straight razor passion) but I found that when I use 220 grit sanding paper with marble tile and later followed by water sanding paper 400 I am close to famous DMT-325 in regards flatness and smoothness of hone.

Is this enough?

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Originally Posted by proximus26

Regards this DMT 325... can I use sand paper attached to marble tile? I don`t have DMT 325 (as this is additional cost for straight razor passion) but I found that when I use 220 grit sanding paper with marble tile and later followed by water sanding paper 400 I am close to famous DMT-325 in regards flatness and smoothness of hone.Is this enough?

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I wouldn't even worry about flattening the Swaty. It looks plent flat enough for honing as it is. Just give it a good cleaning, I use 409, and hone away.

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Originally Posted by Theseus

I use 409, and hone away.

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You mean cleaner 409? I`m really unfamiliar with 409 name or brand.

Proxi,
I'm pretty sure he means 409 as in the kitchen cleaner.

As a general rule Swaty's are hard and rarely need lapping (flattening) but you could do it with wet sand paper on a flat surface. I lapped stones that way for a little bit, but it was a PITA setup and I found a DMT for about $30 so I picked it up and have been much happier since.

Peace,
Jim

You made out like a bandit! Nice haul!

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Originally Posted by proximus26

You mean cleaner 409? I`m really unfamiliar with 409 name or brand.

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Yes, 409 is a household cleaner. Any mild cleaner will work. Using one that degreases would be your best bet.