Thread: Another "How'd I do?"

So I've been picking up a few razors on eBay lately to add to my collection and I have to admit I'm REAL proud of this one...so let me know what you guys think.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWN:IT&ih=016

And while we're talking I also got THIS one recently

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWN:IT&ih=011

I think it has the potential of being a very nice restoration depending on how the scales look upon arrival. I think it would be cool to re-do the gold leaf in the engraving of the scales and try to get it back up to how it USE to look.

First one looks nice. I think you might have your hands full with the second one.

From the look of your razor tastes here, I think you're going down the JLStorm path straight to Oversized Razors Anonymous

Enjoy your new acquisitions!

I like the Wostenholm blade curves.

As for the W&B - I like the shape of the scales. I was looking at it but decided that the edge was honed out in a weird way. Maybe it's the photo - tell us when you receive it.

Cheers
Ivo

That's a fine 'how'd I do'. I hope they clean up well for you. I'm certain they'll shave well.

X

Steve, I think you are right on the money on that Wostenholm but hell the blade looks OK so I'll see what I end up with. If nothing else I can re-scale it and have a nice blade to add to my rotation. The scales look pretty far gone I'm just hoping the photos make them look worse than they really are. As for turning into Josh...I doubt I'm going to get THAT nuts, but since my current collection consists of a pair of 5/8, and pair of 4/8, and a Genco I haven't recieved yet (looks like a 5/8 maybe a 6/8) I felt like I needed at least one or two BIG pieces in my arsenal

izlat, I noticed the blade was a little funny too. The heel seems to frown a bit and then it smiles again out towards the toe. It's kinda hard to tell from the pictures but it shouldn't be impossible to get it into shape. And the scales were GORGEOUS so I had to have it. I've now spent officially WAY too much money on razors in the past month and there's still one more I'm bidding on. (Then I'm done for a while because we're buying a house YAY!)

X, I'm glad you think they're decent buys. Means I'm learning a thing or two now if I can just get a handle on the other aspects of this hobby...on the upside I've got that POS Henckel shaving tonight Well it's popping whiskers like there's no tomorrow anyhow. I'll prolly wait to shave with it till it has some decent scales on it though.

Ok, so I got the Wostenholm the other day and have spent the past several days trying to hone it up. I started a thread in the Hones forum called "What's your pattern" for those interested...but I just wanted tp update on how things are going with it.

I shaved with it for the first time today, after several days worth of struggling with it. Not my most comfortable shaver but it did a great job nonetheless. I'm still going to do a bit more honing work to try and get it more comfortable but for now it's a serviceable blade.

The scales on the other hand are an entirely different story...they're celluloid and they have chips and crack in many places so I'll probably be re-scaling it in the near future. Also the bevel and spine wear are starting to encroach on the etching on the blade face so I'm not sure how well I can get the blade cleaned and polished up without ruining the etching, or if it's even worth worrying about.

Do you think I should just try polishing up the blade and if it wears through the etching should I just polish the blade so there IS no etch? Or should I just deal with the discoloration for the sake of the etching...

The first one looks real nice. Some polishing rouge and you can have those horn scales looking like new.

The second will take some work. I can't tell whether the blade is just tarnished or it has a frosted finish on it. If you want to polish it up I wouldn't worry about the etching. Unless you use some pretty heavy duty stuff it will still be there. Some of those old english blades have some pretty hard steel so it might mean some extended honing sessions on the 8K. I have a wostenholm IXL which probably has the same etching on it and I polished the hell out of it until the blade was like a mirror and the etching is still there.

Believe it or not BS, that's great news because the razor in the photo IS a Wosty IXL can I ask what you used to polish yours up with so I can start off on the right foot? I've still got some honing to do as mine shaves now but it was a rough experience that my face is still suffering from. I'm going to spend a little time with the 4K to iron out the edge and then run a couple of pyramids past it and see what I end up with.

The WB I'm REALLY excited about getting because so far I think it's the best condition razor I've bought to date. I missed out on a couple of REALLY nice razors tonight and I'm still a little pissed about it...seems like I stay high bidder for DAYS on these great blades at great prices and then I always get sniped in the last 10 seconds and end up losing them by $1 or less...REALLY chaps my ass.

Anyhow, since I lost those two I'm going to stop bidding for a while and spend some money on supplies to restore this Wostenholm and an old Henckel I bought with a great blade and shitty scales. Besides my wife would probably kill me if I didn't stop bidding on razors soon...the auctions almost ALWAYS end at night while I'm at work so I'm forever calling her to check my stuff at the end.

BTW I'd LOVE to know which one of you so-and-so's is barber409 on eBay because you've kicked me out of SEVERAL razors this month And if he ain't one of us I'd sure like to meet him cause he has good taste AND a lot of money.