Thread: Talk About Your Ebay Razors

I was looking at some razors on ebay. How are plastic handles on razors?

Most razors have some sort of plastic, celluloid, rubber or other synthetic scales. This does not keep them from being a great razor at all. Celluloid handles can vary greatly in condition from quite good and usable to suffering from celluloid rot (bad for that razor and any you keep with it) and so brittle it breaks from looking at it.

Most of my favorite shavers have some sort of synthetic handle material. Bone is the most likely to be solid, in my opinion. Horn handles get "eaten" by everything from mice to bugs so it's not unusual at all for them to have holes partially in them or completley ruined. Ivory, as mentioned is almost always cracked at one pin or another. Celluloid... hard to tell until you get it exactly how it has made out through the years. Bakelite is usually solid. Bone is often stained, but can usually reconditioned to look very nice and all the bone handles I have purchased were structurally very sound.

p.s. For great shavers, concern yourself with the blades more than the handles. You can always rehandle a nice blade but you can't turn a poor blade into a good shaver no matter how great a handle it has.

Truer words have never been spoken

hey guys, newbie here...i posted in another thread about what i had purchased...i got a new razor for 90 bucks, and i can't wait for it to get here. i am new to str8 shaving, but i already know its for me. now i do not want to screw up the 90 dollar razor i purchased with honing it or anything...would it be good to purchase a "lot" of like 6 razors and "play" with them stropping and honing? it seems like one could get a good "lot" for minimal $ on ebay...and there could be gems in those lots?

i am contemplating putting in for some...and after reading all over this forum i have already realized i am becoming addicted, even before my first shave...haha

That sounds like a good plan to me. The first razor I got from ebay was $8 and I practiced honing on it. I am glad I did.

Bruce:

I've been playing the same game and it'll keep you, like me, from ruining a great razor. I'd caution against just grabbing a lot, and honing away. After all the only true test is to shave with it. Look carefully for something that looks like all it needs is a little polish, a clean cloth through the scales and some time on the hone. you should be able to catch these blades for $10 or so. If somebody runs you up on the bidding it's likely because there's a 'collectible' value to the razor and it looks to me like you've got a nice one comming.

Hey! Is anybody conversant with that 'Nickel" steel, and how does it compare to the standard 'Carbon'?

On another note. I just picked up a Greaf & Schmidt JA Henckel #15 for 99¢ !!!! because the scales were ruined and I think it's going to be a good shaver with new scales. A few more passes on the Norton should tell me if I'm right or not. Did you hear that Bill? This one may be comming your way soon.

X

ok gang, after getting over 300 +(most good to great, some not so great, and some..oh cr-p, i can't belive i bought this..) razors from Ebay, here are a few things i have learned...

1. ask questions before bidding, if you don't get an answer, be careful, then look at their feedback to get a feel for the seller, just read the negatives to see what is up and even check the person who left the negative as you would be surpised at the 'get even feedbacks' that happen, i have still bid on and won razors that i got no response back, but beware...and take it into account...

2. make a first bid, if it is at the beginning...but keep it only the next higher bid, goal is not to win with this bid, this is the tie breaker bid, what happens is if at the end of the auction, you and someone else bid the same, you will win based on this early bid, i have won many a razor this way.

3. if you don't have a simple Photo program on your computer that you can blow up and lighten/darken photos with, get one, you would be amazed at what you see when you play with the bad photos that are posted sometimes...gotten many a sleeper this way.

4. Learn what to look for in the photos, like spine wear, fine cracks, edge chips, etc. if you don't like what you see or can not see enough, ask for more photos, if you don't get some, don't tell yourself what you want to hear, assume it is what it is and bid with that in mind, then if it is better, good, but if not...oh well...

5. this is a proxy type bidding auction, highest bid wins, i don't care about the whiners, this is a type of auction that the last highest bid wins...that is the only rule, so i snipe...keeps me out of many a bidding war...and keep in mind that a snipe will only work if i bid enough to win, so if someone does not bid enough and i win with a snipe, it is their fault for not bidding enough..

6. if i know someone from the group is looking at a razor, i will sometimes contact them and see what is up, if this Razor is important to them, i will many times not bid...

7. one small favor, keep this in the group, this will help us all, and still keep it useful, if everyone does this, it will not really work as well, ok? ... :shock:

8. don't cah love my runon sentences... :roll:

I've probably bought about 20 or so razors on Eboy and one of the things I have learned is that if you are looking for something specific and are patient it will eventually turn up and if you are especially patient you can get it at a good price. Many times I've seen a razor in high demand with many bids go for big bucks and many times I've seen the identical razor have little interest go for a song. Sometimes its a matter of the time of year, type of description and how many of that item are up at the same time. Personally, with razors I'm pretty careful about condition and I ask questions so I've never been burned so far. Maybe I'm lucky.

A while back I bid on a DD Horseshell Strop with a poor photo and described as typical wear. There were like 3 bidders and I got the thing for like $15.00. When it arrived it was in mint condition and one of the best finds I ever got.

As far as auction discussions go I've found that on most sites no matter the type of item its a strict rule that current auctions are not to be discussed and I think thats a good policy. If you found your dream razor the day after xmas when everyones broke and its way undervalued and your the only bidder and its discussed here you might find the situation changed very rapidly.

Yep, that has been a big deal with me, many times i have found a sleeper and someone on the list starts spouting off about it and next thing ya know it is no longer a sleeper, at times i felt like saying something not very nice :evil: ...but i get over it... :lol:

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

As far as auction discussions go I've found that on most sites no matter the type of item its a strict rule that current auctions are not to be discussed and I think thats a good policy. If you found your dream razor the day after xmas when everyones broke and its way undervalued and your the only bidder and its discussed here you might find the situation changed very rapidly.