Thread: New guy here, how do I know what I have ?

Hi I have recently inherited some straight razors from my Grandfather who was a barber for over 55 years or so, he was 73 when he finally retired ! I began looking into restoring some of his old equipment because I believe there are some great looking pieces. (clippers, scissors, straight razors) I know that I definately want to have 3-4 of the straight razors restored but I am unsure of how to value the razor once restoration is complete. I'm not ready to let go of this collectibles yet because he was very important man to me, but I am just interested in how I can put $$$ value on them if I am ever ready to part with the razors. I have seen some on EBay but I am a little unsure of how to make sure I know how to describe the make/model of these straight razors ?

Welcome to SRP. Unfortunately Jaspar we don't give appraisals of value on SRP. It is against the forum's policy. As far as determining what you have, if you can post photos of the razors, individually, with the blades open and the tang stamp visible, we can tell you if they are worth being sent out for restoration and honing.

Thank you Jimmy, I will be sure to take some pics and post them. I guess I didn't fully understand the forum rules before I asked about pricing. I'm just a little worried about mailing them out for restoration and I want to be sure I understand their value. More valuable to me though, my goal is to have them restored and then I can create a nice display case to honor both, my Grandfather, and also the straight razor itself.

Well, there is no point to give appraisals as everybody values razors differently and those who are quickest to put numbers are usually the least knowledgeable about razors. And then there is a huge hype factor attached to many razors so their free market value can fluctuate by factors of 2 to 3 back and forth depending on the demand and supply.
Also this is a place to talk about shaving with straightrazors, so for example to most of us the very rare celluloid scales molded in a lobster shape are worthless when the blade attached to them has turned into a rusty toothpick. But some collectors are willing to pay a decent amount of money for that.

When you have a razor restored you're paying for the work that is being done to it. To some people that actually decreases the value of a razor since it destroys the original condition. But if you intend to shave with a razor covered in rust, or just want it to not deteriorate further, or just look nice and shiny the rust will have to go.

So, as you can see you have to decide what do you want. You should browse the workshop section and you'll see old razors being cleaned up to different degree and with different amount of work and skill. That'll give you some idea what can be done.
But what's a given razor worth to you is something you have to decide yourself.