Thread: Diamonds in the Rough

Hello all, hope all is well. I had a question about what razors might be some diamonds in the rough? I love knives, a lot, and along the way of buying them I've run across some real, "Diamonds in the rough", in other words, they are not cheap, but inexpensive. Some of these knives might take a lil elbow grease to get them up to standard, but once there, they perform like many of the higher end knives out there. So when it comes to razors, are there any out there, or is it more of, ''You get what you pay for" type of thing? When it comes to knives, i love my customs, but I also love my Opinels, Condors, Svords, and Castors as well. So, what razors would fall under that category? Thanks for your time and have a blessed one.

I can't give you any brands per se, but if you are the hands on type and are willing to learn to make scales and clean up the razors, there is a lot more opportunity to obtain a nice razor.

In terms of vintage straights, there are arguably a lot of diamonds in the rough. Indeed, some of most current coveted and collected razors (i.e. pricey) in the present -- such as Dubl Duck Wonderedges, Goldedges, Grim Reapers or nearly all Filarmonicas -- were not expensive in their time. These razors were marketed primarily to barbers.

It appears that vintage razor prices were largely driven by the nature of the scales. Natural materials such as ivory and tortoise shell would likely command a premium over celluloid or bakelite.