A deal and not a deal

One 'buyer beware' and a great deal:

1. Buyer beware. Saw what looked from the pictures like an antique blade in great condition with some really charming etching. Bad me, I didn't look at ALL the pictures. When the razor came to me there, big as life, on the side of the scale as "Made in Pakistan". Dumb daddy....

2. Took a chance on a stained Dovo Ebenholz. Talked the seller down to less the than price of the (really cheap) Paki razor. Two hours after receipt+some elbow grease and it was totally polished bright. For less than the price of dinner for the family at Chick-fil-A, I gotta Dovo! And baby....it SHAVES! ;)

Sounds like you broke even and got a deal on the Dovo but got a nice Pakistani letter opener :<0)

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Originally Posted by 10Pups

Sounds like you broke even and got a deal on the Dovo but got a nice Pakistani letter opener :<0)

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Very tempted I am to take the balde from the paki razor and work it: anneal it, erase the smile, and reheatreat it. I'm curious whether paki blades are made from bad (aka, low carbon) steel, or overly tempered or not heat treated at all.

Looks like you did well - better than 'break-even' anyway!

With regards to the fake razor, if it is reproducing an old style then the smile is probably intentional. Removing it might make it hard work to hone, if it can be successfully re-heat treated, that is.

The etching would likely be lost when you remove any firescale that may form during re-heat treating.

Presumably the blade is already ground hollow, in which case it might be too hollow to undergo heat treating again without ending up like a crinkle-cut chip!

Low carbon steel is what most razors I know of are made from. 'Low carbon steel' is not the same thing at all as 'bad steel' it is just a type/formulation of steel.

There are a few ways, including selective heat treating, that you could try, but after annealing (if you have to) you will have to harden and then temper (a kind of annealing) again. To be on the safe side you would have to know the type of steel alloy including its lower critical temperature.

If it was me, in light of not knowing what type of steel was used, the fact that the blade is already ground, and the risk of decarburization I wouldn't waste my time on it. However, it cost you nothing in the scheme of things, thanks to the Dovo, and it would be an interesting experiment.

Regards,
Neil

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Originally Posted by jgjgjg

One 'buyer beware' and a great deal:

1. Buyer beware. Saw what looked from the pictures like an antique blade in great condition with some really charming etching. Bad me, I didn't look at ALL the pictures. When the razor came to me there, big as life, on the side of the scale as "Made in Pakistan". Dumb daddy....

2. Took a chance on a stained Dovo Ebenholz. Talked the seller down to less the than price of the (really cheap) Paki razor. Two hours after receipt+some elbow grease and it was totally polished bright. For less than the price of dinner for the family at Chick-fil-A, I gotta Dovo! And baby....it SHAVES! ;)

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You win some and you lose some... Sounds like you came out ahead over all!