Possible purchase help

The celluloid razor is marked henry sears & son, but that is the only marking. The wade & butcher has mother of pearl scales. They are asking $55 for the sears and $59 for the w&b. The sears seem to be in great shape, but the w&b has a crack in the scale near the top rivet and the blade swivels pretty loosely. Are they worth the price, and is the w&b worth a restoration? I'm still a newbie so help would be greatly appreciated

The sears is also marked 1865 on the blade under the name

if you cant hone it, dont buy it. too many venders on here in your price range that will sell you a shave ready.

I will probably send them out to be honed if I feel I can't do it myself. The edge feels good on the sears, I would think it would only need to be stropped

Both look to be in great shape and for $60 (even with sending out to get honed) you will get a good deal. Heck, get both and put one aside to have honed down the road when you have a few more $$.

Only from what I can see in your photos, if I had to I would take the Sears razor and leave the W&B on the table. I am not commenting on the price just the condition of the razors. The W&B, besides having a crack in the MOP scales, appears to have ugly heavy hone wear and there is rust on the bevel. I think you would find a better chance of getting a serviceable razor with minimal work out of the Sears razor. The cost of the razor is up to the discretion of the buyer.

Bob

In agreement with BobH. Been there, done that and regret not having curtailed my acquisition desire earlier to only those razors that cause less heartache after actually seeing them.

I do not like the spotting on the bevel on the back side of the WB. IMHO leave that one there.

The blade on the W&B is not worth messing with. Sharptonn could use it for wind chimes but that is about it. The scales are gorgeous but do need a new blade. The Sears look like it might be worth your while. Now the only thing to figure out is who to get to hone it for you.

I'm fairly confident I could hone it myself, just not sure I want to chance it