Thread: Advice on buying several old razors

I am living in France and I am looking at buying 3 old razors. I have not yet seen them but the brands are as follows:

Le Grelot 1931 médaille d'or Paris 1931

Graham Solingen

Peroux-Cognet

He is also selling 2 old Paddle Strops


I am a newbie to this world of straight razors. Are these good razors? Have you heard of the company. I have heard of Le grelot but not the others.

What should I look for as far as red flags?

Welcome aboard,,,,,

As much as I would like to price your razors for you,,, we do not do that on the forum. Against the rules,,, but I will provide you some links in our library to better educate you on razors & it will help you in your negotiations with the seller.

A few hours reading here, will definitively save you money & grief.

Enjoy your journey.

Purchasing straight razors - Straight Razor Place Library

The Le Grelot brand is very well respected. It's from a quality maker. Although I've never heard of Graham Solingen, any razor made in Solingen is pretty decent as well. Peroux-Cognet is one of the lesser known French razor makers but again turns out some quality blades. Just make sure that the razors are in good condition. No cracks or big chips in the blades. No rust and not too much wear.

That's sovereign advice from johnmrson. The maker's name is important but condition comes first. If that Le Grelot is in good condition then you'll be buying a great razor. I'm still kicking myself for not buying a terrific wedge grind blade at a street market in the Marais last year - not by a well-known maker but the shape, age and style indicated something good!

Originally Posted by Maladroit

That's sovereign advice from johnmrson. The maker's name is important but condition comes first. If that Le Grelot is in good condition then you'll be buying a great razor. I'm still kicking myself for not buying a terrific wedge grind blade at a street market in the Marais last year - not by a well-known maker but the shape, age and style indicated something good!

+1 with what johnmrson said. Also check out the link Hirlau left in post 2. You must be able to know how to choose a good razor by checking for hone wear, rust especially the edge, cracks & chips, a frown in the blade & so on. You don't want to buy a straight razor with a frown because it will need more metal remove to fix it than a normal honing. You also don't want to buy one with a lot of hone wear or any other damage. Since you are new, you might want to look at the Beginners Guide in the Library here if you haven't done so yet & go from there. Your most important tool you will need is a strop & the know how to use it which you will learn in the Library. It is also a good idea to practice stropping with a butterknife so you don't cut a good strop & dull a good sharp edge. Also if you haven't done so yet, you might introduce yourself here:

Member Introductions

Great to have you here & if you have any questions like this, just ask away.
Good luck my friend.

Photos would help. Look for rust, pitting, chips and broken scales. Crooked or warped blade and that close well in the scales. Excessive hone and edge wear and overall condition.

Sounds like some ones kit, so if well taken care of you should be good. Price is a matter of opinion which is why we do not quote values.

Do go on Ebay and other sites searching in the advanced search for sold razors of the same maker and style to get an idea of price, then make an offer, you can always come up in price.