Thread: Help on Buying a Vintage/Old Razor

Good Morning all, I need some advise on what to look for when buying an old straight razor. I intend to follow the path of buying an old razor and honing it into a "Shave Ready" condition. Are there things that I should look for in regards to the condition and type of blade etc. I'm completely new to this way of shaving, I have a new Dovo 5/8 Hollow ground straight razor and have had about 15 shaves with it, so far still have both ears! Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I am keen to pursue this fascinating hobby. Thanks in advance for your time. Richard.

You might find this section in the forum's library helpful for starters http://straightrazorpalace.com/srpwi...traight_razors

Just scroll down to "Buying Razors" for some specific problems encountered with used straight razors. Further down there is a section on good brands and brands to avoid. Actually the whole section is a good primer.

Bob

I would follow Bob's advice and read the wiki.

If this is your first razor it would be wise to get a shave ready blade. Learning to shave with a SR takes some time. Learning to hone a SR takes a lot of time.

Below is a link to find members in your area. Getting with a mentor early is a very smart move.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/memberlist.php?do=search

If you want to find razors in the wild and hone them yourself or send them to someone who does, here's a good primer:

Straight Razor Magazine: The Straight Razor Magazine's eBay Purchasing Primer

You are a little out of my regular shopping area. There are a number of online shops that sell New Old Stock (NOS) razors. Most of them are very reputable and sell shave ready. The buy sell trade (BST) on this forum has some pretty good buys often. It will help you a lot to read through those links before hand. There are members in your area, well larger geographic area at least, most of the guys I know are always happy to talk razors. If you pick a member with a lot of experience and then email or pm back and forth about this listing or that and really get and idea of what to look for and what you are looking at, that is possible too.

I buy frequently from Ebay. You can buy most any type of razor for less than $20.

You can buy razors in pretty good condition for that price so there is rarely a need to buy a dog requiring too much "restoration" work.

For your first few vintage razors stay with know brands such as Wade&Butcher. Stay with blade width sizes in the 5/8 to 6/8 range.

Only buy when there are plenty of pictures and try to avoid micro pitting and rust anywhere near the blade edge and try to minimize those things anywhere.

When looking at the scales pay particular attention to the area around the pins as that's where it's most likely to crack.

When you get the razor wipe the blade with something like Mother's aluminum polish (available at most auto supply stores). Don't start in with the sandpaper unless it's really necessary.

Keep the initial price down and you also limit your costs in the event that you make a mistake in your razor selection.

Don't get into a bidding war. Decide what it's worth to you and enter that amount and walk away otherwise. Ebay is fully of razors.

I'm going to chime in here and just say that BobH gave sound advice. Check out the link to our library... all the info you need is there.

I went the route you are looking at for MY first razor.... It was not a pleasant journey to start, but I learned a lot in a short period of time..... The most important thing I learned was to have at least 2 razors, of which you already have the first one, so at least you can keep shaving with the Dovo while you sort out your honing of the used blade.

Regards

Christian