Thread: Take a look at this W&B... Quickly if possible :(

http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-VANITY-T...QQcmdZViewItem


i wanted to know if anyone could provide information as to whether or not this is a good buy, and if someone from around here would either be able to, or would instruct me to, restore the blade... and hook me up with info on how to get some nice scales for it...

Originally Posted by Warlockdlx69

http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-VANITY-T...QQcmdZViewItem


i wanted to know if anyone could provide information as to whether or not this is a good buy, and if someone from around here would either be able to, or would instruct me to, restore the blade... and hook me up with info on how to get some nice scales for it...

The scales are not original. I just can't tell quite how dull and nicked up the edge is. $30 could be a decent deal or you could get junk for a razor.

I would be a little more interested in the kit itself, but even that and the stuff in it doesn't seem in that great a shape ore to match. Then again one never knows when a button hook will come in handy.

the kit was the least of my concerns... the razor is the only thing i would consider buying this for, he could keep the kit for all i care... lol cant a crappy blade edge be honed out though? i would have thought the blade edge was the least of the problems with that blade... i figured the scales were not original, but the blade is all that interests most people... considering there is no mention of a crack in the blade, and there is no visable chips (which means anything that there is, would have to be relatively small) i wouldnt assume it would take more than a slightly more intensive honing/grinding to get it back in shape... no? if so, then the only thing to worry about would be the blade itself, the face that the "face" of it is in pretty dire need of polishing... is that a "doable" thing? or am i just SOL if i buy this razor?

basically... would i be getting a screaming deal? or are there better razors out there for $30 of that size/shape from W&B?

I hope your not the one who bought that. The edge is full of chips some pretty large and the razor itself doesn't look so hot. If you were an advanced honer and were experienced at restoration like Bruno that razor could be a good project for you but as a newbe starting out there are far better choices out there. keep looking.

negative... not me, so what should i be looking for? another member offered to sell me a W&B that he says is a tapered blade... going from 8/8 down to 6/8... i cant find any information on a blade shaped like that, is it possible it could have been improperly honed in the past that would wear it down on one end of the edge? doesnt seem like this would be feasible... but like i said, ive never seen a blade that was wider at one end than the other... he says its from the 1800s (which apparently a lot of these old relics are lol) maybe its just a unique design to a particular era?

smiling blade they're called. I hear they can be tricky to hone properly, but I've seen several W&B w/ blades like that.

Originally Posted by Warlockdlx69

negative... not me, so what should i be looking for? another member offered to sell me a W&B that he says is a tapered blade... going from 8/8 down to 6/8... i cant find any information on a blade shaped like that, is it possible it could have been improperly honed in the past that would wear it down on one end of the edge? doesnt seem like this would be feasible... but like i said, ive never seen a blade that was wider at one end than the other... he says its from the 1800s (which apparently a lot of these old relics are lol) maybe its just a unique design to a particular era?

I've seen pictures of several like this. They are a fairly common shape from the late 1700's on to the Victorian age when the more modern shapes we are used to took over the market. I know C utz has had several like this.

smiling blades? i thought those were just the ones with the ginormous curves in them? didnt know they had differences in width...

Originally Posted by Warlockdlx69

smiling blades? i thought those were just the ones with the ginormous curves in them? didnt know they had differences in width...

I could be wrong..... but let me tell you, I sure smiled when I saw it.
If I hadn't just bought a huge Friodur, I'd have picked up that W&B over in b/s/t.

Originally Posted by Warlockdlx69

smiling blades? i thought those were just the ones with the ginormous curves in them? didnt know they had differences in width...

A smiling blade is a curve like a saber, in fact some are called saber grind for that reason.

These old blades are tapered. wide at the point to shallow at the tang, a straight edge just a triangular shape.

I think the origin of our modern blades coincides with the ability to stamp out a more complex shape from a sheet of steel and then grind and shape it to the final curvature. These earlier razors have a shape that would have been much easier to hammer out from a piece of rod stock by hand, less complex