Help with straight razor #1

Greetings from northwest New Mexico! Brand new member here looking for some help with three straight razors and a case that I picked up recently at a yard sale. This first one is marked "Hibbard Spencer Bartlett & Co. Made In Germany" on one side of the blade and the numbers "1505" on the other side. The handle looks to be a faux woodgrain with flowers and swirly decoration. Is the handle celluloid or Bakelite? It had some serious use as you can tell. Is the "1505" a model number? The purple tint in the photos is from the camera. Any information would be greatly appreciated! Mark

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Originally Posted by Bigmac

Greetings from northwest New Mexico! Brand new member here looking for some help with three straight razors and a case that I picked up recently at a yard sale. This first one is marked "Hibbard Spencer Bartlett & Co. Made In Germany" on one side of the blade and the numbers "1505" on the other side. The handle looks to be a faux woodgrain with flowers and swirly decoration. Is the handle celluloid or Bakelite? It had some serious use as you can tell. Is the "1505" a model number? The purple tint in the photos is from the camera. Any information would be greatly appreciated! Mark

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Yes, usually it is a model number. Nice scales.
Welcome to the forum.

Hi Mark. Welcome to SRP. Those look to be celluloid H. S. &B. Was a hardware company. They wound up being True Value if my memory is correct. Anyway, it is a contract (sort of like Craftsman or Kenmore) razor, likely a Böker or maybe Imperial or Ern. We can't see much of the blade but it looks like it may be shot. However you could always save the scales for a good blade that needed new ones. They are quite nice.

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Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

Hi Mark. Welcome to SRP. Those look to be celluloid H. S. &B. Was a hardware company. They wound up being True Value if my memory is correct. Anyway, it is a contract (sort of like Craftsman or Kenmore) razor, likely a Böker or maybe Imperial or Ern. We can't see much of the blade but it looks like it may be shot. However you could always save the scales for a good blade that needed new ones. They are quite nice.

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Thank you both for the information - I can tell I will be getting an education! Attached are a couple blade photos - not sure what makes a blade shot? It's a little discolored but I don't see s a lot of pitting, etc. How do you go about putting values on vintage straight razors?

We do not value razors
Best bet is see what one sold for on flea bay

Thank you - good to know.

In your previous photos we couldn't see the whole blade, only from where the blue line is left.Attachment 352839

The whole heel, halfway up the edge is missing. It used to be shaped like this.
Attachment 352840

They made a toe end shorty out of it. That's actually not a bad save really as long as the blade is stable enough without the stabilizer. It probably is though.

Wow - is that common? To shorten the blade? I never knew how much I didn't know about straight razors!

It's a way to save a broken razor. It works better with some than others

Yes it is. Shorty's need love too!

Some people love shorty's. I can see the advantage and I have a couple myself.

Razors of that brand are good, perfectly acceptable razors, if undamaged. While yours is damaged and repaired by removing the heel which was probably cracked or broken, it "could" still be made to shave. So no point in restoring, but if it is properly honed BY SOMEONE WHO KNOWS HOW TO HONE RAZORS AND WHO SHAVES WITH STRAIGHT RAZORS DAILY, there is no reason why it can't become your daily driver if you are interested in learning to shave in the manly way. However, it does appear to be the victim of quite a lot of misuse and abuse. It may take basically a complete re-grind to make it a good shaver, as I see it. The matte gray patina is probably the result of an application of Ospho, Naval Jelly, or some other acidic rust converter. No biggie, it will polish right off. The scales are nice, though, and worth saving, but be aware that old celluloid scales can off-gas as they deteriorate from age, and this can eat up razors in a condition known as "cell rot". That doesn't mean it WILL happen with those scales, but be aware that it COULD happen. You can mitigate this by keeping any razor you put between them, well oiled, in storage, and not closed up in an airtight container. Those are likely celluloid scales.

What I would do with that razor for now is apply a coat of petroleum jelly and store it in a dry, temperature controlled environment until you are comfortable with the idea of honing it yourself, or pinning the scales on a different razor. Due to the probable work required, the cost of having someone else hone it will most likely exceed the value of the razor, which value would be driven mostly by the scales alone. Just my opinion.

Thank you for your detailed response! I plan on selling the three straight razors and hard case that I picked up but the information you provided is very useful. Thanks again and God bless! Mark

Here's a pic of a shorty on each side of a normal sized razor.

Attachment 352882