Thread: My First 4. Looking for help.....

Hey all. This is my first post with a picture attached, so I hope it works.

These are my first 4 straight razors. I bought the Oxford in the Buy Sell Trade forum, the other 3 on eBay.

Im kinda new to this so some help from the seasoned members (or anyone) would be helpful.

Im trying to figure out more about the 3 that I bought on eBay. Things like what kind of metal, the ground, the points, the overall condition of each and the estimated value... I know thats asking alot from just one picture... But ANY help would be appreciated.

So far, I think they are all carbon steel, the scales are all black and seem to be plastic, the Ernst Melcher has a gold picture of a church on it and has an extremely thin feeling blade, the Geo. Wostenholm & Son has the thickest blade. The Wade and Butcher says Medium Size Hollow Ground but im not sure if thats referring to a medium sized blade with a hollow ground or a medium depth hollow ground.

I have also included a picture of the boxes they came incase that helps at all.....

Thanks in advance.

all your razors are in very decent condition and all can be brought up to a gleaming shine without much work. it looks as though you did quite well in choosing brands and sizes along with current quality. its hard when a newbie buys a beat up razor as his first. there's just too much that needs to be worked on that way.

the Geo Wostenholm is a Pipe razor. hence the engraving on that tang there. i have one of these (6/8) yours seems to be 5/8 and mines a fantastic razor. takes an incredible edge and shaves smooth as silk. i was very surprised. i bought mine for the purpose of restoration and selling. after the restoration and honing, it felt so great that i had to keep it and put it into my rotation.


its hard to value the razors as i don't know what you are planning to do with them. buying off ebay i'd say they'd be (i don't know any collectors value, im purely speculating usability)

ernst - 20-25
geo - 25
wade - 30

sand them all up, polish them, clean the scales and repin if needed and ofcourse hone them shaving sharp and you'd prolly get 45-60'sh for each. and yes, the geo and wade are carbon steels. maybe just a smidge more for the wade if it turns out in great shape.

~J

ps. the medium size hollow ground on the wade is saying ... medium size razor.. 5/8.. wade n butcher made alot of very large razors, very thick ones including barber razors that are upwards and past 8/8. the hollow ground is saying its hollow ground (not a wedge). btw, the geo is also hollow ground and looks to be 5/8 as well. and the ernst also looks to be hollow and 5/8 maybe 11/16.

ps. those are my opinions. not trying to hurt anyones feelings if you or someone else paid/s more/less.

No hurt feelings here, I bought those three on eBay for a total of $14.00 plus shipping. thanks for the help. If anyone else has any more info please share. Id like to know more about the Ernst, What's with the gold church thing?

For $14 you got a GREAT deal, I would definately have purchased the razors for that price. Wade & Butcher and Wostenholm Pipe razors are both known as being very very good shavers and both look to be in good condition (very little hone wear, no chipping, not too much corrosion). I do not know much about the other brand but it looks to be in good condition and should be a good shaver as well. The Wostenholm should be a full hollow grind and the Wade & Butcher looks very much like the medium hollow ground that I sold to WireBeard. The medium hollow W & B is actually a pretty stiff grind (probably about half hollow) and it should be a VERY smooth shaver when it is properly honed. My advice would be to get them cleaned up and properly honed and you should have a good rotation of great shavers.

Originally Posted by jscott

all your razors are in very decent condition and all can be brought up to a gleaming shine without much work. it looks as though you did quite well in choosing brands and sizes along with current quality. its hard when a newbie buys a beat up razor as his first. there's just too much that needs to be worked on that way.

Hey!!! I resemble that remark!! LOL. I know I've got a lot of work ahead of me though. I'm ready for it.

benissimo777, beauty razors BTW! Thanks for sharing them!