Thread: Bought a Straight Razor, How did I do? (Boker Vintage)

I just got back from an Antique mall and bought a razor (my 2nd). I wanted to get a razor with a non-perfect edge to practice honing on.

It was labeled $69 and oddly enough the owner was there when I was looking at it. (This place has alot of owners, so it is odd) I got him to say $50 and I said I'll think about it.

Came back and offered $40 cash (avoiding the store's cut and tax ) He accepted after a lot of stalling.

The razor has 2 problems I see.
1. It has a bit of rust near the pin, think it's a big problem? Can it be fixed, if so any links or tips how?
2. The handle looks to be a bit compressed and you can tell it has hit it in the past and can still. Think I can put something in between the handle to just slightly open the gap?
- Okay 3, the edge is horrible and will need to be rehoned... but I did just buy $100 of new stones + norton 4/8k

Pictures (hope they aren't to big)






Fancy handle =P







See how tight that gap is, think i can make that wider?










Interesting Spine






RUST =( How hard to you think it'd be to fix this, serious you think?





Other Side more rust in there

That is a sweet blade, and you got it for an amazing price. Bokers are amazing shavers, and I'm sure a few members will be tempted to make you offers for that blade.

Regarding the warped scales, as long as you can get the blade to close between the scales without hitting the scales, it's not a big deal. You'll also want to make sure the blade does not rest on the scales when closed.

Regarding the rust, you can go at it with a toothpick and/or q-tip, or just leave it be. If it doesn't get any worse, I wouldn't be concerned. If you do get to a point where you want to get rid of the rust and/or fix/replace the scales, you could send it out or de-pin it yourself. Again, that is personal preference, but since those look like the original scales (I've seen others with similar scales), I would be very careful in doing so.

PS: I don't see any hone wear on the spine; that might be NOS. Just a suggestion, but you might want to find a ... less valued razor to practice on and return to this when you are more comfortable. You're not likely to damage the razor while learning to hone, but you might remove more metal that you'd like in the process.

HEY! THATS MINE GIVE IT BACK! I love the size and the bladework on that Boker, that rust is minimal and will be easy to clean up, as for the scales that should also be an easy fix, just check the tutorials. When you get done cleaning it be sure to send it me.

Great looking razor!!!! With a little elbow grease will be a fine RAZOR!!!!

Nice blade and good price . +1 on Holli. If you need or want help let me know. You are always welcome to call and/or stop by, once I get over this cold .

Originally Posted by Joed

Nice blade and good price . +1 on Holli. If you need or want help let me know. You are always welcome to call and/or stop by, once I get over this cold .

Thanks for the tip about the antique store. 75% of the stuff there is either junk or over priced, but there was some nice stuff like this. (ebay is so pricey... There is more competition on razors on ebay then just about anything lol)

that's a great razor I would not use that for honing practice! find an ebay junker for that. Come to the Boker brotherhood thread to see more bokers like that one. And welcome to the Boker club!!!

Originally Posted by Doc

that's a great razor I would not use that for honing practice! find an ebay junker for that. Come to the Boker brotherhood thread to see more bokers like that one. And welcome to the Boker club!!!

Should I practice on my other Shave Ready one? WM Elliot, to be honest I think it could use a bit of work (and the small chip I put in it when I bought it was never fully removed I noticed)

Yeah, I'd send that Boker out to someone on the list to professionally hone it. As for practicing honing I'd do it on that Elliot before practicing on that Boker.

As for restoring that Boker, should be a pretty easy process. There are tons of tutorials for each of the things needed. Check out the Wiki.

Yeah, nice razor and $40 for it is quite a deal. I probably would've paid the original $69.
Most definitely practice on the chipped blade.