Need help with items won in auction.
Been straight shaving for a few months now. Have a Roberson mini from Treydampier, a DD Dwarf from classifieds and an heirloom Novelty razor. The latter two were honed by Glen. My folks run an auction house in North Carolina so I told them not too long ago to keep an eye out.
Today I got a box with 8 razors, a hone, an heirloom Russian strop, an old Old Spice mug and some Colgate soap. I won't bother you about those last three. :)
Wanted to get some opinions on the value of these blades. I'm not looking to flip them for some money -- I want to know which ones are worth the time and money to polish, restore, hone and actually use.
The I·XL and Shumate's were in the wiki (or had something similar). I've read about Morley and Koeller. The rest are pretty much older US blades. The steel is in decent shape on most of them except for the Clauss which has some noticable chipping. The others have some rust and pitting but I don't think it's anything severe.
I'm kinda bummed about the Clauss because it's probably the nicest looking blade. The engraving reads "Coronation 1902" and has portraits of King Edward and Queen Alexandra.
The hone says "Franz Swaty - Wahring bei Wien - Austria". I'm not into honing yet but would like to know if this would be good to start on.
Here are some pictures. Forgive my camera as it's not great and I couldn't get good close-ups of the engraving. Hopefully you can at least see the general condition.
Hone (Swaty in an unrelated box):
http://straightrazorpalace.com/membe...razor-hone.jpg
I·XL Celebrated:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/membe...i-xl-razor.jpg
Shumate's Barber:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/membe...s-missouri.jpg
Kinfolk's Inc. Wedge:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/membe...-inc-wedge.jpg
Wm. Bingham & Co.:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/membe...eland-ohio.jpg
J.P. Ganley's Gula:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/membe...t-michigan.jpg
Last three in next post.