Thread: 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):


I·XL Celebrated:


Shumate's Barber:


Kinfolk's Inc. Wedge:


Wm. Bingham & Co.:


J.P. Ganley's Gula:


Last three in next post.

Clauss Coronation 1902:


F. Koeller & Co. Velvo:


W.H. Morley & Sons Trade Mark:


Thanks for reading/looking and any help or advice is greatly appreciated. Much love, SRP!

I think maybe you should let me take a look at the Clauss in person before you write that one off....
You should also go visit your parents in NC and stop by the Meet Up in Asheville the first weekend in June.... I'll be there

Originally Posted by gssixgun

I think maybe you should let me take a look at the Clauss in person before you write that one off....

You can rest assured that anything worth saving will be sent to you for some honing and closer looks.

The chipping on the Clauss is noticeable but not too deep. It looks like it could be breadknived(?) without harming the engraving.

EDIT: You edit quicker than I do. RE: Meetup -- I've thought about it. They're in Cullowhee, which is about 45 minutes W/NW of Asheville. It's an 8-hour drive from Gainesville, FL and I'm not sure if I could get the time off -- if I went to the meet I'd also want to spend some time with the folks. We'll see.

That is a nice bunch of razors. The Wostenholm, Clauss, WH Morley, Shumate, and Kinfolks are all excellent razors. I have no experience with the other three.

The Shumate has rust on the edge and might have a split blade. If so, that one is toast. The chipping on the Clauss looks like it can easily be eliminated. Your hone is a Swaty barbers hone, one of the best, in a box that does not match it.

Very nice haul!

Saturday the 6th is the day you would not want to miss in Asheville....
With out a doubt you could learn more than you would ever need to know about razors that one day....

Originally Posted by Utopian

That is a nice bunch of razors. The Wostenholm, Clauss, WH Morley, Shumate, and Kinfolks are all excellent razors. I have no experience with the other three.

The Shumate has rust on the edge and might have a split blade. If so, that one is toast. The chipping on the Clauss looks like it can easily be eliminated. Your hone is a Swaty barbers hone, one of the best, in a box that does not match it.

Very nice haul!

Thanks for the input! Had no idea about the hone but it makes sense as most of the blades came in mismatched boxes. The stone fits snugly into that box so I just assumed it was a fit.

The Shumate has a scratch down the middle that I didn't even notice until I saw your post. It's not split, though. There is some pretty heavy rust right on the edge on the back side.

I never thought that having connections in the antique world would really help me out any.

I should have mentioned it in my other post--your hone is commonly referred to as a "three line Swaty." The "three line" refers to the three lines of text in the imprint. It is generally, right or wrong, considered to be the best version of the Swaty.

I would say all those razors are in very good condition and well worth the time to restore.
Though I must admit, I am more interested in the etching/engraving on the Clauss and the Morley, I collect and try to restore when I can (and if I can afford).

Pity about the camera though, I would love to see those engraving up close.

Great find.

Originally Posted by smythe

I would say all those razors are in very good condition and well worth the time to restore.
Though I must admit, I am more interested in the etching/engraving on the Clauss and the Morley, I collect and try to restore when I can (and if I can afford).

Pity about the camera though, I would love to see those engraving up close.

Great find.

Apparently my camcorder takes much better close-up stills than my camera. Here are the two blades engraved.

Clauss Coronation:


Morley Trade Mark: