Thread: Hi there Newbie with a razor I.D. question

Hi there first time posting here as I just discovered this great website. I have actually shaved with a straight razor before and had a really nice Dovo that I bought brand new. But I had to sell it when money was short but I have been wanting to get back into it for quite a while now. I would say that I am still a newb when it comes to straight razors and especially vintage ones. I was at a gun show this past weekend and one of the knife dealers had this razor in his case and once I saw the condition of it I had to have it. It looks absolutely brand new and it doesn't seem to have been refinished at all but I was hoping you guys could tell me if it has been or not. I paid $30 for it but considering the condition it is in I felt it was worth it. I also have three or four other vintage ones but they all need to be refinished, so I'll work on those this winter but for now I would like to shave with this one. The marks on the blade are just smudges from my fingers the blade is still mirror bright. The tang of the blade is a darker color than the actual blade itself and there is pretty much a straight line separating the colors of the tang and where the grind of the blade starts. What do you think of this find?

Welcome to SRP. Looks to me like you got yourself a mighty nice razor there. You might want to have it professionally honed. Give it a try and maybe you got really lucky. Chances are it will need honing though. Here is the SRP Wiki where you can find all things related to straight razor shaving. A good idea to do a bit of studying before you jump back into it but don't hesitate to post any further questions you may have.

Even if you send it out for honing $20, $50 for that razor is good deal. Looks like it is not absolutely mint, if you look carefully on the spine theres a tiny flat section. However, it has probably been honed only once or twice! (My two NOS razors did not have any honewear, couldn't even see it under a loupe)

This is my limited experience:
If it says Solingen, it will be amazing, even if NO ONE has heard of it or you can't find info. I have two less well known Solingen razors (a JA Schmidt and a R. Buntenbach), they shave just as well as my FWE Leader (one I think is better... *blasphemy*)

GREAT FIND!

Ive got one of those somewhere around here, I need to hone that sucker and see what it does, Thanks for the reminder!

Welcome to SRP!

Nice piece ! Looks like it may have had a gold washed tang at some stage.
Don't have a crystal ball but I think you've got a good'un.

Looks like a pretty good buy to me.

Sounds great thanks for the posts guys. Is there a place you guys would recommend I send this razor to be honed? I seriously doubt there is any place local here in Columbus that could do it. I have a Filly beginners strop on the way I might just go ahead and carefully strop it using the rough side first then the smoother side and try it out just to see how it shaves. Although like you guys said I'm sure it will need a hone on it.

Anyone in the classifieds. I can personally speak for Utopian and Hi_bud_gl, but everyone in the classifieds is capable and has a rep to protect.