Thread: Flea market finds. One with ivory?

Great score and great price. I expect all to be great shavers. Aren't flea market finds GREAT!

Thanks guys! The Crown Cutlery razor is indeed stamped "GOLD BUD". I thought it was a Gold Bug when I bought it. Who made the Gold Bug razors, was it Crown, or someone else? The might tell us whether it's a counterfeit, or if one brand was trying to ride on the other's coat tails.

Should I superglue the crack in the Schneider razor, or is there some better fix?

Ben.mid, thanks for the correction. It's no wonder I failed French in high school.

Congratulations on your find. That is a great haul you got there! Now if I just had some *good* flea markets in my area.......

Glad to see someone pickin up great blades at great prices.

Very sweet! I'm always jealous of these finds. The local antique stores/fle markets look at me like I'm some kind of mass murderer when I ask about straights...

Also, I think that Schneider is from a Swiss set, as they do speak French in Switzerland (Along with German, or rather Schwitzer Tutch, Romansch, and Italian.) and that razor is marked "Geneve", or Geneva.

I bet the gold bud thing is a copy cat thing, you know like everyone loved the gold bug, so they came out with the gold bud to combat it. It's all marketing. Just like there is the "Franz Swaty 3-Line Razor Hone" because people called the WbW ones 3-line Swatys lol.

I believe the scales are ivory . I've read that cracks at the pins are not uncommon on old ivory scales . As long as you handle the razor with reasonable care , I don't think the cracks will get any worse . I don't know how well super glue would work , but I don't think it would do any harm . Just be careful if you use it at the pivot pin area , so you don't accidently glue the blade to the scales .

As I recall Gold Bugs were S.R Droesher razors.

Ivory is a problem because it is brittle and becomes more so with age unless you oil it periodically. The best way to repair it is use a liner under it and attach the ivory to the liner and glue it which will stabilize the crack. You can try supergluing it as it is. Its not a long term fix but should last for a while.

Gentlemen,

I have never been one to float through a flea market. From what I have read in this forum about great razor finds at such cultural institutions, however, I will add the practice of visiting them to my list of hobbies. Perhaps someday I will proudly report my own great score.

Also, I must thank you gentlemen for sharing your expert knowledge of straight razors, antique or otherwise. It is a pleasure learning from you.

Regards,

Obie

What a nice haul! I looked up Crown Cutlery, and they did own the Gold Bug trademark. They went out of business in 1930. You appear to have an "error" stamp on the tang. Rare! Too bad the error was not on an actual postage stamp; those are worth a lot of money sometimes! The Schneider does have ivory scales. You may want to stabilize the crack to prevent breakage, if you are going to use it. It looks like it could be a good shaver too. The Smith will be a good shaver, and give you lots of exercise restoring it! I have had good luck with every Joseph Smith I have bought. Congratulations.