Oh, the heartbreak...

[Malacoda]

Went to a big flea market today. And of the two dozen or so straights I come across, what do I happen to find???

A Dubl Duck Goldedge with a tag on it for $80.

Now, I've seen dozens of posts here and several up on the Bay but have never seen one in person...

It was sitting in a big, tabletop display case surrounded by junk that my eyes never even took in - they were instantly caught by the straight with the beautiful, golden-pearl scales. It was face down (e.g. the front bolster with 'goldedge' wasn't visible) and yet at first sight I instantly knew it was a DD.

So there I am...

I ask the guy if I can open the case and take a look at it and he says 'sure'. Trying to give absolutely no outward sign of my excitement, I pick it up and flip it over to see the front bolster proudly proclaiming 'goldedge', then immediately take notice of glimmering goldplate on the tang...

My heart begins to flutter. Instantly I understand why Goldedges and Wonderedges are so popular - its one of the most gorgeous straights I've ever seen. Pictures just don't capture the ethereal beauty of those pearlescent scales.

I open it and immediately notice two little white burrs on the upper edge of one scale - it quickly becomes clear the scales are warped enough to cause the blade to catch ever so slightly when closed...

I take a closer look at the area of contact. Okay, there's no truly noticeable nicks in the scale edge so, while it's been opened and closed enough in it's warped condition for the blade edge to start to shave a couple little, smooth flakes off, it hasn't been enough to require any type of nick repair.

Hhhmmm, 'Maybe just enough ammo to haggle the price down $10 or $15', I think.

Then I look at the blade.

No hone wear - my pulse quickens...

No rust - my mouth suddenly goes dry...

Very little staining if any - visions of slot machine bells ringing and lights flashing 'jackpot, jackpot, jackpot' jump to life in my head...

...and then, quicker than a bolt of lightening, out of nowhere, comes a Louisville Slugger blow to balls -- there's a crack in the blade edge about 1/8" in from the end and about 1/32 deep.

Trying to somehow salvage the lost hope and joy, an inner voice quickly whispers 'The crack is only bevel deep. It can be ground out on a 220 or 400 without losing hardly any blade width.' The logical, grounded side of my mind immediately counters, 'Yeah, but you're still a babe when it comes to restorations. And even if you weren't, $80 for that kind of risk and work -- straightening the scales, honing out the crack, polishing the blade and the bolsters (they're in very good shape but pretty tarnished)... its just WAY too much.'

So I turn to the guy and say,'Look, my interest is restoring straights so I can actually use them shaving. You can see how the blade rubs against the scales, scraping them down and dulling it's edge. There's a good chance I could fix that. But look here, do you see this crack in the blade?' He says, 'Oh yeah, I do see it.' I go on,'That will take a lot of careful, patient grinding to remove so that the blade is usable. And that's if the fracture doesn't spread during the attempt to salvage it. Right now, this isn't usable for shaving and it will take a LOT of careful work to save.' Then I offered him as much as I'm willing to gamble on being able to save the blade... 'Will you take $30?"

His response,"No, it's the nicest one of my bunch. I can't do that.'

So I wish him luck with it and go on my way, my hopes dashed and a part of my soul having finally felt the same, seductive Goldege-Wonderedge spell that so may others have written about... but I could not truly understand until I saw one with my own eyes...

[Tbucket]

I think you made the right choice- but I do hate when stuff like that happens.

[JimmyHAD]

IME a lot of the old Solingens that have a metal inlay on the mark side have a bit of warping and I think dubl ducks are notorious for that. Dovos too IME. Did you ask what he would take ?

I honed a 1/8 crack out of a razor just this past week. It is one of a seven day set and I was lucky and saved it. So my 6/8 set now has a 5/8 but that is better then no Sunday at all.

You probably were smart to pass. It is always a hearbreaker to see an otherwise fine looking razor with a crack. There is a dubl duck special #1 on the bay right now like that.

[nun2sharp]

Go back and offer him 50$. To tell the truth DD's are notorious for bad scales, it could be what caused the crack, and if the crack can be honed out it may very well be worth it even at 80$ provided everything else is pristine.

[BAMARACING8]

that sucks man but i wouldnt pay more than 30 either