Thread: Why aren't old razors shave-ready?

Perhaps the razor was sold, or thrown in the drawer because it was no longer shave ready?

Why are used cars in great condition? The previous owner obviously was using the car to drive around, etc.....

You're more often than not buying someone else's problems, which is why it got put on the block in teh first place.



Maybe.

I've gotten 2 out of 100+ that were shave ready. Both were, like Glen said, razors that had belonged to pro barbers.

Hmmm, so how do I find razors from pro barber shops?

Originally Posted by Bootstrap

Hmmm, so how do I find razors from pro barber shops?

Twenty five years ago I used to walk into barber shops and ask the old guys if they had any razors they would sell. Got a lot of razors that way back then and pretty cheap too. No ebay then or internet. Most of the old fellows that used sure enough straight razors are long since gone now though.

Originally Posted by Bootstrap

Hmmm, so how do I find razors from pro barber shops?

They'll be in the barn with the classic automobile.

Originally Posted by welshwizard

They'll be in the barn with the classic automobile.

I hope the car is ready to drive ...

The micro teeth on the cutting edge corrode over time since the cutting edge is the thinnest and most vulnerable place for corrosion to begin. You usually can not see it but magnify and you will. As the micro teeth corrode so goes your shaving sharpness.

I've gotten a few off Eboy that were shave ready. However age and time in storage are very much against it.

I was very naive when I first started and I was so psyched to start I stropped up my ebay blade and what do you know? It shave quite well. I sent it out to get honed though and it came back quite a bit better so...

Yes you might get lucky on an NOS or old barber razor 1% of the time.

Another say, 5% of the time it might be sharp enough to shave, but I guarantee you there is a world of difference between "sharp enough to shave" and "shave ready".

Bootstrap

It does happen occasionally - of the twenty-nine vintage razors I own, two came to me shaving sharp - but as other members have said, on most time and wear take their toll. And just as well, say I. Getting them sharp is part of the fun.

Goshawk