Thread: New member with first straight razor: An F.W. Engels "Perfection." Need help.

Hello all. First off, let me say that I have benefited greatly from this site while trying to learn a bit about razors. I am just getting my feet wet and purchased an F.W. Engels "Perfection" off ebay for around 20 bucks. I looked for a used razor with few imperfections blade-wise. This one arrived today and looks cleaner than it did in the pictures even. It seems to have a slight 'smile' I believe, but from my reading, it seems to be a servicable razor. I even found a barber here in town who still hones his own and agreed to sharpen it up for me.

I would like to learn a little more about this razor and get some opinions. Did I get my money's worth? Anyone have experience or own any Perfections? Can anyone give me an opinion of the blade condition from the pictures? I believe the scales may be just the slightest bit warped, but this doesn't really concern me at the moment. I just want to start off right, with a quality blade to start practicing with. I'll upgrade when I deserve to.

Any info is welcome! Thanks.

We don't do appraisals here, but you did fine. Some will grouse about the toe wear but in reality that configuration will shave just fine. The Engels razors in my opinion are all excellent shavers and the Perfection is just another one of them.

As Ron says above it looks like a perfectly good shaver, and the Perfections are known to be very smooth...

Now as a restorer I am going to point out some things that I notice, that in NO way effect the shave-ability of the razor... Just some things to look for on your next purchase...

1. The toe has un-even wear
2. The spine shows the same wear
3. Look at the pin at the pivot compared to the wedge pin see the difference??? most likely this razor did not come with these scales originally..
4. There is active rust in the pivot that needs atention...

Again none of these things adversely effect this razor being used to shave but they do effect the collectability...

You still did ok with it..

I'll just add that this form of toe wear was often done by barbers deliberately in order to put a smile on the blade. If you look at the small amount of hone wear on the rest of the spine, it's much more plausible to believe that it was done deliberately than to think that it was the result of poor honing.

Thanks for the info, guys. I'm not looking for a price appraisal...I really just wanted to know if it looks like a usable shaver of reputable quality. I noticed the toe wear when I was bidding, but had read that this shouldn't affect the shaving too much. I just really want to get it honed up nice and get started. This is my starting point, and I will work my way up from here. We've got a couple of really good antique malls around here, so I'll start looking around to see what is available. I really like the idea of restoring razors as well, so I might look for a few projects once I get the hang of things. Maybe this one will eventually turn into a restore job. 40 years from now, it will still be around, and it can be 'razor #1.' I welcome any other comments or suggestions! Thanks again, to both of you.

Not only is it a half decent first razor but for 20 bucks you did very well. Get your shaving technique down pat and learn how to keep an edge on it after it's honed. You can experiment with different blades and sizes later. Good luck!

HeY Vlad I just want to add to what gssixgun said to you. Being new I wont assume that you are completely abreast of the nomenclature used here as I was not when i was new, so I'll simplify.

1. The toe has un-even wear = Tip of Blade
2. The spine shows the same wear= entire length back of blade
3. Look at the pin at the pivot compared to the wedge pin see the difference??? most likely this razor did not come with these scales originally..= pinning point connecting blade to the handles/scales
4. There is active rust in the pivot that needs atention.

You have a decent razor that a good honing could balance things out, without a problem. Don't fret, You are learning and experience is the best teacher. I remember my first razor purchase. I was so anxious and happy to have won my first bid ever. I spent $46 on a LEMON and was so proud of it! LOL It was basically pieced together junk/scraps BUT the good part is I later used that razor to help me practice Honing and hand sanding the blade. It eventually had a useful purpose. Here's a pic of it. Hope you get a good laugh from it as I have.

Check out this sweet Engels currently up for auction. What do you think?
ANTIQUE F.W.ENGELES SOLINGEN GERMANY STRAIGHT RAZOR - eBay (item 170525252524 end time Aug-14-10 15:58:11 PDT)

I have seen many a razors with the dame toe wear and have a few myself. I find this 'toe wear' to be a better configuration to rounding off the point on a hone. It reduces the chances of the toe digging in and slicing you as the toe is off the skin when shaving with the proper angle and pressure but it still keeps the point sharp for trimming around a beard or mustache. I have also seen a few NOS razors where that area of the blade is thinner than the rest of the blade at the bevel. The options while honing to get that part of the edge sharp is to bring the whole blade down or hone to this configuration.

Bottom line is that you have a good shaver. Enjoy!

Originally Posted by komjong

Check out this sweet Engels currently up for auction. What do you think?
ANTIQUE F.W.ENGELES SOLINGEN GERMANY STRAIGHT RAZOR - eBay (item 170525252524 end time Aug-14-10 15:58:11 PDT)

Clearly heavy spine wear loose pins,cell rot, rusted through...not worth any of your time actually....Komjong has obviously has been drinking to much....Naw, just kiddin' that really is a sweet one!