Damascus? & Gotta with inlay

I have an opportunity to pick these up but after an hour or so of searching I haven't come up with enough info to satisfy myself.
I have limited info, here is what I have.....

"They bear inscriptions such as FINEST QUALITY, BOKER, GOTTA SOLINGEN, SILVER STEEL, GRAY HARVEY CO OTTAWA, DAMASCUS."

And the pic....

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2.../rasoirs-1.jpg

Where does Boker come into this? The one with yellow scales? Boker made the damascus straights but different from this, correct? Is this one of those blades with damascus on it for no apparent reason other than making sales?:confused:

I'd pass on the top one, given the frown in the edge and massive wear on the spine. Can't see anything on the bottom one.

Well, I'll eventually have to pick one up with a frown just to give it a shot at restoring the edge- just for the sake of trying. The price will have to right though. Should know soon how much is being asked for the 2.

Thanks.

Before long, you'll probably have many with frowns that you get by accident (given to you, bad buy on ebay, extra blades in lots, etc) - unless you see one that has lots of steel left over, is not worn into the stabalizer AND is a really nice blade, a frown is not something you want to go looking for.

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Originally Posted by holli4pirating

Before long, you'll probably have many with frowns that you get by accident (given to you, bad buy on ebay, extra blades in lots, etc) - unless you see one that has lots of steel left over, is not worn into the stabalizer AND is a really nice blade, a frown is not something you want to go looking for.

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+1 ! Smile and the world smiles with you. It took me a few of the frowners to learn the secret of dealing with them ..... don't buy them. :) If you see a vintage razor marked Damascus it is only a marketing ploy. The fancy custom razors you see today that we call Damascus are more properly 'pattern welded steel'. Beautiful and functional but not ,AFAIK, the same as the legendary blades of the Moors. From what I've read how they actually made the stuff is unknown.

Thanks for the advice guys. Decision made, pass.