Thread: First well-informed purchase

I made my first well-informed purchase of an antique-store razor this week. Got a Carbo-Magnetic after searching the threads for any mentions of it, and found the mentions were good. I'm new to the community and sure appreciate the body of wisdom that's accumulated here.

So now I've got enough razors for a rotation, and don't need to buy any others. Right?

Here's what I've got, in order of acquisition:



A big beastly wedge from Sheffield, that I call the Sweeny Todd: Not shaveable yet, but when my Norton 4k/8k arrives I may yet vanquish it.

Pride of the West: Was probably a cheapo back in its day but hones and shaves very nicely.

Dovo 5/8 SS with Ebony scales: Bought last month, honed by Lynn, so I could see how sharp these things are supposed to be. This was a good investment; wish I'd done so 6 years ago when I bought the first two.

Griffon Carbo-Magnetic: Bought a couple of days ago. Also looks like a bare-bones model, but all I had to do was clean the old yuck from between the scales. Looks like the previous owner only ever stropped it; to make it useable I STARTED honing on my Frictionite 00, finished on a Spyderco UF, then stropped on undressed leather. Passes HHT along entire blade length. It took weeks to get that Pride of the West to the same point. Not as gentle a shave as the POTW or the new Dovo, but I think I can tune it. Any suggestions?

Do old horn scales smell like cat pee, or had the Sheffield been peed on once? Whatever it was rinsed away eventually.

Does anybody know who actually made the Pride of the West razors?

Here are close-ups of the old blades:



This Sheffield actually looks like it's been peened. Did anyone ever cold-temper their blades?



I think I did all that flattening along the spine, with my clumsy pre-SRP honing attempts.



If this one was honed much before me, it was honed well and gently. It seems odd, though, that the "TRADE MARK" etch is so close to the edge. Maybe it's been honed a bunch, but with a taped spine?

Are any of these worth adding to the razor database?

Thanks for any info, suggestions, or comments. Sorry for the length.

Congratulations on your blades, you did good. 3 nice shavers already and an old greaves & sons to work on.
You do indeed have enough razors for a rotation and there's no need to buy any more. Hold on to that thought
as best you can

I've never come across any horm smell like pee naturally - nuff said
The harsh shaver - a little use will dull it slightly, perhaps this is all it takes. Some might suggest trying a light
slurry on your polishing hone, if you got one.
Oh, and if you did in fact put all the honewear on that german razor, I notice it is even all along the spine.
Not so clumsy after all, methinks. It looks like your honing strokes are even pressure, if perhaps a little heavy.

Originally Posted by roughkype

So now I've got enough razors for a rotation, and don't need to buy any others. Right?

Famous last words.

There's never a need to buy another razor but you do.

great collection! you & I have the same amount of SRs, but I don't know if 4 is enough! There's always that "Just 1 More!"

Originally Posted by str8fencer

The harsh shaver - a little use will dull it slightly, perhaps this is all it takes. Some might suggest trying a light
slurry on your polishing hone, if you got one.
Oh, and if you did in fact put all the honewear on that german razor, I notice it is even all along the spine.
Not so clumsy after all, methinks. It looks like your honing strokes are even pressure, if perhaps a little heavy.

Thank you for the suggestion and assessment. I've done a lot of this in a vacuum.

Can you smooth a harsh blade by stropping it on a slightly slack strop? I'll post the question in the stropping thread.

Best wishes.

Roughkype, you have a nice set of razors there. Spend the time needed to bring the Greaves up to snuff (or send it out for professional honing). Every Greaves Sheaf Works I have is top tier Sheffield, they're great shavers. I shaved with one this morning, in fact.

Horn does not smell by itself. Some nice razors and honing, congratulations

Originally Posted by FatboySlim

Roughkype, you have a nice set of razors there. Spend the time needed to bring the Greaves up to snuff (or send it out for professional honing). Every Greaves Sheaf Works I have is top tier Sheffield, they're great shavers. I shaved with one this morning, in fact.

Thanks! My Norton 4k/8k came today, so I did a pyramid on the Greaves (25 laps on down) then taped the spine and finished it on my SpydercoUF. The secondary bevel was so pretty under the scope, but the sharpness uneven along the blade. Went back to the stone, clipped a corner of it, and whacked a notch into my beautiful new edge. Guess I'll have to play with my rocks some more.

That'll at least save me from having to go buy another old razor to sharpen. For now. Eventually I'll shave with this thing--I'm really curious to see how that smiley wedge is going to feel.

Another Tim