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.