Thread: Ebay vintage razors

Hey all!

I bought myself some hones for christmas, and would like to learn how to hone straights. However, i don't want to start off with my (not shave-ready) dovo "best quality", so i need another straight.


i've been looking over ebay for vintage razors i've been reading about. I figured a vintage would be a good idea over a chinese; something inexpensive yet still shave-worthy once it's ready. I've found quite a few specimens, however i have no idea what to bid on.

What should i keep my eye out for as far as condition?

I've also seen some brand names, that when plugged into google, show no results. does this matter?

do you have any tips?

much thanks!

Brand names not showing up isn't that big of a deal. There are a lot of razors that are stamped by distributors which were only distributed to small geographic areas and are uncommon.

Condition: look for little to no rust, no cracks or chips, the edge being straight, and minimal hone wear.

You can feel free to PM me for an honest assessment of any you're looking at. I am on a buying freeze right now, so won't be bidding against you.

brand names on old razors are often impossible to find reference to(exept we do have one member here that can dig up almost anything)

My tip would be to send a PM containing links to the razors you consider to an experienced member, even then there may be hidden flaws

You could send them to me if you want as i seem to have a pretty good purchase sucsess rate but the next 2 days ill be offline for rather long periods at the time

took so long typing that i didnt see you there HNSB

If you want to learn to hone, do a 180* and pick up that new DOVO.

It sounds scary, I know, but if you really do your homework and read up on it, there is no razor easier to hone than one fresh from the factory-- DOVO especially-- and you will save yourself from many hours of futility and frustration.

Once you get the DOVO sharp, then start playing with the vintage razors.
In the mean time, I would recommend sending a vintage razor to a pro honer so that you have a benchmark for your own honing.

Personally, I would send your not shave ready razor off to a pro to be honed so that you can a) get decent shaves and b) have a good example to compare your own work to.

I think getting some nameless vintage razor to practice on is a good idea. If you ding up some 5 dollar ebay razor, thats not a problem. Dinging up the 100 dollar razor you use is. Honing is an art just like straight shaving, and you need practice to be able to comfortably hold and move the razor properly and get a feel for the hones and the different sharpness tests.

Also, examine all the details very carefully and don't be afraid to ask questions. 90% of the razors on ebay have fuzzy pictures and little to no description. If you can't accuratly know what you are buying, skip it. There are thousands of straight razors on ebay, so be patient and you will find what you want soon enough.

You want to be able to see clearly along the spine of the razor to see if there is lots of hone wear, or uneven hone wear.

You want to clearly see the entire edge and inspect as close as you can. Can you see even a hint of a nick? If you see even the slightest deviation on an regular ebay pic, you are looking at a significant chip that will take a lot of time to hone out. Is the edge straight, or is there a frown or smile? Is the edge parallel to the spine? Is there pitting or discoloration on the edge?

Watch out for chopped razors. Examine the length of the razor compared to the length of the scales. Do the scales look a little too long? If so the end was probably ground off, and the heat from the grinding likely damaged the razor.

If there is a stamp on the tang, look closely if you can. If its deep in some spots and shallow in others, you are likely looking at a razor that has spent a lot of time on a buffer and has a lot of metal removed.

Look for rust of course, especially at the pivot point.

Look closely at the scales for any cracks, damage, or warping. Look at the pins to see if they are rusted, or look like they are newer than the rest of the razor.

If anyone has anything else to add to this list, please do.

Originally Posted by markevens

I think getting some nameless vintage razor to practice on is a good idea. If you ding up some 5 dollar ebay razor, thats not a problem. Dinging up the 100 dollar razor you use is.

Have you actually honed a razor? An eBay razor? Starting with unknown vintage razors is setting yourself up for failure... and unless you are using a Tormek grinder, there won't be any 'dinging' or irreparable damage learning to hone. You would have to try really, really hard to screw up a razor honing.

I've got to agree with Ben. When you are learning to hone, you don't want to deal with all the problems that come with ebay razors. You want something that is very close to having the bevel set, has a straight edge, and won't throw any extra challenges in your way. Unless you do something seriously wrong, you WILL NOT ruin a razor by learning to hone on it. New guys are actually more likely to underhone than overhone a razor, precisely because they are afraid to ruin it (underhoning just means you don't do enough honing on each stone, so you don't end up with a great edge).

A new guy buying on ebay is a huge gamble that likely sets you up to lose money. A new guy honing an ebay razor is another huge gamble that likely sets you up for a lot of frustration. IF you could guarantee that you would get a good razor with no problems that is close to having a bevel set off ebay, then yes, that would be a good idea. But even guys who have bought loads of razors off ebay get burned now and then.

You are much better off having one shave ready razor to use as a benchmark, and another good razor to hone to try yourself.

For a first honing, Ben and Dylan have it right. If you do everything correctly the new Dovo will become a superstar! That was my first few razors, after that I went to the ebay specials, save these for more advanced learning, challenges and frustrations!

yep the experts here are correct. You want to ease your way into things. Start with a razor needing a minor touchup and as you gain experience slowly tackle more demanding jobs. If you start with a major issue, unless you have some innate talent at this you'll just get frustrated.

Thanks for the advice guys.

I have experience with sharpening fine hair-whittling edges on knives, so i thought i'd give it a try with something challenging. i know it's a different art, but i like a challenge.

I ordered a full set of DMT, for knives, so i figure i have something coarse enough to deal with bevel setting, again a learning experience.

my dovo, is by my guess pretty darn close to shave ready. I'll have to do a sharpie test to see how they set the bevel, but i think that it only needs a touch up. i've shaved with it, and while not BBS or particuarly comfortable, it did shave relatively well (after newsprint).

i figure, i'll learn the finer things on my dovo, seeing as it's got a well established bevel, and learn the whole thing on a vintage or chinese. I just don't want to buy something that is too far gone -- something that would require a grinder. i saw some where the edge was at an angle with respect to the spine, and some that were pretty slim.

i understand that they can get pretty old, so how much blade worn renders the grind not fine enough for a shaving ede?