Thread: New guy here. Are these razors I bought any good?

New guy here. Just bought my first straight razors today. I went to a local antique shop and picked up 2 really nice razors for only $15 each. One is a Griffon Carbo Magnetic and the other is a Beckher-Otte Inc Bona-fide Hand Made. Does anybody know if these are any good?
There was some black rust on the back side of the Carbo Magnetic blade, so I took it off with some fine sand paper. Does anybody know how I can remove some of the scratches caused by the sand paper?
The Bona-fide came with the original box and it's in great condition, looks like it has never been used. There are no scratches, honing marks, rust, patina, or any sign of use. The blade is very shiny but not very sharp.

Take a look at the photos and let me know what you guys think. Did I get a good deal? Any suggestions?

If you find them on this list; yes, you did ok.

Welcome to SRP! Congratulations on such a nice find. To "remove" the scratches caused by the sandpaper, you will need to use more sandpaper in a finer grit going through a progression until you reach the desired look. Ex. if you used a 400 grit paper to remove the rust with, you will want to use a 600 grit paper, then 800, 1000, 1200, 1500...etc until you reach the look that you want. Be certain to use no pressure (pressure makes deeper scratches that will take longer to get out and calls for more metal removal) and let the paper do the work. I find it helpful to change the direction of sanding after each different grit so I can easily see when all the scratches from the previous grit are gone (don't move to the next grit until all scratches from the previous grit are 100% gone). When you're done with the sandpaper, use some metal polish such as maas, semichrome, mothers, etc and admire your results. BE CAREFUL while hand sanding as well, even if not honed, they are sharp! Check out the Workshop forum here and you'll find lots more tips and tricks.

One you get them how you want, send them out to be honed by a pro (check out the classifieds here under member services).

Cheers!

Glenn

Thanks for the tip.
No they are not on the list of recommended brands, however; one is made in Germany and the other New York.

I never met a German blade in reasonable condition that was not a decent to very good shaver, unfortunately I have yet to meet an American one but there are many who speak highly of them. Both of yours look like decent buys IMHO, the Carbo Magnetic in particular. +1 on sending it or them out for honing. Good luck.

Originally Posted by doncarlt86

Thanks for the tip.
No they are not on the list of recommended brands, however; one is made in Germany and the other New York.

Old German ones and the ones made in the US are usually great razors.

Originally Posted by Wiki

Most vintage razors that were forged in Germany, England, France, Sweden, Italy and the USA, are considered good blades.
Razors marked "Solingen" that were actually forged in Solingen are good blades.

The Carbo-Magnetics are very good razors and that one appears to be in very good shape despite the rust. You can make the sanding go a little easier with a little light-weight oil like 3 in 1.
Though I don't recall ever using the other one, I have no doubt that it will shave just fine.

Looks like both should make good shavers. It takes some work and tools to really get a blade that has corrosion on it looking good. You can polish with increasingly finer sandpaper, (wet& dry used wet) down to 800 or 1000 grit and then polish with some polishing compound. If you do the whole razor you will get a consistent finish. If you just do the spot where the corrosion was you will have an obvious spot. If you have access to a buffing machine you can progress to a nice polish by going through several grits of buffing compound. Being aware that the more you work on a very sharp blade, especially on a buffing wheel.

2 good shavers in my book! Previous posters have given you all the info you need to eliminate sanding scratch marks. Now get them honed and get to shaving with them, they are of no use just looking pretty!

I have different versions of both these razors. Both honed up well.