Thread: So I tried a GB.Buckingham and Sons "razor"

I mentioned it in yesterdays SOTD, but though it deserved a thread, for any noobs that might stumble over these "razors"....

There was a thread about these a while ago, this is the razor in question: Vintage Straight Razor | Straight Razor | High Carbon Steel Straight Razor with Exotic Pakka Wood | VintageStraightRazor.com

A guy on another forum bought two and sent me one to check out.

At first it apperared nice enough, not bad looking scales really, even if they are way too large for the blade. But the blade centered badly, with the edge hitting the side of the inside scales.
It took a look at the edge it came with under 100x magnification, holy crap what a nightmare of an "egde", super super coarse, and small chips and really really ragged, a complete disaster.
"Honed" with one of these:





So naturally it was honing time. Starting on a DMT 325 to clean up the mess. The moment I put it down on the hone it was clear that the blade also is quite badly warped...
So rolling X-strokes would be the tune of the day. Next I went to a Chosera 1k to set a bevel. Which seemed to take forever, but I managed to set one that (barely) passed my regular tests for a decent bevel.
After that it was honed on my regular progression of Shapton glass stones, monitoring with my scope every step. Finally a few laps of CroX and a good stropping. The edge looked fine in the microscope and even popped a few hanging hairs, so it was time for a shave.

Did an extra good prep , and whipped up some nice Martin de Candre and went at it.
The blade shaved, felt pretty nice actually , fairly smooth. The blade feedback had a different sound than any of my other straights though.
Halfway through the first WTG pass I stopped to check how much hair that was removed, and the first bad signs started to appear, it didn't shave much, but I continued on for full three passes(wtg,xtg,atg) with the blade feeling rougher and rougher.... When finished, it wasn't anywere near a good close shave, about par with a one pass disposable cartridge shave maybe.. Checking the blade again with my scope , I noticed a few small chips had appeared.... Needless to say, I had to finish with another razor to look presentable for work..

So today I gave it another chance, I fired up the Lv5+ Ozuku Asagi, which always delivers very sharp and really smooth edges. Started with a Tenjyou Nagura and finsihed with a Tomo Nagura, using circles and x-strokes until I had a really fine and polished edge.
So it was time for another shave, today using some luxurious Penhalogon's Endymion shaving cream, a top notch cream producing slick and wonderful lather.

Again it felt decent for like half a pass, then it started to pull and tug more and more, so it didn't last a full pass even this time... I picked up my Flaschner 7/8, and continued on, wow what a difference a real straigh made....

So it's pretty clear the a G.B.Crappingham razor from Vintagestraightrazor is nothing but a useless piece of shit, to put it politely.
The steel is totally unable to hold an edge for even half a pass, waaaay too soft to be used for razors. Completely useless.

Buyer beware.....

I'm sending the poor chap that bought these a nice Sheffield straight in return for giving me the chance to "experience" this one lol.

The fun of testing razors this name needs to go in the "List"

Originally Posted by gssixgun

The fun of testing razors this name needs to go in the "List"

Haha yeah, I actually wanted to try it, just so I could experience how really crappy steel behaves and "shaves".
These razors makes even a GD look good...

Originally Posted by gssixgun

The fun of testing razors this name needs to go in the "List"

While my computer is in the shop and I'll probably never get all of the email info back so that I could publish the Web Page!! I do believe that this is the same razor that a fellow at work, whom I'd turned onto shaving with a straight bought! Damn I wish I could pull up the Web Page that he'd sent me! He was so proud about the 'Great Deal' he got as the razor was originally about $120 then lowered to $99 but they offered a Great Deal of only $20 delivered! (I knew in my heart that he'd been ripped off)!

OH how I wish he would have consulted in me before he sent those hard earned dollars to them!

When he told me what he had done, I just told him that most razor's with a factory hone aren't Truly 'Shave Ready' and that I'd hone it for him at no cost.

Well after spending 1/2 hour honing/ (I'd done my usual routine all the way up to 12k), it wouldn't 'Pop' arm hairs at Any Stage. But I made the decision to see if it would shave, so I stropped it. To put it in perspective, I've gotten a better shave off of a 1k that wasn't stropped!

When he came over to pick up his 'Prize'! I had to tell him that it would make an attractive paper weight!

I also handed him a nice 5/8 round point German made Red Point that had a fresh hone on it and told him it was a gift. I also included my beginner's strop as a loaner until he got one of his own. I showed him how to strop and he was grateful and apologized for not consulting me.

He's learned his lesson, I just hope that I can find the website that he bought that Piece of S^@^@%&&$!%$%^$ ! at so it can be added to the wikis!

OH! On the bright side, I stumbled upon a nice 'Kit' that Doom was offering and he bought it and it included a very nice shaving 6/8 round point! The 2' Illinois strop will force him to learn the proper X stroke! My beginner strop was 3"!

I'll see if he can remember where he bought that ! S^R$^$*@+#&!! And then I'll get it to a Mod!

Just wanted to say its really cool to read about you guys helping out a beginner and GIVING them a decent razor when you know they've been ripped off. Just great to read good threads like this!

Hello, really not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I was linked to this thread, so I figured I can at least create a bit loop on the internet. I found a link to this deal, Straight Razor | Safety Razor | SHAVE STRAIGHT WOOT SPECIAL! | StraightRazor.co on woot.com. Somone on woot linked to this thread warning people it might not be a great blade. So I want to know if it is worth it for the money.

From what I have seen, that price isn't bad just for the strop alone.

I am not completely new to straight razor shaving, but I am. I own one I was given for my birthday years ago by a girl, she instead of buying me a proper one with a strop though, bout me one where you could put in a blade, and take a blade out. So I kind of know the physics.... I am rambling now though. Thank you for your help.

Wow, fast reply, thank you. Yeah, there used to be a really nice shop in the city (sure there are some that I don't know of) but the place I knew closed and I haven't had a place to go for advice in long time.

Originally Posted by enigma1122

Hello, really not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I was linked to this thread, so I figured I can at least create a bit loop on the internet. I found a link to this deal, Straight Razor | Safety Razor | SHAVE STRAIGHT WOOT SPECIAL! | StraightRazor.co on woot.com. Somone on woot linked to this thread warning people it might not be a great blade. So I want to know if it is worth it for the money.

From what I have seen, that price isn't bad just for the strop alone.

I am not completely new to straight razor shaving, but I am. I own one I was given for my birthday years ago by a girl, she instead of buying me a proper one with a strop though, bout me one where you could put in a blade, and take a blade out. So I kind of know the physics.... I am rambling now though. Thank you for your help.

DANGER! DANGER! DANGER!!

If you purchase this so called Razor you'll have purchased a paperweight! Trust me! I know of at least two others who have fallen into their trap!! One is who I work with!

If you want a beginner's razor, check the Classifieds! If you don't see something in your price range, just give it a few days! You will find the members who sell beginners razors shave ready very reliable!

I hope this helps you!

This razor along with all the bad experiences that come with it belong in the SRP Hall of Horror.
Great to see members looking out for the community :

I appreciate all the help, I passed on the paper weight and will stick with the model I have for now, saving up for a nice blade, but that money always seems to be eaten by sudden bills.

Complete side note, I saw an article of Life Hacker that said that you could use denim, as in an old pair of jeans, as a half decent strop. I kind of laughed at the idea, but seeing that I am on here, has anyone else heard this, or tried it? I could imagine it might help a bit, but not nearly as much as a proper one.