Thread: Rolls Razor

Anyone ever use one. I saw a Rolls razor at a local antiques store minus the handle for $38.00. Should I pick it up?

They are great razor's when properly honed. 38 minus the handle, walk away.

38 with handle, decent strop, and the hone intact? maybe

I have one and its a great razor and a great conversation piece. If I recall correctly I paid less than $20 for mine shipped. Quite a few of them around

+1 with alb1981. I saw one last week at a local antique store for $12, and it was complete.

Ya I bought all my groomsmen Rolls for my wedding. I think I got 5 complete with excelent blades and hones intact for 80

My question being considering the age of these razors, how good is the strop and hone on these razors? What can someone use to judge the condition?

The strop is a very subjective thing. Everyone views them differently. What I do is go to Larry at whipped dog and buy the bridle leather scraps. Cut to fit and replace. The hone is like a barber hone. It wont take a dull blade to sharp, but it will refresh an edge. Make sure the strop is there, in good condtion you will see some patterning on the leather from the blade but it wont be nicked up. in bad condtion its choppy cracked and ugly. for the hone just make sure its not cracked, even a hairline crack will affect your razor's edge.

I got one, used it once or twice. I didn't particularly like the shave. If you like DE's you might like this one.

Rolls prices seem to fluctuate greatly. But certainly I would walk away at that price. Parts for them often sell for more than a complete kit. I have gotten good shaves off mine, although not as good as my straights. Might just be my lack of technique. But yea, I had to hone the blade to get it into shape.