Thread: A fine find (Otto Deutsch)

I was checking out a local antique place that I have not been to in a bit last week and while leaving someone mentioned a case that had skipped my eye when I was going through. There were a number of nice condition razors in it, though most were a bit higher priced than I wanted to pay. In it though was this beauty. Almost mint condition, but not quite with the original case in fantastic condition as well. The worst, which I forgot to photograph, was a bit of rust around the pivot area, but that cleaned up with a bit of metal polish pretty well. I have not honed it yet and am debating what to do with my great score.















You can see higher resolution images here

Very cool razors! I always wanted to get one of these, they have some of the nicest scales I've seen so far. Thanks for sharing!

Very nice find. That's a lot more fun than putting a bid in on eBay!

Make sure you keep that razor in the open air rather than sealed up in a box. I seem to recall reports that those scales have a greater than average tendency toward celluloid rot.

(See, I just had to get even with you for finding such a great razor!)

Oh, and did I mention that I'm still looking for one?

Gorgeous razor! Wanted one for ages. They're just that bit cooler than a duck.

They are indeed quite prone to celluloid rot and this one is showing the signs. Not the slight pitting along the spine but the early signs of discoloring along the edge. Oil it up good, store it out of the box and in open position if possible and hope for the best. Also quarantine it from your other razors. I have two that have scales in beautiful condition but the blades continue to deteriorate regardless of what I try. Good luck with yours I hope you do not have any problems.

WOW!!

Nice find!

Aren't local finds just GREAT!! Congrats on an excellent score. What's to debate? Hone it up and put it into service.

Originally Posted by wescap34

They are indeed quite prone to celluloid rot and this one is showing the signs. Not the slight pitting along the spine but the early signs of discoloring along the edge. Oil it up good, store it out of the box and in open position if possible and hope for the best. Also quarantine it from your other razors. I have two that have scales in beautiful condition but the blades continue to deteriorate regardless of what I try. Good luck with yours I hope you do not have any problems.

I'm pretty sure I've gotten that type of discoloration from lather. I'm especially confident, since it was on a wapi, which has metal scales.
Still, it makes me nervous to think about all the celluloid scales I have...

Originally Posted by heirkb

I'm pretty sure I've gotten that type of discoloration from lather. I'm especially confident, since it was on a wapi, which has metal scales.
Still, it makes me nervous to think about all the celluloid scales I have...

I guess it doesn't look like cell rot to me, but I've never tracked a case from the earliest stages. Time will tell... I wouldn't worry too much in the mean time.

I've seen that discoloration come from lather too. OTOH, like Utopian, I've seen more of the green scaled ODs with cell rot than not. I agree about open air being better for avoiding problems...... and I am also still looking for one of those. Congrats, you did great on that one.