Ebay Razors

Hello all,

I am just getting into this amazing world of SR and I am becoming increasingly interested in the restoration process. I have found a few razors that seem to be good buys so far but none that I would attempt to restore as my first. This brings me to my first of many questions, I see razors on Ebay, tons of razors on Ebay for $10 and up what up with these? They seem really cheap compared to the $100's of dollars I see some razors going for. Why? What is the catch? I have been reading the forums on restoration (huge amount of talent and knowledge here) and I understand some of the pitfalls to avoid but most of the razors on Ebay I see are in "good" condition so are they all gems in the waiting?

Cheers

Oldschool66

Are you looking at new or used razors on eBay?

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Originally Posted by Oldschool66

I see razors on Ebay, tons of razors on Ebay for $10 and up what up with these? They seem really cheap compared to the $100's of dollars I see some razors going for. Oldschool66

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I'm new to SRs as well, but have bought many vintage DEs over time.

My take on this is that outside of the world straight razor shaver's, nobody knows what to do with the old straight razors. Many of them are chipped and in poor condition, and rusted. You just won't be able to shave with many of those. Others have just been honed past their useful blade width.

On the ones in good shape, you should be able to pick them up for $10-$30. In this category, there are a thousand brands -- many hardware store brands.

Those that are priced higher are either well-known brands with sought after traits, or are in particularly good shape.

I've recently picked up 3 that I think will clean up well and let me learn to hone. If they work out, I'll keep them for shaving. If not, I'll do some more experimenting on them.

For these, I paid $10, $20 (Torrey), and $10. The last one is a Henckel that was mis-labelled as a no-name brand, because of the box it was in.

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Good luck and have fun.

When I first started buying some razors from ebay some mistakes I made were. Not paying attention to hone wear, bevel situation, scales. Some razors might take more time, effort, and money for supplies then they are worth. I think the best deals you will find will be ones ending at odd hours or just newly listed for low buyout price. A lot of people searching Ebay for good deals, and if an item for some reason is not getting bid on or bought that has been there for awhile there might be a good reason why.

Now I try sticking to razors that just need some mothers polish and a good honing.

Good advice, I will try to follow. At this point though I just need a few razors to butcher while I learn how to do what so many on here make look easy. :)

Major hone wear, pitting at or near the edge, cracks in the blade or scales, chips blades or scales. So these are a few things to watch for. Cracks can be very difficult to see especially with half the poor pictures on eBay. Pitting is another that can be difficult to see or identify how bad it is. Making sure that a small chip doesn't lead right to a major crack. How much work you want to take on is up to you. If it doesn't bother you making scales then there you go one non issue. If lots of hand sanding doesn't bother you, another non issue. How well can you hone? Are you willing to and do you have the skills and equipment to correct honing issues or blades issues?
These are what I look at when buying a razor. Are you going to keep it or move it after you are done?
If you are having trouble deciding on a certain razor ask, we can't do value but we will give honest opinions on what to pass on or what issues we see.
Best of luck

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Originally Posted by ejmolitor37

Major hone wear, pitting at or near the edge, cracks in the blade or scales, chips blades or scales. So these are a few things to watch for. Cracks can be very difficult to see especially with half the poor pictures on eBay. Pitting is another that can be difficult to see or identify how bad it is. Making sure that a small chip doesn't lead right to a major crack. How much work you want to take on is up to you. If it doesn't bother you making scales then there you go one non issue. If lots of hand sanding doesn't bother you, another non issue. How well can you hone? Are you willing to and do you have the skills and equipment to correct honing issues or blades issues?
These are what I look at when buying a razor. Are you going to keep it or move it after you are done?
If you are having trouble deciding on a certain razor ask, we can't do value but we will give honest opinions on what to pass on or what issues we see.
Best of luck

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He's right on all accounts. One other thing I have bid on razors on the bay knowing the blade was toast. It was the scales I wanted. Some times when you get a razor off the bay the blade will be OK to restore but in the process the scales will get ruined. I've not restored as many as most folks on the Place but I've been quite lucky. It was with all the advise from these guys that I've come as far with restoring and honing so they are ready and willing to help.

There are a few factors that effect value. The two most significant of those are brand and condition. Look at razors from known areas of manufacture, as in Sheffield, Germany, USA, Spain, Sweden and France. Look for limited wear, not chipping at the edge, and significant rust, also you can add broken scales. Very good razors that have limited value are those from Barber supply companies, and many of the US made razors. Also razors marked SRD or Droescher. They all tend to be top shelf razors with unknown or little known makers. I have had several S.R. Droescher razor and none of them disappointed me. Full hollow razors can be tricky to restore and require a little bit of experience to decide how much is too much. I started with blades that were, under the surface near mint and required merely a thorough and deep cleaning. I have read here many times, rush a restore and ruin a blade.

Lots of factors drive the market, and submarkets, most of which have already been mentioned. Some razors are just desirable for whatever reasons. For example, larger blades coming in at an 1" or larger, especially old Sheffield blades, drive high prices--in general! So, if you see a 1" Wade & Butcher FBU or Celebrated that's at or near the end of auction, and nobody has bid upon it, then that's a red flag that something is majorly wrong with it--so much so that it should be obvious from the photos because nobody is even taking a chance on it!

Region, brand, shape, size, grind all come into play. If you're looking at getting into restoration, just take the plunge--I did, the water's fine! I wouldn't drop $100s of dollars on your first blade because you will have some nominal costs for basic restoration supplies (I don't count hones as part of that--those aren't a nominal expense).

Zero in on what types of razors you like and then "watch" the auctions on ebay. When the auctions end, you then have a watch list and can get a pretty decent feel for what similar razors will potentially sell for the next time one comes up. I watch a lot of auctions on Sheffield blades so that I have an idea of what certain brands, grinds, sizes will go for--then when one comes around that I want to bid upon, I have references.