Hello everyone,

I'm slightly new to straight razors. I have been using them for about a 1 straight (technically 4 but I grew a full beard for 3 of those years). I have a few I use, mostly some that I found and restored to shave ready while one I purchased from Dovo the Bismarck from Solingen (a beautiful razor and I love shaving with it the most), however I didn't do proper research before I used it and left water on it and it got some patina marks, pretty annoying with the money I spent on it but hey can't change that without serious restoring.

Anyway, I really want a Thiers-Issard. I hear they are amazing blades but I really can't afford a new one so I was going to find one I could restore. I found a Dandy and several other cheaper ones between $50-$80. I was wondering what people in the shaving community would think if I bought TI and restored it completely with new scales. I think the older ones you find for a great deal are hideous with plastic scales and such so I would find some nice wood scales. Just wanting some opinions.

Would you ever change the scales of an old razor you restored? Do you care more about genuineness or design?