Thread: W&B Celebrated

I received two boxes in the mail today, both eBay purchases. One is a nice Torrey, and the other contained a Henkels and a big Celebrated W&B. I knew the Henkels had a nice chunk out of the toe, but the W&B looked good, and it does indeed look good until you notice the nice 1/4" hairline crack near the heel. The crack wasn't mentioned in the auction, and while I can see it now that I'm looking for it in the photo, my inexperienced eye didn't see it when I bid on it. Another lesson in caveat emptor.

I think I already know the answer to this question, but is there any earthly way to fix it, or is it just a pretty piece of junk?

If the seller didn't mention it I would get my money back! On the other hand you could have one of the blade smiths here at SRP artfully grind the heel and clean her up to a usable state!

If you can't get your money back, I think I could grind past the crack and then regrind the blade. You'd lose the etching but save the razor. You might end up with a decent 6/8.

I might require you to sign some kind of waiver before I start, though, as that crack could continue upward.

The other thing I do with cracked blades is fun, too--I break 'em with my hammer. You can learn a lot about the steel from observing the grain in a fresh break.

Josh

If you are going to keep it for yourselfand not try to sell it,I would just do a normal rework,and not pay any attention to the crack.It should hone up ok,and will shave fine.As mentioned you will have to grind the engraving out to get to clean enough material to polish to mirror finish if you want.I think you can make a nice razor out of it.I gave a razor with an almost identical crack to a member here,after reworking it,he says it is a great shaver,and doesnt even notice the crack..........I dont think it would be right to resell it.Best regards gary

Thanks, gentlemen. After sleeping on it, I think I'll take off the rust, try to hone it and make it into a shaver for myself. I did originally intend to perhaps clean it up, re-scale it and sell it, but I wouldn't do so with the crack in it.

Unfortunately, the auction was as-is, so no returns. I like the etching, so I doubt I'd go to all the work to get it to an EELL polish...I'm doing hand work anyway. I paid $22 for both of the razors, and I can use them both to learn on. My first attempt will likely look like chicken scratch anyway.

Thanks again...I very much appreciate the feedback.

Kind regards,
Trent

Trent - that's some bad luck. Another for the already thick "Horrors of Ebay" file.