how do I buy an antique razor?

function · Post by **function** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 3:34 pm

Gentemen -

This may belong in SMFU, but it is related to a straight.

I stumbled across a CMON razor in what looks to me to be very good shape. Scales are a translucent yellow and are barely scratched or nicked, edge, tang and shaft are in good shape, just a little dirty but not dull. There is a touch of rust in two spots, one on an edge and one near the lettering on what I would call the shaft.

Is the rust a dealbreaker?

The razor is inexpensive enough that I could send it to a honemeister as I have seen them called and still pay a price I would call cheap.

Thoughts, comments and advice would be great.

thanks in advance

KAV · Post by **KAV** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 3:50 pm

Buying ANY antique or vintage item requires a LOT of knowledge and current market values. That's how those people on the Antique Roadshow
make a living.
For this one you need such an opinion. Using and collecting vintage items are two different birds.
I once bought a german Luger for a song. The barrel rifling was pitted and few of the parts numbers matched. What I didn't explain to the seller was 1. collectors dont care about barrels. They are ALL pitted from corrosive ammo 2. Most military lugers are mismatched because the state arsenals simply refurbished them in groups and mixed parts 3. That really funny headstamp on the toggle was a Bulgarian police insignia and worth a small fortune compared to your bread and butter ERFURT PO 8.

notthesharpest · Post by **notthesharpest** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 3:55 pm

You're talking about a razor to use, on sale for a good price, not an "antique antique" for show, right?

I think superficial rust on the lettering would just be buffed out and is probably no big deal. (Assuming that it is superficial.)

The rust on the edge is IMO the part to pay attention to. All of that edge rust will have to be honed away, and the rest of the edge honed away to match, since of course you can't shave if your razor has a nick in the edge where the rust used to be. So the issue comes down (I think) to how deep into the edge does that rust go.

function · Post by **function** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 4:02 pm

notthesharpest wrote:You're talking about a razor to use, on sale for a good price, not an "antique antique" for show, right?

I think superficial rust on the lettering would just be buffed out and is probably no big deal. (Assuming that it is superficial.)

The rust on the edge is IMO the part to pay attention to. All of that edge rust will have to be honed away, and the rest of the edge honed away to match, since of course you can't shave if your razor has a nick in the edge where the rust used to be. So the issue comes down (I think) to how deep into the edge does that rust go.

It will be a user. I don't want to invest too heavily to start when I decide to start, and there is always the chance of finding a good blade in a random store.

I'll have to take a look at the razor again.

thanks

notthesharpest · Post by **notthesharpest** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 4:17 pm

function wrote:It will be a user. I don't want to invest too heavily to start when I decide to start, and there is always the chance of finding a good blade in a random store.

I'll have to take a look at the razor again.

Sounds good. But before you buy or don't buy, do me a favour and get a second opinion from somebody who knows what he's doing.

SiR-ed8 · Post by **SiR-ed8** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 5:44 pm

function wrote:Gentemen -

This may belong in SMFU, but it is related to a straight.

I stumbled across a CMON razor in what looks to me to be very good shape. Scales are a translucent yellow and are barely scratched or nicked, edge, tang and shaft are in good shape, just a little dirty but not dull. There is a touch of rust in two spots, one on an edge and one near the lettering on what I would call the shaft.

Is the rust a dealbreaker?

The razor is inexpensive enough that I could send it to a honemeister as I have seen them called and still pay a price I would call cheap.

Thoughts, comments and advice would be great.

thanks in advance

Nick,

Not speaking as an expert but merely on my experience. After sanding few razors rust isn't a deal breaker. Often times the pitting is not so deep that it ate away the etching of the blade or what have you.

Oxidation can easily be countered with MAAS or Mother's turtlewax and what not. Sometimes what cloth cannot remove one must use handy dremel or belt sander. Not all blades are like this and very much like the razor you describe. As such sandpaper or wet/dry sandpaper is utilized to combat such rusty condition.

Check this out:

Video: Straight Razor Restoration: Start to Finish

I'm glad Brad actually started offering the DVD at such a reasonable price to boot!

Here's the SR forum

I'd post some links but nearly every thread is a restore by Brad. Just click on "Undream" handle. He includes both "Before" and "After" shots.

Brad's site
http://www.straightrazoredge.com/

SiR-ed8 · Post by **SiR-ed8** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 5:47 pm

There are guys like Max and Glen with great works as well.

matt321 · Post by **matt321** » Thu Jul 08, 2010 7:31 pm

+1 with above.

That's a good brand so it should shave well if it is not corroded beyond repair. The deal killer is if the blade edge is so badly corroded or chipped that it can't be sharpened without grinding away too much of the blade. You can check on ebay to get a feel for price by looking at comparable auctions.

There are two ways to proceed if you decide to buy. One is to send it off for full restoration so that it comes back looking brand spanking new. The other option is to just clean off the dirt, tarnish, and loose corrosion with metal polish and then have it honed up for use.

function · Post by **function** » Fri Jul 09, 2010 4:12 am

The razor is $12, and aside from the rust, the metal looks fantastic. Still shiny, no other corrosion or pitting. Scales only had slight dark spots on the edges, not the body.

It is very similar to this guy just not frighteningly overpriced, and aside from the spots of rust the metal looks better, as d the scales.

notthesharpest · Post by **notthesharpest** » Fri Jul 09, 2010 7:34 am

For $12 you are not going to go wrong. Find somebody to fix it up for you. Absolute worst, you send it to him and he says "This razor is no good, let's throw it out", and your $12 is gone. I HIGHLY doubt that would happen. Best case, you got an excellent razor for $12 plus the cost of a little work.

Janus · Post by **Janus** » Fri Jul 09, 2010 10:20 am

I know absolutely nothing about straight razors and I'm not contemplating on buying one, but there seems to be quite a lot of NOS straights available online. Sometimes in places where you wouldn't necessarily expect to find any, like on this soapmaker's site (scroll down for the NOS item):

http://www.olivia-seife.de/shop/hwherre ... esser.html

Just thought I'd mention, maybe some of you guys are interested. I've seen a lot of similar stuff lately while browsing for shaving gear on the net.

SiR-ed8 · Post by **SiR-ed8** » Fri Jul 09, 2010 10:32 pm

function wrote:The razor is $12, and aside from the rust, the metal looks fantastic. Still shiny, no other corrosion or pitting. Scales only had slight dark spots on the edges, not the body.

It is very similar to this guy just not frighteningly overpriced, and aside from the spots of rust the metal looks better, as d the scales.

Nick,

Pictures are precarious at best and one can only hope the seller posts clear ones instead of using flash so as to hide certain flaws in blade. But if yours is similar to that, you sir have a hell of a steal!

The shank has some light pitting which isn't bad really. Think of it as battle scar and I think it gives it character. Ones that are problematic are usually by pivot because to rid of the rust you'll have to de-pin the razor carefully enough so that you don't scratch up the scales. There are many ways to go about this.

As far as the blade itself, that has oxidation which can be combated with MAAS and what not.

Square Point's really nice it's one of my faves along with Barber's notch ( if i can ever get one before it hits 300-500 mark

SiR-ed8 · Post by **SiR-ed8** » Fri Jul 09, 2010 10:35 pm

notthesharpest wrote:For $12 you are not going to go wrong. Find somebody to fix it up for you. Absolute worst, you send it to him and he says "This razor is no good, let's throw it out", and your $12 is gone. I HIGHLY doubt that would happen. Best case, you got an excellent razor for $12 plus the cost of a little work.

Absolutely mate! So long as there's no significant damage to the blade ie cracks and what not it should be fine.

Nick have you gone to Brad's site? There's a section there to upload your pictures and he'll be able to assess it for you. Best of luck my friend.

function · Post by **function** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 12:13 pm

so . . . . .

I went back to the dealer that had the CMON, driving 20miles out of my way, to fine he was closed and wouldn't be back for a few days. Personally I may not be in that town again as long as I live(if anybody wants it, PM me and I'll tell you where to look).

On a whim I stopped by another antique dealer that is never open when I am near it, this one closer to my place.

They have 2 razors, a Superspeed that is a little dull and hardly used and - please don't hate me for my luck - a DublDuck that has no signs of use. No wear, just a little discoloration on the gold decoration on the scales, mother of pearl scales only slightly yellowed, and blade in even better shape than the CMON. No box, it was in original waxpaper envelope. No ornate etching like some of the razors I see every so often, but beautiful nonetheless.

Pics to come soon.

SiR-ed8 · Post by **SiR-ed8** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 12:19 pm

Dubl Duck razors go for well over 200-300 at auction.

function · Post by **function** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 12:23 pm

SiR-ed8 wrote:Dubl Duck razors go for well over 200-300 at auction.

Ugh. Now I'll feel terrible if I screw it up.

SiR-ed8 · Post by **SiR-ed8** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 12:38 pm

Don't be. Just glad you got one in that condition mine was ~$50 and had crack at the pivot. Since then every Dubl I attempted to get went over the aforementioned prices and I didn't think it was worth buying.

May you have many great shaves with it!

notthesharpest · Post by **notthesharpest** » Thu Jul 22, 2010 2:08 pm

function wrote:
SiR-ed8 wrote:Dubl Duck razors go for well over 200-300 at auction.
Ugh. Now I'll feel terrible if I screw it up.

I don't know your previous level of experience with razor care, but certainly you can buy a cheap razor in worn condition to practice on if you feel you could use that. As long as your practice razor is made of decent steel and isn't broken, it should be good enough. (No ZeePK or other non-hone-able junk, because with poor steel like that, you can't tell the difference between success & failure.)

function · Post by **function** » Sat Jul 24, 2010 5:58 am

Looks pretty darn good to me, can I get some thoughts from experienced eyes?

SiR-ed8 · Post by **SiR-ed8** » Sat Jul 24, 2010 6:07 am

Nick,

I could be wrong but the it looks like it's been re-pinned at the pivot as well as centre pin. Otherwise, love that square point. It doesn't even look like there's factory hone wear based on pics. The spine's perfect.

BTW if you look at back side of the scale non-Goldedge stamp and check the pivot you'll see there's small peen indentation. Not a big deal. I'd love to own a clean one like that.

There are known to be phonies out there ( not sure if it's Dubl Ducks though ) but definitely Solingen blades for sure.

how do I buy an antique razor?

how do I buy an antique razor?

Re: how do I buy an antique razor?