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My First Vintage SR - by George Buttler & Co

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
Just pulled the pin on a George Buttler "Shakespeare" SR, listed on eBay AU. The vendor couldn't tell me much about this SR so all I really have to go on is the pics of the actual item supplied by the vendor.
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The blade appears to be in good condition and the scales could even be of ivory.

George Buttler SR's seem to sell for between about USD 20 to USD 200 or more depending on condition and scales material so my purchase price of a little under USD 80 plus USD 8 shipping appears reasonable. I have a couple of weeks to wait for delivery and then I'll see what I actually get. Might be interesting.

As most classic scholars here would know, the Shakespearean quote of the blade face comes from Love's Labour's Lost, Act 4, Screen II where Boyet says "The tongues of mocking wenches are as keen as is the razor's edge invisible, ....".
 
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Nice!

I have a pair of George Butlers, and I do enjoy shaving with them.

Before cleaning -

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They came to me in what seemed to be NOS, but neglected so I had to take them apart and polish them both to get rid of some active rust on the pins.

After cleaning -

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Here is a link with some info about George Butler.

STRAZORS.com - all about classic razors - George Butler & Co., Sheffield.

When you read it you will see that razors made with the ART mark were made sometime between 1861 and 1882.
 

Steve56

Ask me about shaving naked!
It could very well be ivory, if there are no collars on the pins, almost certainly.

Congrats on a nice find. Bengall made a razor with the same etch.
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
Thank you to all of the first-respoders above.

It is interesting reading up on these George Butler (not Buttler) SR's. That must be one of the joys of having a vintage SR.

So far I have learnt that my SR was probably made in the late 1800's. They were very popular and there are many still available in varying degrees of condition. They were so popular that even some imitations were made by others. Most were supplied in typical cardboard coffins, however the better ones came in a timber box.

I probably paid a bit much for this razor but life is a learning curve. I now have a week or two of dreaming about my first vintage SR.
 
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rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
Those scales are ivory, I’m 90% sure, even with those pics.

You are lucky I didn’t see that local listing first, I probably would have jumped on it.
I have been checking eBay AU for SR's every day or two over the past couple of months (while detained in AU against my desires). This was listed for auction but I didn't see it until there was just about a day to go. That didn't give me a lot of time to check what a reasonable price would be nor much on the quality of the brand/model.

With about 30 minutes to go, I decided to bite the bullet and bid at the vendor's initial price. If someone had out bid me, I was going to let them have it. Now all I have to see is if my rash decision was worth it. If the scales are ivory and the blade is in very good condition, I consider it a winner.
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
I have chatted with the vendor. He started SR shaving about 4 years ago with a new Thiers Issard and soon after purchased the Butler from a chap in the US. Soon after he went back to DE shaving and his SR's have just been gathering dust.

The blade is 6/8 and he has never honed it, just stropped before about the four times that he has shaved with it.

His lose will hopefully be my gain.
 
This will be interesting. I suspect the Gold Dollar will win the day but let’s wait and see. It should be a good contest.
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
This will be interesting. I suspect the Gold Dollar will win the day but let’s wait and see. It should be a good contest.
I don't understand. Please explain. A Gold Dollar is not even in the ballpark.
 
Not in the same ball park? Says who? You’ve been branching out a bit recently with natural hones, soaps and strops but have struggled to find anything that performs objectively better than your existing setup. It will be interesting to see what you make of the vintage steel. I’m not certain that you will necessarily share the widely held view that it shaves any better. You tend to experiment and make up your own mind rather than follow the opinions of the crowd. I’m not convinced that we will necessarily see an upset of the Gold Dollars and Titans here. Time will tell.
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
Not in the same ball park? Says who? You’ve been branching out a bit recently with natural hones, soaps and strops but have struggled to find anything that performs objectively better than your existing setup. It will be interesting to see what you make of the vintage steel. I’m not certain that you will necessarily share the widely held view that it shaves any better. You tend to experiment and make up your own mind rather than follow the opinions of the crowd. I’m not convinced that we will necessarily see an upset of the Gold Dollars and Titans here. Time will tell.
Thank you. That explains it better to me.

When I compare a SR's shave quality, I also take into consideration capital outlay for the razor.

As an example, the Revisor 6-0035 is my current best SR for shave quality. At a cost of about 50% more than the Titan ACRO T.H.70, the Revisor is nowhere near 50% better in shave quality.

My current best shave quality for cost SR is the Titan ACRM-2 T.H.60. It is definitely not close to my best shave quality SR, the Revisor.

The Gregory Butler costs me about the same as the Titan ACRO T.H.70 so it will be interesting to see if I can hone it up to a better shave quality. I will also compare it to the Revisor (costing 50% more).

I believe north Americans have a saying for this, "bang for bucks".
 
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Legion

Staff member
Thank you. That explains it better to me.

When I compare a SR's shave quality, I also take into consideration capital outlay for the razor.

As an example, the Revisor 6-0035 is my current best SR for shave quality. At a cost of about 50% more than the Titan ACRO T.H.70, the Revisor is nowhere near 50% better in shave quality.

My current best shave quality for cost SR is the Titan ACRM-2 T.H.60. It is definitely not close to my best shave quality SR, the Revisor.

The Gregory Butler costs me about the same as the Titan ACRO T.H.70 so it will be interesting to see if I can hone it up to a better shave quality. I will also compare it to the Revisor (costing 50% more).

I believe north Americans have a saying for this, "bang for bucks".
of course, there are many other factors to take into account. If I had to be honest, some of my best shaving razors are not my favourite ones. A razor can shave well and still be boring.

A razor like the one you just bought, that was antique, attractive, had ivory scales... It would only have to shave a bit better than average for me to want to use it.
 
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