Critique my straight razor finds

[nowsharing]

Before coming to my senses and ordering a shave-ready Gold Dollar from buca3152, I had already won two ebay razors that may or may not have been a good idea.

The first was a Randall Hall & Co. Germany "Concave Ground English Steel" for $12.50. Here is the auction.

That's just a fiber sticking up in the last pic, and the seller clarified that it's not a chip.

 

[nowsharing]

The second is a bit shadier looking, and maybe even has a broken tip. I'm not sure what I was thinking exactly, but the seller accepted my low-ball offer of $8 including shipping:

Wester Stone Co. 2043 from Solingen, Germany. Here's the auction.


I also have a yellow Belgian Coticule Hone from TSS ordered, along with a Guangxi slurry stone from ebay, and a beautiful old Illinois strop to restore.

So what have I gotten myself into?

 

[smalltank]

well...that 2nd razor with that chipped edge is gonna need some dremel work to get that out..you could have it as a round point or shorten it at the chipped point

 

[nowsharing]

That's a great suggestion, thanks. I have a dremel, so a rounded tip could be doable. It's such a blurry picture that I'm really regretting having purchased that one. I'm also anticipating a crack on the front of the Randall Hall just below the R in "ground".

 

[oakeshott]

Well, if there is a crack in the Randall Hall where you suspect, then the blade is toast. The effort to repair it is not worth what you would get. If there is no crack, however, then I think you got a fine deal on that. The scales alone are worth the price you paid.

the second one should give you a nice shorty.

I didn't look at most of the ebay razors I bought very early on in terms of whether they were good deals, but rather in terms of what they could teach me. Restoring old razors with problems means you will be tearing down razors and seeing what makes them unique. You learn how to salvage otherwise excellent blades with creative dremel work or rescue great scales when a blade dies. Then there is learning how to get a great polish or an ok polish when you want to keep an etching.

you spent 20.50 and my guess is you've got more than a few hours worth of education waiting in those two razors. Money well spent.

 

[silver]

The first razor looks more like it has a chip, not a crack. It can hone out, but you would be left with a pretty small razor.

 

[Drybonz]

It's such a blurry picture that I'm really regretting having purchased that one.

You only lost $8, so it's a cheap lesson learned. Don't worry about it. If they look like they have chips (other than micro chips in the edge that can be honed out - very small) or a crack, just leave them laying. You will be surprised how many of them you can find in the wild and many of them are beaters... just leave them there and save your money for that good find you are gonna stumble upon sooner or later.

 

[Slash McCoy]

You got 'em. You paid your money. Don't let buyer's remorse creep in. Just get to work on them. Both will give you experience and will be fun projects, win or lose.

 

[Legion]

It's not like you broke the bank. Take the bull by the horns, make them work or kill them trying.

 

[oakeshott]

You got 'em. You paid your money. Don't let buyer's remorse creep in. Just get to work on them. Both will give you experience and will be fun projects, win or lose.

It's not like you broke the bank. Take the bull by the horns, make them work or kill them trying.

These guys said what I was trying to say, but better, quicker and clearer.

 

[nowsharing]

Thanks for the encouragement! I'm feeling good about these again, and have the tools coming to make or break them.

To set the bevels, I have a Smith's 1000 ceramic stone, to be followed by a yellow Belgian coticule from TSS for honing. I'm not sure where/if a barber's stone would fit, but I also won a set that included a Franz Swaty and a Boss Barber (and a small Carborundum, probably not for razors)--all chipped but flat surfaced.


And an Illinois strop.

The old razors should make good practice subjects for my first foray into straight razor restoration, even if they don't end up touching my face.