Two new restores: First up, an 8/8 George Savage in some wicked blue quilted maple with an ivory wedge in CA finish:
George Savage and Thomas Tillotson Restorations by Daflorc
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Next up, an 8/8 Thomas Tillotson "Old John Bull Razor" in burled elm lined with ebony and an ivory wedge:
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And some extras:
Beautiful. Burled Elm is my favorite. Hard choice.
*drooling*....
Just curious. With these and some of the other blades you show as rare ,and some could have been valuable, do you feel the amount of buffing that removed the spines, makers marks, etches, shoulders and stabilizers doesn't in some way affect the value or collectability of some of these razors as opposed to restoring them to original type condition where the identifying marks and details are still visible?
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The value and collect-ability of a razor is determined by the market, and nothing else. Within that market, there are two camps: guys that like razors in original condition, or restored to near-original appearance, and guys that like shiny, exotic wood scaled razors. I cater to the second group. Of my restored razor pictures, most of them have been for customers, and done according to their specifications. Most of my customers contact me because they want exotic scales - I have very few who want original restores. Also, most want highly polished blades. When I'm buying razors to sell on Ebay, I acknowledge that the majority of my potential customers are new wet shavers and want a cool looking, shiny razor. Since I do this for a profit, I cater to what they want.
As far as the buffing goes - there is a point of no return, IMO. I try to take a minimalist approach, and remove as little metal as possible while still getting the razor in a presentable condition. I would rather leave a little bit of pitting than severely round out a spine. I tend to stay away from stabilizers, shoulders, and and makers marks if I can help it. There is such a thing as over-buffing. In the pictures of the razors that I have restored, if there are any makers marks or stamps that are partially missing, I guarantee you that they were already worn away before I touched them. For any razors that I buy specifically to restore and sell on Ebay, I won't even touch a razor whose makers mark is in bad condition, or if there is visible pitting in certain areas - all the money is in the quality of the stamps.
However, many of my restores are of customers' razors that have been mailed to me, and many are badly pitted and in terrible condition. I work with the customer to find out what's important to them - zero pitting and shiny with rounded out spines and worn away etchings and markings, or preservation of the integrity of the razor. Many times, you can't have both.
Man, that Old John Bull razor is pretty.. all of 'em, but those scales are super cool, and that blade is too... and the ebony lining. Sweet.
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Hey Mark,
I pretty much only work in exotic wood scales and ivory - I know what I'm good at, and if I stick with that I know I can expect success. Outside of those materials, I take advice when I find someone who has skills in those areas. You've done nice work in horn, and I can see that you know how to work with it, so I ask your advice in that arena.
I believe I contacted you about two things - one was a hand carved brush stand and brush, and the other was an intricately designed, hand carved replacement scale, or repair of the one in question. I feel that I'm pretty good at restoring old razors and making new scales for them, but I'm no carver, and recognize a person who has skills that I don't have, which is where you came in for these particular jobs.
Regarding horn scales, I would love to use more horn in my restorations (I have no objections to using it, other than I am not as skilled as I need to be to use it effectively). I didn't think I ever posed objections to it - I thought I only expressed that my experience with it has been sometimes frustrating. You've given me some very helpful advice using it and I will absolutely work on my horn scales, as this material is the most economical option to use aside from ivory if I can get it right consistently (I don't want to use G10 and plastics - only natural materials - just not my thing).
Regarding our conversation about restored razors - I think we're probably more on the same page than you think. I don't know if you sell razors on Ebay, or if you only do custom orders for people, but when I'm not doing custom restores for people, I do sell razors on Ebay. That being said, I've noticed something in the Ebay market - people will pay more money for a razor that has zero pitting and a mirror (or near mirror) finish, as long as the makers mark is intact. So, I try to cater to that. I also don't buff razors to the point where I'm destroying shoulders, stabilizers, or makers marks. From your post, it sounds like you think I do. I have to respectfully disagree. If you saw the condition that many of these razors came to me in, you'd see that I am not destroying or removing anything, really. However, when doing custom restores, I do whatever my customer wants done to the razor. It's not my razor, and if it makes them happy, that is ultimately my goal. If I tell them that getting all the pitting out of the spine and maker's mark will round out the spine and destroy the mark, and they tell me to do it anyway, I do it anyway.
As far as the heavily rusted and pitted razor that I called an extreme example - you did a fine job on that razor. If I were looking at it on Ebay, I would not have bought it, because until you take the rust off, you have no idea of what you are working with. Many times, the pitting is so deep and so close to the cutting edge that the blade is compromised. When I was talking about hollow ground razors, I believe I was talking about how, if they are heavily pitted, removing all the pitting will compromise the blade, and this is absolutely correct. You might not have run into that issue yet, but I guarantee you, if you continue to restore razors, you will eventually.
Looking at your restored razors on your website, I'm not quite sure what the dissension is - you say you won't "polish them, make them look cool, and flip them," but I see several razors on your website that have custom scales that don't look anything like the originals. You also say that you want to keep some of the integrity of the blade and won't compromise the details - are you suggesting that I am, or that I'm compromising the history and dignity of these old blades? If that is not your intent I apologize, but it seems you have some gripe with my work...
Btw, restoring razors full-time is not a career move. I started out as an English teacher, moved into publishing, and for the past year, I've been laid off. I had to pay the bills somehow, and so I took my hobby of restoring razors for myself and turned it into income. Thankfully, enough people like what I do to pay me for it, otherwise I'd be at the soup kitchen and living under a bridge.
I pretty much only work in exotic wood scales and ivory - I know what I'm good at, and if I stick with that I know I can expect success. Outside of those materials, I take advice when I find someone who has skills in those areas. You've done nice work in horn, and I can see that you know how to work with it, so I ask your advice in that arena.
I believe I contacted you about two things - one was a hand carved brush stand and brush, and the other was an intricately designed, hand carved replacement scale, or repair of the one in question. I feel that I'm pretty good at restoring old razors and making new scales for them, but I'm no carver, and recognize a person who has skills that I don't have, which is where you came in for these particular jobs.
Regarding horn scales, I would love to use more horn in my restorations (I have no objections to using it, other than I am not as skilled as I need to be to use it effectively). I didn't think I ever posed objections to it - I thought I only expressed that my experience with it has been sometimes frustrating. You've given me some very helpful advice using it and I will absolutely work on my horn scales, as this material is the most economical option to use aside from ivory if I can get it right consistently (I don't want to use G10 and plastics - only natural materials - just not my thing).
Regarding our conversation about restored razors - I think we're probably more on the same page than you think. I don't know if you sell razors on Ebay, or if you only do custom orders for people, but when I'm not doing custom restores for people, I do sell razors on Ebay. That being said, I've noticed something in the Ebay market - people will pay more money for a razor that has zero pitting and a mirror (or near mirror) finish, as long as the makers mark is intact. So, I try to cater to that. I also don't buff razors to the point where I'm destroying shoulders, stabilizers, or makers marks. From your post, it sounds like you think I do. I have to respectfully disagree. If you saw the condition that many of these razors came to me in, you'd see that I am not destroying or removing anything, really. However, when doing custom restores, I do whatever my customer wants done to the razor. It's not my razor, and if it makes them happy, that is ultimately my goal. If I tell them that getting all the pitting out of the spine and maker's mark will round out the spine and destroy the mark, and they tell me to do it anyway, I do it anyway.
As far as the heavily rusted and pitted razor that I called an extreme example - you did a fine job on that razor. If I were looking at it on Ebay, I would not have bought it, because until you take the rust off, you have no idea of what you are working with. Many times, the pitting is so deep and so close to the cutting edge that the blade is compromised. When I was talking about hollow ground razors, I believe I was talking about how, if they are heavily pitted, removing all the pitting will compromise the blade, and this is absolutely correct. You might not have run into that issue yet, but I guarantee you, if you continue to restore razors, you will eventually.
Looking at your restored razors on your website, I'm not quite sure what the dissension is - you say you won't "polish them, make them look cool, and flip them," but I see several razors on your website that have custom scales that don't look anything like the originals. You also say that you want to keep some of the integrity of the blade and won't compromise the details - are you suggesting that I am, or that I'm compromising the history and dignity of these old blades? If that is not your intent I apologize, but it seems you have some gripe with my work...
Btw, restoring razors full-time is not a career move. I started out as an English teacher, moved into publishing, and for the past year, I've been laid off. I had to pay the bills somehow, and so I took my hobby of restoring razors for myself and turned it into income. Thankfully, enough people like what I do to pay me for it, otherwise I'd be at the soup kitchen and living under a bridge.
OK,,,good to know.
I haven't bought from ebay in 2 yrs. Never sold a thing there. Have only ever sold one of my razors as I do custom work.
I like to think my work stands on it's own merits.
You'll make a fine vendor I'm sure.
I haven't bought from ebay in 2 yrs. Never sold a thing there. Have only ever sold one of my razors as I do custom work.
I like to think my work stands on it's own merits.
You'll make a fine vendor I'm sure.
