Guidance needed on shopping for straights

[Must Dash]

Oh man, not rain on this parade but a Taylor "Witness" for $30 USD ummmm yeah you "might" have missed out... Also the King Cutter yer going to use for practice, yeah that might be a waste of one of the smoothest shaving razors made.... There are many unknown brands, out there look for Sheffield steel or Solingen steel, look for little to no wear make sure the edge is straight and even and keep the price under $25-30 and you should be pretty safe.....I am assuming that if you guys are antiquing that you have the abilities to restore and hone these up?????
Because if not yer wasting time and money.... This of course is JMHO

Welcome to the dark side.....

Thanks. There was a bowl-full of those Taylor's so I should be able to pick up one or two without a problem. Not sure how I tell if it's a Taylor 'Witness' as the only words legible are 'Sheffield' and 'Made in England'.

From a brief Google search, there is a George H Taylor & Brother, Taylor Bros, & Taylor Witness (Needham Veall (Veal) & Tyzack).

Any clues?

Cheers


Jeremy

 

[jlander]

Took me a while longer than expected but I finally made it out to the shop that Milbink found in Berrima. Unfortunately, Milbink had better luck there than I did; he scored a beautiful Aristocrat in a fine-looking metal case.

The shop has a fair number of straights, but nothing that really seemed worth buying - probably because they all had cheap, flimsy, plastic scales. They also had a bowl full of straights that look like they have never been used. Most have a little bit of rust along the spine, but other than that they are ok - and seem to be in their original oil paper wrapper and box. Hard to tell the brand name. The words 'Sheffield' and 'Made in England' are clear. The brand seems to be Taylor or Tailor or something along those lines. Price is $32 (roughly $30 US). I already have a Boker King Cutter than my son bought in Canada for $15 that I intend to use for stropping practice, so I couldn't see the point of buying something else along the same lines. Hope I haven't passed up something worthwhile.

Not wanting to leave empty-handed, I ended up buying an overpriced Rolls Razor in a leather case.

Cheers

Jeremy

Jeremy, I am crying at the moment. The Taylor Eyewitness is my favorite vintage razor. I have 4 and am always on the look out for them on the web. All cost me more than the $30.

The Boker is an extremely well thought of brand. I have a King Cutter that is a very good shaver.

 

[jlander]

Thanks. There was a bowl-full of those Taylor's so I should be able to pick up one or two without a problem. Not sure how I tell if it's a Taylor 'Witness' as the only words legible are 'Sheffield' and 'Made in England'.

From a brief Google search, there is a George H Taylor & Brother, Taylor Bros, & Taylor Witness (Needham Veall (Veal) & Tyzack).

Any clues?

Cheers


Jeremy

Don't know which manu. but look for an eye on the tang between the scales and the shoulder.

 

[Must Dash]

Don't know which manu. but look for an eye on the tang between the scales and the shoulder.

Time to stop crying. I don't recall seeing an eye anywhere on the razor. I had borrowed a magnifying glass from the lady working there to try to decipher the name and I checked every millimeter of the razor.

Cheers

Jeremy

 

[kestrel]

MustDash

Don't sell the Boker King Cutter short. I have three of them and they are all excellent shavers.

Best Regards

Graham

 

[Must Dash]

MustDash

Don't sell the Boker King Cutter short. I have three of them and they are all excellent shavers.

Best Regards

Graham

Thanks. I'll definitely hold on to it. The only thing I have at the moment vaguely resembling a plan is to accumulate a few razors, post pics here to get opinions on which are worth keeping, and send them out to be honed.

Cheers

Jeremy

 

[kestrel]

MustDash

One thing I would advise you to do is hang on to all the razors you buy for the first year or so. I very nearly got rid of a Wade, Witherspoon & Rowbothom that was an enormous disappointment when I first bought it. I tossed it in a drawer for a few months instead, and when I got a little more skilled, it emerged as my hands-down favourite razor.

Best Regards

Graham

 

[Must Dash]

MustDash

One thing I would advise you to do is hang on to all the razors you buy for the first year or so. I very nearly got rid of a Wade, Witherspoon & Rowbothom that was an enormous disappointment when I first bought it. I tossed it in a drawer for a few months instead, and when I got a little more skilled, it emerged as my hands-down favourite razor.

Best Regards

Graham

Thanks Graham

Hang on I shall. I've already learned that with DEs. There are a couple of razors that I thought I would never use again that have since become regular visitors to my face.

Cheers


Jeremy