Impulse Buy. Worth Doing Anything With?

[Jooky]

Ok, so I was in a local antique store today looking through books when I found a straight razor. It is a J.A. Henckels, about a 5/8 I think. I paid $10.00 for it. From looking at the pictures could anyone tell me if it is worth sending out to someone to work on it? I really don't know anything else about it, I simply bought it because it was there and I have spent far too much time on these forums lately.

I will say that the scales are pretty scratched up, and it seems that the front of the blade ends up hitting the wedge nearly every time the razor is closed. If it is worth working on I would like to have someone hone it and get it shave ready and eventually I would like to have the scales replaced.

 

[Sticky]

Hard to tell from a picture, but it looks good from what I can see. Send it out to get an estimate. That brand is a good one.

 

[mainaman]

Blade seems to be in good condition in the edge area, as much as the pics show.
I just honed one of those and test shaved, its just great shaver. I had a spike Dovo Ebony handle that was very similar blade and this Henkels beats the Dovo hands down.

 

[rickboone1]

Nice find for $10. Heck, I'll give you $12.

Send it out to a honemeister stat and get it shave ready.

 

[leighton]

Whats wrong with it? Just needs some time on my buffing wheel to look like new.

 

[Jooky]

Whats wrong with it? Just needs some time on my buffing wheel to look like new.

Ok, a complete disclosure of everything I can find wrong with it.

1. Dull. It might cut my finger but it is not going to cut my whiskers.
2. The nose of the blade rubs on the wedge when it closes.
3. The pins are loose.
4. There is some rust on the jimps.
5. There is some rust on the underside of the tang where it pivots on the pin.
6 The scales are pretty scratched up.
7. It does not have real ivory or mother of pearl scales.
8. I don't know if its just me, or the way the blade was made, or the way the blade looks now, but to me it looks like it has a bit of a smile. This was what made me talk to the store owner down from $12 for it.

Seriously that's all that *I* can find wrong with it. I didn't know if there were any other defects that some of the experts on here could pick up on that I am just too inexperienced to notice or know about. I mean hell, I do not even know how old this razor is. I tried looking at some Henckles logos to get an idea for a date, but I am just not sure.

 

[leighton]

Ok, a complete disclosure of everything I can find wrong with it.

1. Dull. It might cut my finger but it is not going to cut my whiskers.
All razors go dull eventually.
2. The nose of the blade rubs on the wedge when it closes.
Problem, but fixable in most situations.
3. The pins are loose.
4oz jewelry hammer or spoon and patience will take care of that.
4. There is some rust on the jimps.
Dremel can blast that away quickly or elbow grease will work
5. There is some rust on the underside of the tang where it pivots on the pin.
Happens. Same solution as above.
6 The scales are pretty scratched up.
Buffing wheel comment above
7. It does not have real ivory or mother of pearl scales.
8. I don't know if its just me, or the way the blade was made, or the way the blade looks now, but to me it looks like it has a bit of a smile. This was what made me talk to the store owner down from $12 for it.
Smile is highly desireable to some straight users. For others, its just different. It is in no way a defect.

Seriously, for $12, you practically stole it. Send it off to someone for a restore. Well worth the money. Or you can save some cash and do it yourself.

And if you can live with those defects, you can just get it honed and get to shaving!

 

[mparker762]

1. Dull. It might cut my finger but it is not going to cut my whiskers.

That's why God invented honemeisters. Fix this problem last.

2. The nose of the blade rubs on the wedge when it closes.

Can be fixed, but you need to depin the wedge and remove some material. This isn't too uncommon on old razors, and I think it's due to the plastic scales shrinking over the years. This is a good idea since the other problems are easily fixable when the razor is apart.

3. The pins are loose.

Use a small ball-peen hammer to tap the pins against a hard surface until they're tighter. Be very gentle and take your time or you'll bend the pins and it won't close right at all, and you'll have to completely repin it. Which you
might want to do anyway given the wedge issue.

4. There is some rust on the jimps.

A wire brush will fix that - the dremel wire wheel is my weapon of choice.

5. There is some rust on the underside of the tang where it pivots on the pin.

You might want to go ahead and depin the entire razor, so you can clean all these things up all at once. This isn't hard to do, you need to drill out the head of the pins and everything comes apart. Classic Shaving sells replacement pins for a few cents, check their restoration section. They're easy to replace, you need a small drill to cut out the old pin, dremel cutting wheel or fine hacksaw blade (to shorten the pins to the correct length), small ball peen hammer (to mushroom the head again).

6 The scales are pretty scratched up.

The dremel cloth buffing wheel and a bit of brasso will solve this nicely in a matter of seconds. A small bit of scrap cloth, brasso, and elbow grease will solve it as well given a bit more time.

8. I don't know if its just me, or the way the blade was made, or the way the blade looks now, but to me it looks like it has a bit of a smile. This was what made me talk to the store owner down from $12 for it.

Some blades are made this way, and have a curved spine that exactly matches the curvature of the edge. Absent this (e.g. yours) then a smiling blade is definitely a defect. However, it is frequently considered a desirable defect, since smiling blades are somewhat easier to shave with. The reason it would still be considered a defect on your razor is that it wasn't manufactured that way, and the mismatch between the curvature of the edge and the curvature of the spine makes it a bit more difficult to hone.

Four years ago I would have said you got taken, but four years ago you could still get NOS razors at that price (I've still got a mint Heljestrand with ivory scales that I snagged for $15 shipped). In today's market I'd say you robbed him blind.

Henckels are very desirable shavers.

 

[ambrose]

Nice shaver

 

[Blaine]

Nice find for $10. Heck, I'll give you $12.

Send it out to a honemeister stat and get it shave ready.

Will pay $12.01 for CONUS shave ready.


Seriously though, I'm guessing a $14 hone later you're going to have a razor you could easily sell for $50-$60 without even trying. Maybe more. Maybe much more.

Hell, you could probably throw it up as-is and get $25 for it on the BST.

"Worth doing anything" is up to you. I don't imagine it's a losing situation for you in any way.

 

[Jooky]

Will pay $12.01 for CONUS shave ready.


Seriously though, I'm guessing a $14 hone later you're going to have a razor you could easily sell for $50-$60 without even trying. Maybe more. Maybe much more.

Hell, you could probably throw it up as-is and get $25 for it on the BST.

"Worth doing anything" is up to you. I don't imagine it's a losing situation for you in any way.

From what has been said and suggested here, I am going to keep it. It seems that all it needs is a good hone. I have already re-tapped the loose pin and it tightened right up. Eventually I would like to have the scales replaced on it. While I would love some mother of pearl or pre-ban ivory scales for it that might have to wait a while. Of course I found this one the day after I ordered one of the Gold Dollar combos from Ruprazor! Had I known this was going to happen I would have just ordered the strop.

Even during the best of times I am not one to drop a lot of money on stuff, so it is doubtful that I will ever own a high end new or custom straight, but if I can save a little cash here and there I will send this one to somebody to do the work I want done and hopefully end up with something really nice.

 

[Cedrck]

Ok, so I was in a local antique store today looking through books when I found a straight razor. It is a J.A. Henckels, ...........

I would be curious, why the razor was hidden in a book....

Seriously though, it's a good razor, don't worry about the smile, straights shave better with a smile.
The blade can be cleaned up easily... of course it's better to de-pin first..

 

[danjared]

It looks to me to be in horrible condition. Good thing you only spent $10. Send it to me for proper disposal.

 

[Jooky]

It looks to me to be in horrible condition. Good thing you only spent $10. Send it to me for proper disposal.

You are too late. Now if only you had been the first person to comment who knows what might have happened!

 

[kimfella]

I have already re-tapped the loose pin and it tightened right up.

Did that fix the problem with the blade hitting the spacer? From the pics I'm guessing the holes for the pivot pin have worn a bit larger, allowing the blade to reach that little bit farther.

Oh, by the way. New Rule: No posting good luck stories, just bad luck ones. The rest of want to feel lucky we dodged THAT bullet, not 'Damn! Why does that never happen to me?'

 

[Jooky]

Did that fix the problem with the blade hitting the spacer? From the pics I'm guessing the holes for the pivot pin have worn a bit larger, allowing the blade to reach that little bit farther.

Yes, hammering the pin in better did make a difference on hitting the spacer. It still hits just a bit but thats probably because I could still tap the pin a little tighter. I am going to try to find a small ball peen hammer this weekend, I had to "improvise" earlier when I tapped it in better.

 

[Cedrck]

Yes, hammering the pin in better did make a difference on hitting the spacer. It still hits just a bit but thats probably because I could still tap the pin a little tighter. I am going to try to find a small ball peen hammer this weekend, I had to "improvise" earlier when I tapped it in better.

If the blade is hitting the wedge, then I will bet good money the scales are Black Celluloid and they have shrunk over the decades.
Rub the scales with polishing cloth till it gets warm and have a sniff; if you smell Camphor (like moth balls) it is Celluloid and they have shrunk somewhat. Hitting the pivot pin won’t do much but tighten the blade in the scales.

 

[azmark]

It looks to me to be in horrible condition. Good thing you only spent $10. Send it to me for proper disposal.

I heard that these razors attract the swine flu right?