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Is this anything interesting?

I had some time to kill after dropping my daughter off at dance so I went to the antique store across the road to see if they had any straights.

To my untrained eye most of the dozen or so they had were overpriced and in very rough shape, but this one looked interesting. It seems old to me. I’m pretty sure it says “Gillot Warranted” on the shank. The blade is a full wedge.

Anybody have any thoughts about it? Sorry for the crummy pictures, I was in a rush.
 

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If you are new to buying vintage razors, it is good to get familiar with which razors are collectable and sought after in the restoration forum.

Generally tail length and shape can often be used to roughly date a razor. Shorter and straighter, pre 1900’s. A collarless pinning is usually an indicator of a quality razor and often Ivory or Tortoise scales, though not aways. A 3 pinned razor is also usually a mark of quality.

Find someone that you can text photos for a quick second opinion. I have a bunch of guys that text me regularly, and I tell them what to look for and what I would pay for a particular razor. Usually, I tell them to pass or how much to low ball offer, and when to walk away.

Condition is always a factor, but like the razor posted, if it’s 200 years old some wear is normal. Don’t buy rust, chipped or cracked, though you can make some exceptions for some rust, some. Here again you need to know what you are looking at.

There are a bunch of nice razors out in the wild, waiting to be found. You just need to look. Keep in mind that at the heyday, early 1900’s,Genco advertised making over 6,000 razors per week. That is just one company in the united states. Over 300,000 per year. Yea, there are a few out there.

Here’s a free pro-tip. Carry a small bright pocket flashlight when you go to an antique store. I carry a super bright, rechargeable Fenix flashlight.

I can’t tell you how many pristine razors I have found in the back of a dark cabinet, (and they are all dark) in a corner and have been sitting there for years in the dark. Open every box.
 
Thank you all for the feedback. Yes I'm very new at this, in fact I own zero straights but I'm waiting for @rbscebu's PIF'd razor to find its way out of Canada Post purgatory.

This puts my restoration skills at 0/10 and my razor knowledge at maybe 3/10 from reading B&B. I like the idea of taking something old and making it work like when it was new, especially when a brand new thing is not appreciably better than a refurbished one.

I'll think about it over the day and then make a snap decision on the way home from work. If I end up wasting $45 it's not the end of the world.
 

Legion

Staff member
Thank you all for the feedback. Yes I'm very new at this, in fact I own zero straights but I'm waiting for @rbscebu's PIF'd razor to find its way out of Canada Post purgatory.

This puts my restoration skills at 0/10 and my razor knowledge at maybe 3/10 from reading B&B. I like the idea of taking something old and making it work like when it was new, especially when a brand new thing is not appreciably better than a refurbished one.

I'll think about it over the day and then make a snap decision on the way home from work. If I end up wasting $45 it's not the end of the world.
If there is no substantial damage (and I can't see any in the pics) you will have no issues getting your money back on that razor if you decide you don't need it. I'll take it off your hands.

But if you do decide to keep and restore it, I would urge you to get a few practice razors under your belt before you tackle that one.
 
If there is no substantial damage (and I can't see any in the pics) you will have no issues getting your money back on that razor if you decide you don't need it. I'll take it off your hands.

That's a good point, for some reason I never considered selling it. I wasn't able to get to the store yesterday; I'll try to go this weekend.

But if you do decide to keep and restore it, I would urge you to get a few practice razors under your belt before you tackle that one.

Younger me would have read two restoration threads and then had a go at it. Older me knows that's a terrible idea. If I get it, I'll store it until I know what I'm doing.
 
So I went back and bought this old razor today. I’m not going to attempt any restoration work until I have more experience.

One of the scales is cracked at the wedge which I didn’t notice the first time around. Are they definitely ivory? They’re very thin.

There is some red rust around the pivot, should I do anything about that right now?

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It sure looks like ivory to me. Being new to this and as you have already figured out leave it be for now. But, you can carefully pick rust out of the pivot with a tiny pick or de razor blade. Floss helps get in too Cleaning inside the scales if it needs it with emory cloth or stealwool or scouring pad carefully. A drip of oil in the pivot and work it in. Put it in a safe place.
 

Legion

Staff member
100% ivory.

Looks like someone tried to hone it on a brick, but that can be fixed. Cracks at the wedge end are better than the pivot end, and they are usually stable enough. For now I would probably just give the blade a light coat of oil and put it away somewhere dry until you do some reading, and practice on less interesting razors.
 

rbscebu

Girls call me Makaluod
Here is my one and only ivory scaled SR, a George Butler "Shakespeare" No.3. Not as old as yours and didn't require any restoration. This is how I got it.

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I only rarely shave with it as I am worried about damaging it. It shaves very well but so do most of my other SR's.
 
Here is my one and only ivory scaled SR, a George Butler "Shakespeare" No.3. Not as old as yours and didn't require any restoration. This is how I got it.

I only rarely shave with it as I am worried about damaging it. It shaves very well but so do most of my other SR's.


I used my ivory Shakespeare yesterday. Not in quite as good nick as yours, but shaves like a dream :).
 
So I went back and bought this old razor today. I’m not going to attempt any restoration work until I have more experience.

One of the scales is cracked at the wedge which I didn’t notice the first time around. Are they definitely ivory? They’re very thin.

There is some red rust around the pivot, should I do anything about that right now?

View attachment 1452236View attachment 1452237View attachment 1452238View attachment 1452239View attachment 1452240


This is the wedgiest wedge grind in town... very cool find!
 
The technical term for that grind is "F'n Door Stop".

Technical jargon or not, I would have imagined an ex-moderator such as yourself would be well aware the forums are not a place for such fruity and colourful language.

To allay my damaged sensibilities I went out to take a picture of my old James Johnson pair, to add to the fun:

IMG-7632.jpg



I had thought the smaller razor on the bottom might have just been worn away slightly from use and honing, but actually looking closer - that isn't the case. I think these razors were basically barely touched when I got them and the pair is intentionally one larger, and one smaller.

That something you've seen before? A common thing back in the day?

In the pic below, they're clearly two different razors, to the extent that the coffin slots are also different sizes; the larger razor doesn't really fit in the smaller slot, and the smaller one is loose in the larger...

IMG-7634.JPG


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(Sorry to slightly derail your thread OP, but interesting to see what people have eh! Your new one looks like a gem, though others here have far more experience, I'd say also that it should come up a treat once restored. And after you've had a little practice I don't think it would be difficult. I shaved with one of these two last night and it's an absolute peach, so I reckon you're onto a winner :). Plus if you decide it's not for you - I imagine people will be lining up to take off your hands, probably at a decent chunk more than you paid!)
 

Legion

Staff member
Technical jargon or not, I would have imagined an ex-moderator such as yourself would be well aware the forums are not a place for such fruity and colourful language.

To allay my damaged sensibilities I went out to take a picture of my old James Johnson pair, to add to the fun:

View attachment 1452793


I had thought the smaller razor on the bottom might have just been worn away slightly from use and honing, but actually looking closer - that isn't the case. I think these razors were basically barely touched when I got them and the pair is intentionally one larger, and one smaller.

That something you've seen before? A common thing back in the day?

In the pic below, they're clearly two different razors, to the extent that the coffin slots are also different sizes; the larger razor doesn't really fit in the smaller slot, and the smaller one is loose in the larger...

View attachment 1452794

---

(Sorry to slightly derail your thread OP, but interesting to see what people have eh! Your new one looks like a gem, though others here have far more experience, I'd say also that it should come up a treat once restored. And after you've had a little practice I don't think it would be difficult. I shaved with one of these two last night and it's an absolute peach, so I reckon you're onto a winner :). Plus if you decide it's not for you - I imagine people will be lining up to take off your hands, probably at a decent chunk more than you paid!)
You have to remember, over 200 years ago each blade was forged by hand individually. Not stamped out of sheet steel like today. I’m surprised they were able to get them as similar as they did.
 
You have to remember, over 200 years ago each blade was forged by hand individually. Not stamped out of sheet steel like today. I’m surprised they were able to get them as similar as they did.


Ah yeah, I hadn't thought about that possibility. These are quite different though, both in grind and the height of the blade. My hunch would be that it was intentional, as a matching but different pair. But if that wasn't a thing, then perhaps not...
 
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