Let’s talk auction site caution!

[Luecke2326]

Like many, I have a habit of saving my searches on auction sites, so I get notifications when a new razor, hone, or other unobtainiun comes available. ALSO, like many, I’ve taken many a good dollar out of my wallet and promptly set it ablaze, by making impulse bids. Of course, those items aren’t exactly what I believed them to be.... Whose fault is that anyway??? Mine of course!!!
Many of us here are very experienced by way of RAD or other AD’s what we are looking for, but many new members might not yet know exactly what to watch out for. I’d like to point out one case study of a razor from an auction site, which caught my eye as a buy it now. I very nearly jumped the gun on this one, but I used caution and took a second look.

This particular example had an excellent low price, but I noticed after a closer look a few items.
1. There is quite a bit of hone wear on the spine, a sign of heavy use, at the very least. Red Flag....
2. The bevel on both sides of the edge seems mighty wide, a symptom of heavy handed honing.... Red Flag....
3. My eyes may deceive me, but a visible frown seems apparent, evidenced by #’s 2 & 3.

At this point I would personally pass on this razor, but many may be sold on the nice gold wash and otherwise clean appearance of this razor, @Ice-Man would definitely pick it up. I know many folks might see past these warts, but to me, this razor presents itself as a time sink at the least and a subpar shaving razor at the worst. Now, as always YMMV, but do yourself a favor and save yourselves a few bucks by taking a second look or by asking a fellow member what they think about the purchase. Not much is worse than placing a high bid on an item, which has a serious flaw, then having to watch that clock count down to zero....

Happy hunting and best wishes,

Matt


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[Njguy1977]

Like many, I have a habit of saving my searches on auction sites, so I get notifications when a new razor, hone, or other unobtainiun comes available. ALSO, like many, I’ve taken many a good dollar out of my wallet and promptly set it ablaze, by making impulse bids. Of course, those items aren’t exactly what I believed them to be.... Whose fault is that anyway??? Mine of course!!!
Many of us here are very experienced by way of RAD or other AD’s what we are looking for, but many new members might not yet know exactly what to watch out for. I’d like to point out one case study of a razor from an auction site, which caught my eye as a buy it now. I very nearly jumped the gun on this one, but I used caution and took a second look.

This particular example had an excellent low price, but I noticed after a closer look a few items.
1. There is quite a bit of hone wear on the spine, a sign of heavy use, at the very least. Red Flag....
2. The bevel on both sides of the edge seems mighty wide, a symptom of heavy handed honing.... Red Flag....
3. My eyes may deceive me, but a visible frown seems apparent, evidenced by #’s 2 & 3.

At this point I would personally pass on this razor, but many may be sold on the nice gold wash and otherwise clean appearance of this razor, @Ice-Man would definitely pick it up. I know many folks might see past these warts, but to me, this razor presents itself as a time sink at the least and a subpar shaving razor at the worst. Now, as always YMMV, but do yourself a favor and save yourselves a few bucks by taking a second look or by asking a fellow member what they think about the purchase. Not much is worse than placing a high bid on an item, which has a serious flaw, then having to watch that clock count down to zero....

Happy hunting and best wishes,

Matt


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Matt, all great advice but I can add a little more since all of my blades are bought off auction sites. Always be wary of vintage clean and polished blades, sometimes they are overheated on a buffer and will never hold an edge. Overheating signs will show with up as a blush tinted blade. Also look at the condition of a blade, sellers will polish a blade clean but pits and visible rust rot marks can never be fixed at the razors edge. Always look at auction postings with the clearest picture, sometimes a person will post fuzzy pictures to hide imperfections. Postings with 2 or 3 pictures be wary of, the more pictures the better your chances are. Also be wary of the bait and switch....just because that coffin box says wade and butcher on it dosent necessarily mean there is one in there. Look at the blade tang to really see what your bidding on. I have seen auctions posted with an expensive brand name razor because of the box, only to have a cheap bargin basement razor thats offered. Also never go by the sellers stated condition....have seen sellers post rare fine looking shave ready razors in their postings only to show rusted cell rotted blade, or frowned blades, or blades honed down to a sliver and no way useable. When in doubt google search the blade in question and look at pictures of the same blade in question to see other examples before you pull the trigger.

The blade you used as an example the frown alone would stop me. The black mark would put me off only because if I was to polish that out, id be destroying the gold wash. It would also be taking a chance of not being able to maintain an edge in that spot because of that black mark. The hone wear would make me question it because of how uneven it is. Just trying to let others know how i would critique an auction blade.

Larry

 

[ajduplessis]

Great advise

 

[Polarbeard]

Great initiative and thread Matt!

On several occasions people have turned to me asking about some razor where they have told me that the pictures show mild pitting that shouldn't be too great a job to remove. I've looked closely at the pictures and seen that the seller already have spent quite some time trying to remove the pitting and what's remaining is the very deep pitting that it might not be possible to remove, at least not without destroying the razor.

On the other hand a razor with an all covering thin grey patina, no signs of spine wear and a straight edge often go under the radar for most people when it actually might be a NOS razor with the patina of being stored for 100 years. I've got many very fine razors for a very low cost that way. All that was needed was five to ten minutes to remove the patina with metal polish

 

[6Cuda6]

Great write up Matt! And like yourself have had to review the pics multiple times before pulling the trigger as its so easy to miss that little something.....

 

[Aggelos]

Nice initiative, thanks !

Here is my two cent :
have a long look at the shoulder and the nose. In almost every case, old wedges included, they must have the same width. If it's not a wedge with a smile, that is, if it's a hollow ground razor, that is a absolute must !

Also, when you are at it, have a feel of what they look like. Barber notches rarely touch the tip of the nose. And if the shoulder seems to have been ground, that is a big no.

When the scales have rich colours, like, for example, imitation tortoise, and you have a cloud like pitting, it probably is cell rot, which means it wont be a bargain, if restorable at all.

And gentle reminder : some precious materials have ceased being sold or existing altogether after a while, so be extremely careful when a hollow ground blade is sold with what is advertised as "tortoise", "ivory", or MOP, since they are most of the time too recent for that

 

[Luecke2326]

Great initiative and thread Matt!

On several occasions people have turned to me asking about some razor where they have told me that the pictures show mild pitting that shouldn't be too great a job to remove. I've looked closely at the pictures and seen that the seller already have spent quite some time trying to remove the pitting and what's remaining is the very deep pitting that it might not be possible to remove, at least not without destroying the razor.

On the other hand a razor with an all covering thin grey patina, no signs of spine wear and a straight edge often go under the radar for most people when it actually might be a NOS razor with the patina of being stored for 100 years. I've got many very fine razors for a very low cost that way. All that was needed was five to ten minutes to remove the patina with metal polish

Arne,

No doubt, you have saved me from the brink of falling head over heals for several very flawed razors! I’ve learned a lot from you and the memberships cumulative advice.

Everything you said here is top notch, thanks brother!

Matt


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[Biltong & Boerewors]

I am always weary of restored razors. In some cases after a very careful look I have seen the spine wear was much worse than a quick glance would have shown. Some spine wear is acceptable, but when they try to hide it it raises suspicion.

I would rather bid on a blade that shows some patina, but is in an untouched condition.

 

[ajduplessis]

Same razor...

 

[steveclarkus]

I solved the problem by buying all my razors from one seller I’ve developed a good relationship with over the past two years. He is an excellent restorer and makes beautiful scales when required. While I don’t get rock bottom deals, I always get very fair prices and 100% guarantee. If they don’t shave to my satisfaction, I just return them.

 

[Polarbeard]

Arne,

No doubt, you have saved me from the brink of falling head over heals for several very flawed razors! I’ve learned a lot from you and the memberships cumulative advice.

Everything you said here is top notch, thanks brother!

Matt


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you for those very kind words Matt.

 

[Slash McCoy]

Like many, I have a habit of saving my searches on auction sites, so I get notifications when a new razor, hone, or other unobtainiun comes available. ALSO, like many, I’ve taken many a good dollar out of my wallet and promptly set it ablaze, by making impulse bids. Of course, those items aren’t exactly what I believed them to be.... Whose fault is that anyway??? Mine of course!!!
Many of us here are very experienced by way of RAD or other AD’s what we are looking for, but many new members might not yet know exactly what to watch out for. I’d like to point out one case study of a razor from an auction site, which caught my eye as a buy it now. I very nearly jumped the gun on this one, but I used caution and took a second look.

This particular example had an excellent low price, but I noticed after a closer look a few items.
1. There is quite a bit of hone wear on the spine, a sign of heavy use, at the very least. Red Flag....
2. The bevel on both sides of the edge seems mighty wide, a symptom of heavy handed honing.... Red Flag....
3. My eyes may deceive me, but a visible frown seems apparent, evidenced by #’s 2 & 3.

At this point I would personally pass on this razor, but many may be sold on the nice gold wash and otherwise clean appearance of this razor, @Ice-Man would definitely pick it up. I know many folks might see past these warts, but to me, this razor presents itself as a time sink at the least and a subpar shaving razor at the worst. Now, as always YMMV, but do yourself a favor and save yourselves a few bucks by taking a second look or by asking a fellow member what they think about the purchase. Not much is worse than placing a high bid on an item, which has a serious flaw, then having to watch that clock count down to zero....

Happy hunting and best wishes,

Matt


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not so bad. If I saw it going for chimp change, I could see throwing a snipe at it at $10 or so. Not a beauti queen, not, in spite of the gold and the intact scales, but the hone wear just tells me that somebody really liked that razor. It is a Tennis, not a particularly common or popular brand, but a good one nonetheless. It's a shaver, not a looker. Now if it was already bidded up to $20 or so, I wouldn't be in the least interested.

 

[Luecke2326]

Not so bad. If I saw it going for chimp change, I could see throwing a snipe at it at $10 or so. Not a beauti queen, not, in spite of the gold and the intact scales, but the hone wear just tells me that somebody really liked that razor. It is a Tennis, not a particularly common or popular brand, but a good one nonetheless. It's a shaver, not a looker. Now if it was already bidded up to $20 or so, I wouldn't be in the least interested.

That’s exactly where it was.....


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[Ice-Man]

TBH Matt if that pitting had been higher up then I could have bought it, but while it is to close to the edge is a big no no even for me yeah I love sanding but not for that sort of pitting.

But I will agree with Arne being a rock on here, he has given me great advice over the last few years in fact you all have.
Yes it is a big learning curve for sure and I'm still learning, one thing I can say is when I start to restore a razor I will see it through to the end. And 9 times out of 10 I end up with a good razor well I think so....


If any member is looking at straight razors, make sure the picture is clear and loads of them from all angles. So you get to know the razor and the feel for it, the most important bit of info I will give if your not sure please please ask we don't bite........

 

[ajduplessis]

Same razor...

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So I was informed this morning that there was theft at the post office and parcels was stolen, including this razor.

 

[Dave Sl8r]

Are these even worth considering?

 

[stringer bean]

Are these even worth considering?
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What are your concerns? They look like very nice razors in very good shape. Definitely worth a shot if they are in your budget.

 

[Slash McCoy]

Look okay to me. Hard to really tell for sure from the pics. I would definitely consider them and especially the Friodur.

 

[Dave Sl8r]

What are your concerns? They look like very nice razors in very good shape. Definitely worth a shot if they are in your budget.

I’ve looked at them for a couple of day. Thought they were nice, and can buy them now for $240, however I’ve no idea as to what one should spend or not on older or vintage straight razors.
Trying to learn what I can.
Hate to hear “you paid way too much”. I’ve never been good at finding bargains, but then again it’s not one of my modus operandi’s in life.

 

[stringer bean]

I’ve looked at them for a couple of day. Thought they were nice, and can buy them now for $240, however I’ve no idea as to what one should spend or not on older or vintage straight razors.
Trying to learn what I can.
Hate to hear “you paid way too much”. I’ve never been good at finding bargains, but then again it’s not one of my modus operandi’s in life.

You get what you pay for. There are cheap friodurs out there but there's usually something wrong with them. I bought 4 from Estonia or Romania or something. They all have huge toe taper, no scales, and wonky hone wear. But they were cheap. It doesn't matter to me much because I like to fix broken things. But if you just want something that's ready to go, you will most likely have to pay a little more.