Hey everyone I bought a razor from a guy on etsy. We spent hours talking. Teaching me about razors which would be best for my hair and skin type etc. I trust the guy. I ended up buying a razor for 75$ shipped from Europe. It is a Taylor eye witness Sheffield. It's engraved taylor special razor very nicely on the blade. The tang is stamped patient 14338. The scales are in excellent condition no scratches or wear. They are cream colored with 3 original pins that are in great operating order. The spine has almost no wear and the blade is super sharp shave ready. The engraving is clear and the blade is super shiny no staining pitting. Just a little stain on the tang. Anyone know if this was a good deal? If these razors were of quality back in the day? Or did I get ripped off I figured it was cheaper than a new one and its cool its old. Forum won't let me use pictures on my phone for some reason. Thanks.
New vintage razor did I get ripped off?
- Thread starter Justin101
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Show some non-phone pics so experts can gauge condition.
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- #3
I'm trying its not working I have to say in my.opinion its almost flawless just a small stain on the tang
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- #4
I'll try something different
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- #5
In one pic the angle makes it look like it's smiling when that's not true its perfectly straight.
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Taylors are top quality Sheffield blades. Probably the best hollow ground sheffields actually
I don't think you got ripped off if it truly comes shave ready and you like it.
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- #8
I like it a lot and it came sharper then any other blade. Maybe because the metal from back down is more capable idk its extremely sharp. First shave with a SR where I didn't get irritation or nicks. Maybe my other blades weren't shave ready as advertised.
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- #9
That's good news kcb
Vintage razors are a fairly safe bet, especially if they have been prepped by someone who knows what they are doing. Sheffield steel is rather unlikely to provide you with a dud, a bit like vintage Gillette DE's they are tried and tested workhorses. The razor doesn't look like it has any obvious issues, the problems you are likely to encounter are more your own shaving/stropping/honing, at worst you send it for honing.
Nice razor, hope you enjoy it.
Nice razor, hope you enjoy it.
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- #11
Thanks I have a sight unseen razor I will practice honing before I try on my regular shavers thanks I feel better about my purchase. I saw a lot of people commenting saying you can get a good restored razor for 40$ anything over is a rip off. I think they were talking about the one this guy was trying to sell. The razor wasn't in as good shape he wanted 70$ and people were laughing at him. Maybe it was the brand and it had some black spots on it and the blade smiled a little. I was just afraid I paid double what I should. Would a vintage in as good shape as mine be worth 75$?
It depends on a lot of factors, but if you consider that just honing goes for about $20, 55$ is a lot less than what you would pay for an entry level Dovo.
If you hunt the BST here, you'll sometimes find some cheaper ones, but not by much and the condition, size and brand might not be as desirable.
Overall, I think you got a pretty good deal.
As Marc said on average honing a razor is in the $15-$20 range so $50-$60 for a quality blade is a good bargain so shave, strop and repeat and when stropping won't cut get it honed but if you strop correctly a decent edge can last along while.
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- #14
This thing looks like it was never used abd its sharper then any other blade I received as shaves ready. Thanks I think the brand is a better then average from what I read is that true? Thanks for giving me piece of mind
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- #15
Thanks peace of mind! I'm practicing honing on my sight unseen vintages. So I won't feel bad if I need to send them to get honed because there not my go to razor
I had one of those. I had to find pics. It's a top quality blade.
Do you already have it in hand? Curious as to better pics.
As already stated, Taylor's are quality Sheffield razors. The steel is top-notch, markedly hardness than other razors of that period. IMO, it was $75 well spent.
Nothing wrong with what you paid. $40 for a shave ready razor is a fair price for a beater without any special name or traits. A user that shaves fine but doesn't have anything else going for it. If there are people out there buying fully restored or NOS razors for $40, they need to tell me where.
I've seen taylors go from 50-100 depending on preservation
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