Razor Sellers PLEASE Remove old Blades!

[onotoman]

Hi Guys,

I recently picked up a lovely English Gillette #21 from the sorting office that I'd won on Ebay.

As I was sitting in traffic on the way back home, I couldn't resist tearing open the jiffy back opening the case and taking out the razor.

Whilst sitting in the trafic jam, I idly rubbed my thumb along the guard - unusual finish I thought, as my thumb seemed to drag over the surface as if there were some sort of sticky substance on there.

I looked down and saw that the 'drag' was actually a blade in the razor cutting through the skin of my thumb - not good!

OK, partly my fault, I shouldn't have been so impatient and should have waited until I got home and properly looked over the razor. But hey, it was a #21!

The image below shows the damage (apologies for the poor image but I was holding the camera upside down with one hand whilst trying to photograph the other)

Sellers, please remove old blades before shipping a razor.

 

[Austin]

Ouch!

 

[PaulUK]

I almost made the same mistake with 2 superspeeds I bought. Thankfully the blades weren't that sharp.

Oh, if you want to avoid the same thing happening again, I'll be happy to take the #21 off your hands.......

 

[David in Boston]

Ouch is right!

I don't know how many times I looked at razors in antique stores that had old blades still in them.

I'd tell the owners the danger of hurting someone and the potential law-suite. The mention of the law-suite seem to motive them more than the possible physical harm.

When looking for DE razors in antique stores etc I keep in mind my firearms training from the service. Consider all firearms loaded until you inspect them yourself.

 

[Storer50]

Picked up an Injector from an antique mall yesterday with a blade in it. Can;t blame the mall owners as the booths are stocked by dealers. ALWAYS CHECK FOR A BLADE AND WARN SOMEONE GETTING THE RAZOR OUT OF A CASE!!!!!!!!!

 

[sandmountainslim]

Leaving the blades in a razor you are selling is called a BONUS GIFT
Similar to leaving a shell in a shotgun when you sell it.
Wp

 

[WhosYerBob]

The same thing nearly happened to me with a used Tech I purchased off of eBay, but the blade missed. Had it connected I would have required stitches.

 

[koso]

Some idiots feature the old blades in their pictures, like you'll bid more for it

 

[Andy]

hope your tetanus shot is up to date.

I have come close several times, in antique stores where the razors are in baskets. But luckily none were deep enough to draw blood.

 

[cooncatbob]

I've gotten in the habit of when I send payment to request that any old blades be removed and disposed of.
Bob.

 

[BBrad]

Some idiots feature the old blades in their pictures, like you'll bid more for it

Key word . . . IDIOT!!

Would they ship a loaded gun . . . ???

After a couple of cuts . . . I learned my lesson and assume all to be "loaded" until proven otherwise.

I did have an interesting experience last week . . . bought a lot of razors that had an "oddball" Christy in it. Since that uses a weird blade, the seller left it in the razor. But, he did mark the outside of the plastic bag to indicate that there was a blade contained therein!! A#1 on his part!!

 

[gollum83]

Some idiots feature the old blades in their pictures, like you'll bid more for it

Oh, I especially like the ones that advertise "Blade included!" Including a used, rusty blade is now a selling feature, don't you know?

 

[CCMphysician]

Leaving the blades in a razor you are selling is called a BONUS GIFT
Similar to leaving a shell in a shotgun when you sell it.
Wp

 

[Gillette4259]

Good thing you didn't wreck or they would be passing laws against handling razors in cars.
I've almost done it a couple of times at the flea markets now I look.

 

[Go West Young Man]

Remember, for a collector the value of an item increases when it comes with original packaging or accessories. How does a non-razor expert know that removing the blade won't terribly devalue his product?

 

[aquilla]

Remember, for a collector the value of an item increases when it comes with original packaging or accessories. How does a non-razor expert know that removing the blade won't terribly devalue his product?

thats a fair point that has been raised in a similar thread/discussion, i would also add though that a good way to add value to items you're selling is by researching them, and hopefully now they'll find this thread having said that i once went to tell a local antique shop that they really should remove old blades, it then crossed my mind that i may one day go in and find a mint kampfe or similar reusable bladed razor only to find they've binned the blades, in the end i settled for buying the few razors they had thus eliminating the threat

 

[Pumpkin]

I've gotten in the habit of when I send payment to request that any old blades be removed and disposed of.
Bob.

That sounds like a pretty good habit to get!

 

[Alacrity59]

I agree that razors should be unloaded before shipment and if the blade is historic, perhaps wrapped separately.

On the other hand . . . we need to watch out for ourselves. Someone used the example of a gun . . . which would not be shipped loaded. I doubt (hope) that there is not one person among us who would receive a gun in a package and pull the trigger while pointing it at anything important.

 

[T Rick]

The firearm analogy is a good one. Bottom line, treat all razors as loaded until youve verified yourself that they are not.

After about 150 or so razors received in the last several months, I'd estimate about 10 to 15% have come with blades in place. I now always presume they will be, and am cautious to open the packaging in such a way to avoid the head until can check them.

The Sellers often come from antiques/estate sale backgrounds, and they learn with most items not to alter or change anything about them, as unknowing persons may harm the value of an historic object (they deal in so many different categories, no way to really know them all). That plus as simple as it seems, many of these folks would not know the proper way to remove a blade from many of the razors (I've bought 3 piece razors from those who didn't know they unscrewed). And they'd have no clue what to do with the blade once removed.

Your best bet, expect a blade in place!