Today's catches: a 5/8 tortoise-shell Genco (Geneva Cutlery) "Vanadium" in really good nick. A little bit of cleaning and hone a new edge, and this one's in the rotation. No hone wear that I can tell, almost new condition.
From the same shop, the guy behind the counter pulls out another plain case saying "I just got this one here, and I was gonna clean it up a bit - it's real dirty."
I asked how much he was going to price it for, and he replied "$15."
I managed to keep a decent poker face when I opened the box to find a Wade and Butcher wedge with Masonic etching, with markings and a style that (with a cursory phone search) points to the mid-1800's. Yeah - it's patina'd all to hell, had some surface rust on the spine and shank, the scales are toast (one is a wood replacement, the other original horn scale has bug damage), and it looks like someone tried to unsuccessfully clean the etching at some point.
But, the edge is in fairly clean shape, no frowning, and it's imminently restoreable. I've steel-wooled the rust down to black patina and tried to smooth down some of the previous cleaning marks. Tomorrow, I may tape up the spine and set to work on the stones and remake the edge.
Even with a full restore, it won't ever be a collector - too much against it from prior use and cleaning efforts. But, I do have a chance to return a potentially 150+ year-old razor to service, and saved it from further scotch-brite indignity. And that's pretty cool.
From the same shop, the guy behind the counter pulls out another plain case saying "I just got this one here, and I was gonna clean it up a bit - it's real dirty."
I asked how much he was going to price it for, and he replied "$15."
I managed to keep a decent poker face when I opened the box to find a Wade and Butcher wedge with Masonic etching, with markings and a style that (with a cursory phone search) points to the mid-1800's. Yeah - it's patina'd all to hell, had some surface rust on the spine and shank, the scales are toast (one is a wood replacement, the other original horn scale has bug damage), and it looks like someone tried to unsuccessfully clean the etching at some point.
But, the edge is in fairly clean shape, no frowning, and it's imminently restoreable. I've steel-wooled the rust down to black patina and tried to smooth down some of the previous cleaning marks. Tomorrow, I may tape up the spine and set to work on the stones and remake the edge.
Even with a full restore, it won't ever be a collector - too much against it from prior use and cleaning efforts. But, I do have a chance to return a potentially 150+ year-old razor to service, and saved it from further scotch-brite indignity. And that's pretty cool.
) have the Genco logo on the shank. Your Vanadium looks like a really nice razor - I'd take it in a minute, but I think you got a Genco box.
You'll love it. (Like I said, it looked nice!) 
