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Straight Razor Acquisition Thread

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These blades came in this week, and all are great shavers. The Duck in the middle has Puma scales cause I messed up the OG while trying to unpin it with my dremel. And I had the Pumas lying around from another blade I had bought. It’s kind of loose, and I have to be really careful that the blade doesn’t bang into the scales. But it still looks and shaves well!:)
 
For the time being, I have too many more important irons in the fire so I have to satisfy my razor itch in China and occasionally the flea market. So after you got me all excited about. a bargain basement razor....I went to Chineseamazon and ordered a W59 for $10 lol.I get my dads old truck built, garage on the side of the house, roof fixed on the barn, and something figured out with my tractor...THEN! I am GOING RAZOR CRAZY! Hahaha
nah,

I haggled a Bay seller with a price I would have been insulted by.........and they accepted. if I can pick up one of these (especially with horn scales) in the ballpark of $50 to 100 then I'm happy.

$320 because it has the logo plastered on it.

camo
 
My 2 latest e-bay finds arrived today. Mid-range, not total beaters or fixer-uppers, but definite wear and tear evident. One cost 2X the other, likely you will know from the descriptions
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Joseph Elliot (Sheffield) 5/8 “Feather weight” shoulderless full hollow, Some black spots but no rust, edge OK, but definitely needs honing.
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Heljestrand Royal Kindal, almost all etching, stamping etc worn away. From what I can gather Royal Kindal was part of a line of MK-era exports that were all stainless steel. This one is a 6/8 full hollow. The spine is just over 0.2”, so it should have a narrower bevel angle than most of my other 6/8 full hollows. It looks like the blade toe is rubbing against the wedge, so may be a candidate for new scales down the road. This was advertised as “shave ready” by an eBay seller who usually does a good honing job, so may try it out tomorrow as-is.



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Learning the ways of the wedge now. A pre 1890 Frederick Reynolds near wedge. I love the profile of this blade, but boy was it a challenge to hone. There are a couple of very small nicks I didn’t have the patience to hone out. It still won’t pass the hanging hair test, but it actually shaves fairly well the entire span of the blade. Not as well as my hollow ground razors, and it shaves much differently, but it’s still a keeper.

It was a rust bucket when I bought it. I’m actually pleased it cleaned up as well as it did. The scales are off colored. One side is black, the other is a dark brown. You can tell they were matching and probably original ... I think it sat in a window sill with the brown scale facing up toward sun light for many years.
 

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This Wade & Butcher cane came in today. I picked it up for a song, not expecting too much. Turns out it is very authentic, came from someone's grandfather's bathroom. I was surprised that the wedge is CORK! There is minimal spine wear and the edge is even with no chips. The pivot pin is tight and the blade is centered. So I just need to clean it up a bit. The face stamp on the tang does not show up well in the photo, but it is stamped special with the arrow logo going through it.

And if you are from New York City and you recognize this street scene, you are way older than I am!

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Ordered 11FEb2021 directly and arrived today!
Ralf Aust 6/8" razor with spanish crown Normalstahl | mit serriertem Erl | ohne Rückengravur | Modern
(Ralf Aust 6/8" Full Hollow Spanish Point Carbon Steel w/ Modern Olivewood Scales)

Ralf Aust's picture. I will try and get one of mine posted soon.
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I just realized that the scales on my Frederick Reynolds are not celluloid but are in fact likely horn. When I descaled the razor to clean it I thought the scales were mighty forgiving (I break most celluloid scales when rescaling). I shaved with it again tonight and got the scales wet. I know wet celluloid and this wasn’t it. The moisture soaked in and would discolor a scale while it was wet, then it would regain the original color after it was dry. That’s not a property of celluloid.
 
I just realized that the scales on my Frederick Reynolds are not celluloid but are in fact likely horn. When I descaled the razor to clean it I thought the scales were mighty forgiving (I break most celluloid scales when rescaling). I shaved with it again tonight and got the scales wet. I know wet celluloid and this wasn’t it. The moisture soaked in and would discolor a scale while it was wet, then it would regain the original color after it was dry. That’s not a property of celluloid.
Maybe soak the scales in neatsfoot oil or some other oil and they won't soak up the water. They also have a nice dark (wet) look when oiled.
 
I scored this Thomas Ellin & Co Vulcan 🖖 7/8 from an antique shop. It should be an easy cleanup. This is my first Ellin razor, I know they were a famous Sheffield cutler, but I’ve only seen just a few examples of their razors and this one is all quality. I love the faux ivory scales and how they used a washerless construction to make it appear more like the scales are made of ivory(way to sell it guys!). For it’s period, the grind is very thin and it is definitely a full hollow through and through with a slight bellied hollow.
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I scored this Thomas Ellin & Co Vulcan 🖖 7/8 from an antique shop. It should be an easy cleanup. This is my first Ellin razor, I know they were a famous Sheffield cutler, but I’ve only seen just a few examples of their razors and this one is all quality. I love the faux ivory scales and how they used a washerless construction to make it appear more like the scales are made of ivory(way to sell it guys!). For it’s period, the grind is very thin and it is definitely a full hollow through and through with a slight bellied hollow.
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I've seen these Ellin razors go for $300. Apparently, he and his son were makers around 1830.
 
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