That, gentlemen, is my question.
I recently purchased two vintage razors at a local shop. I will say upfront that I do not shave with a straight (yet...lol). I purchased them to help sooth my recently-contracted RAD, and no safety razors were available. I thought that I might be able to "flip" them for a small profit or trade them for an interesting safety razor or fountain pen.
The blades of both razors look to be in reasonably good condition (to my untrained eye)...no scratches or chips, just some minor discoloration and a little bit of rust.
The first razor is marked "Shumate Razor Company, St. Louis, USA" on one side of the tang and "Shumate's 012" on the other. It has beautiful scales colored burnt orange w/ black swirls. It does have a good bit of rust at the tang near the pivot area. It will have to be un-pinned, sanded, polished and re-pinned).
The second razor is simply marked "Sterling" on one side of the tang. The scales are black, but one is broken. Again, the blade will need sanded/polished and new scales.
Here's my question: would you guys prefer to purchase/trade for a restored razor, or would you rather buy one as-is to restore yourself?
How much would one expect to pay for materials to restore these razors? How much would it cost to have the razors restored?
Thanks in advance for the input!
I recently purchased two vintage razors at a local shop. I will say upfront that I do not shave with a straight (yet...lol). I purchased them to help sooth my recently-contracted RAD, and no safety razors were available. I thought that I might be able to "flip" them for a small profit or trade them for an interesting safety razor or fountain pen.
The blades of both razors look to be in reasonably good condition (to my untrained eye)...no scratches or chips, just some minor discoloration and a little bit of rust.
The first razor is marked "Shumate Razor Company, St. Louis, USA" on one side of the tang and "Shumate's 012" on the other. It has beautiful scales colored burnt orange w/ black swirls. It does have a good bit of rust at the tang near the pivot area. It will have to be un-pinned, sanded, polished and re-pinned).
The second razor is simply marked "Sterling" on one side of the tang. The scales are black, but one is broken. Again, the blade will need sanded/polished and new scales.
Here's my question: would you guys prefer to purchase/trade for a restored razor, or would you rather buy one as-is to restore yourself?
How much would one expect to pay for materials to restore these razors? How much would it cost to have the razors restored?
Thanks in advance for the input!