Antique straights for your opinions!

Ok, to make it clear I know next to nothing about straights! I'm wanting to swtich from DE to straight razors, and would love to use a vintage one.

Was at a antique store today and found several around the $25-30AU (30-35US i guess) mark I liked the look of, but I dont really know what i'm looking for/at if I was to purchase one to restore then use.

Here are some *really dodgey* pics...taken with a mobile phone.

There is 2 Bengals, one Ward Bros, one Bonsa and one EKS (with a nice checkerd blade).

I'd like to buy one and am going to continue to try and figure out what I need to be looking at but... please share your thoughts!

Those look all right. What I usually look for:

1-British and German blades should be a safe bet.
2-Look at the blade if there's any chips or cracks. I usually do that against the light so it's easier to spot.
3-Have a look at the scales if there are loose, cracked, broken. If the blade is tight, it's a plus.
4-Finally, if you can close the razor and the blade is centred then it's all good.

It all depends on what you want to do with the razor (honed or restored + honed).

My preference is a larger blade (6/8") is good. The picture of the first Bengal looks like a good candidate.

If you have a preference for any of them, take it...






















...before Dunny does...

your right about the pics ,from what I can see I think they all look pretty good for the doe though its hard to tell ,just make sure the edge is either straight and even or has a slight smile and there isn`t much ware on the spine , if there is any ,its even the entire length
The ward Bros looks interesting and the light coloured bengall looks to be the best out of those two ,but as I said its hard to tell
Good luck
Kind regards Peter

Also sight down the edge and make sure there isn't a frown. (Or set it very gently on the glass.) You don't want one with a frown (where the edge touches the glass at two points, toe and heel, with a gap in the middle of the blade.)

The first razor looks to have a healty crack just below the spine . Avoid this one unless you have a die grinder . You could add a barbers notch and possibly remove the crack .

Really need some better pictures to tell what's going on with the rest . The entire lot probably is ok . Just need a little TLC and hit a few hones no doubt .


cityjim

Luc said:

Those look all right. What I usually look for:

1-British and German blades should be a safe bet.
2-Look at the blade if there's any chips or cracks. I usually do that against the light so it's easier to spot.
3-Have a look at the scales if there are loose, cracked, broken. If the blade is tight, it's a plus.
4-Finally, if you can close the razor and the blade is centred then it's all good.

It all depends on what you want to do with the razor (honed or restored + honed).:

Click to expand...

Good advice, although its not necessary to meet the last two. Like Luc says, it depends on how much you want to do with the razor. Scales are easy to replace, but the blade not so much. And although I no idea how common they are down there, I would add though that any American blades you happen to run across should also be a safe bet.

Get them restored! They look good.

Don't buy that really skinny one though. Something looks off to me.

leighton said:

Get them restored! They look good.

Don't buy that really skinny one though. Something looks off to me.

Click to expand...

Agreed!

Also, if you were to get just one, that first Bengal looks to be the best of the bunch even with that "crack" (actually just rust) A little 600-1500 sandpaper and it will look good as new.

From what I can see all are worth a go - especially buy the Bengalls. If you don't want them i will buy them off you!

seriously though, I might be interested in that EKS...

I agree they are all really nice! Even if the scales are simple, and some of the blades are basic too, they're lovely IMO. I'm getting some help to restore them myself (thanks Dunny!) so once that process happens, one or two might get passed on to others...after of course a good honing and trial.

Gave them a light polish last night to see what I have to work with, and they're all pretty good, some sanding required for a couple. I'm considering some wooden scales for one or two, but I'll wait a while before I decide which ones - if any to rescale. I may bust a scale re-pinning, so maybe it'll get decided for me!

I'll be sure to post pics of the finished products...dont expect anything amazing (this is my first restore after all!) or anything too quick!

Thanks for the leg up on avoiding some dodgeys! I definitely appreciate all the advice.

Cheers guys,

Nick.