Is This Dubl Duck Overpriced?

I am very new to straight razor shaving, in fact I am only one week into learning my technique and how to hold it properly. I have been using a Gold Dollar razor to learn with and have been perusing the forums and auction sites for a potential good first razor. (From what I have learned, I can expect to get no better than DFS with a Gold Dollar).
I came across a vintage Dubl Duck on Etsy and am wondering about what the listing says.

The blade is completely busted as though someone pried something with it. The listing talks about these razors selling for upwards of $500 dollars in good condition and if the buyer were to replace the blade and gave it some care, this one could be worth that much as well. I find this very hard to believe because it looks to me like replacing this blade would mean buying a whole new razor. Here is a picture of what I found.



Is there any truth to this? Can this razor have its blade replaced? I also think that $50 is a ridiculous amount of money for this razor. Is the price on this about right or am I correct in thinking that I wouldn't pay $5 let alone $50.

Since we are on the subject, does anyone have any advice for me on what brands, vintage or new, I should be looking for? This would be my first real straight razor and I am on a budget. Perhaps sticking with the Gold Dollar for now will suffice?

I am intrigued by the thought of using a straight razor and am committed to following through until I perfect my technique. At that point, perhaps I will invest in a high end razor but until then, I want a good quality razor likely to provide a BBS without breaking the bank.

I have this feeling that when I do perfect my straight razor technique, I will never want to use anything else ever again.

with proper technique and a good hone, there's no reason you can't get BBS from a GD. the steel is good enough to hold a hone as well as any other razor. everthing else is on you, and comparing it to other blades is really just about aesthetics.

your Esty seller is deluded. true enough with a new blade, it'll be a razor again. I would only buy that example for the scales, assuming the other one is intact. . MyCarver has done some phenomenal DD restores, that you can see up top. I personally wouldn't pay $500 for anything but a custom.

Well, a few points:

First, it's against forum rules to do appraisals. I can tell you that I wouldn't take it for free, even for just the scales and bolsters, which are about the only things on it that are salvageable. But then again, I've never been overly enamored of the Dubl Ducks, so my opinion may be biased.

Secondly, yes, the blade can be replaced, but to find one in good enough shape may be time-intensive and costly. Any blade that would be "good enough" likely comes in scales already. At best, the seller is engaged in what I think of as "creative marketing;" talking up how good a product could be...after a lot of time and money are invested in it. A good example would be if I were trying to sell a flat piece of 1095 steel (which should only cost a few bucks) to you for $80.00 and tell you that "all you need to do" is have it worked by a custom blade smith and have some nice scales made for it, and then honed...then it'd be worth a few hundred bucks.

Thirdly, a great shave is all about technique (including face prepping,) and blade edge. If it is properly honed, and if your technique is good, you can get a great shave from a Gold Dollar. Many shavers do, myself included. At this stage, it's probably your technique. Stick with it, it will definitely get better.

Fourth, if you are still set on getting a vintage blade check out our "Shaving Mall - Buy/Sell/Trade" forum (which everyone refers to as BST.) There are great deals there all the time on razors that are ready to go, and you don't even need to track down new blades for them.

The cracked ice scales if they are in excellent order then I could quite easily see someone who's looking for a set pay $50 they may have a mint blade ready for those scales, unlike almost 98% of other razor makes where scales are a after thought, with Dubl Duck razors desirability almost diminishes without them great shavers by the way.

You should drive on over to the sellers house and give him an IQ test followed by a good slap upside the head. Then see if you can profit from the scales as mentioned above. Good luck.

No it's not. If I had a good blade and messed up scales, I would buy those and turn the razor into something worth way more than the individual value of the two parts.

Your instincts about the razor and your feeling about straight shaves are both correct. The razor is one to pass on, imo. The shaves, once learned, can't be beat.

Like it has been said, you can expect more than DFS from a GD, they take on a great edge when properly honed.

$50 for the scales on that razor (assuming the other one is in greast condition) is not crazy. DD scales are known to shrink, warp, quack and do just about anything else.

If I had a minty DD in need of scales I would not hesitate paying that for the scales.

Walk away. There are many others out there.

Yeah. What those guys said. The seller is deluded.

In the case of DD's, I see more instances of scale rot with them than any other brand so I wouldn't even buy a set of DD scales. They make some pretty ones, but it's just not worth the risk.

KZero said:

Well, a few points:

First, it's against forum rules to do appraisals. I can tell you that I wouldn't take it for free, even for just the scales and bolsters, which are about the only things on it that are salvageable.

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Wow, I apologize for that. It certainly was not my intention to seek an appraisal although going back to what I posted, that is pretty much what I asked for. Your entire response is appropriate and helpful as are the other comments here.

My intent was simply to continue my education. I was never considering purchasing that razor although I have seen some vintage razors that are very beautiful, the opposite of what I see with this razor.

Thank you for sorting me out on this.

ButchersHook said:

Wow, I apologize for that. It certainly was not my intention to seek an appraisal although going back to what I posted, that is pretty much what I asked for. Your entire response is appropriate and helpful as are the other comments here.

My intent was simply to continue my education. I was never considering purchasing that razor although I have seen some vintage razors that are very beautiful, the opposite of what I see with this razor.

Thank you for sorting me out on this.

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Nothing to apologize for, my friend. I didn't mean it to come across as snippy or short.
As you can see, value of any given object is very subjective; several here feel as I do, and several others think they are worthwhile.
Good luck with whichever way you go on your decision.

Doc226 said:

Like it has been said, you can expect more than DFS from a GD, they take on a great edge when properly honed.

$50 for the scales on that razor (assuming the other one is in greast condition) is not crazy. DD scales are known to shrink, warp, quack and do just about anything else.

If I had a minty DD in need of scales I would not hesitate paying that for the scales.

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+1. The cracked ice scales are iconic just as the blade itself. I recently bought a Golededge with a pristine near mint blade that turned out to have seriously warped scales. I could fix this with a hair dryer. If this wouldn't have worked I would not have hesitated a second to pay 50$ on a set of these scales, provided they're OK that is. I would not replace the blade with a GD though. That would be just wrong. If you are not a collector, a DD afictionado or if you do not own a Goldedge that needs a new set if scales look elsewhere.

If you had a pristine blade with scales on their way out and those were good, it would add a lot of value to your blade. Those are one of those weird blades where the scales are as important as the blade. Here is the thing though, I still feel it is excessive in the sense that the seller isn't the one taking the risk to get the totaled blade off the pivot pin and get that pin out of the scales without killing them. So much can go wrong during that step..

True. Hands off if you have limited experience unpinning razors. In that case I'd send it to someone who knows what he's doing.

Actually I know a guy here who may be very interested in those scales

There are likely hundreds of brands, and tons more not listed here, some are good and some are not.

I'm just getting into straights as well so here's a list of some that could be somewhat desirable. I gathered this info word for word from some Wiki's here and some posts I found to help me tell a good blade from a garbage one.

General rule of thumb, Sheffield, German/Solingen and American made vintage razors are good. Modern Thier-Issard, Dovo, Boker are good too.




From the USA
--------------
Waterville
Genco/Geneva Cutlery Co
Case (W.R. Case & Sons)
Winchester
Sta-Sharp
Craftsman (There is also a German version that is superlative)
Hart Steel


From Germany
--------------
Dorko
Dubl Duck
Dovo
Bismarck
Puma
Boker
Henckels
Imperial


From France
--------------
Thiers Issard (LeGrelot, P. Hospital)
Lecoultre


From England
--------------
Wade & Butcher
Wostenholm


Some others...
-------------
Greaves
Joesph Rodgers
Clauss
Edwards
Greenberg
H.M. Christensen
Wester Bros.
F.W. Engles
Any name that ends with Elliot.
Tuckmar
Northfield Cutlery
Timor
Giesen & Forsthoff
Hofferitz

You'll want to find the Wiki that shows problems to look for in the blades like frowns, small cracks, etc. Do some research here before you buy anything so you don't buy something that's not usable.
You can find lots or razors for around $20 and up on the auction site, but know that they likely aren't shave ready.
The ones that are really desirable brands or larger blades seem to command the higher prices.

Avoid anything that doesn't have a name actually engraved into it as well as anything that says Pakistan. China razors are suspect too. Make sure you're buying an actual straight razor and not a razor like knife which will be garbage as well. If you don't know what it is Google it or do a search here. If you still can't find any info on it you might be best off skipping it and choosing something else.

Heespharm said:

Actually I know a guy here who may be very interested in those scales

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I bet he wouldn't pay $50 for it!

The scales look to be in pretty good condition so they're worth what someone is prepared to pay for them.