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Razor underdog with pictures

I have looked and lusted over the beautiful high end razors. It seems like razors like Ducks, Fillies, Pumas (and several other animals), W&B and The Swedes are getting all the glory. How about the generic and no names? Where is the love?

Today I was shaving with a razor I found locally for next to nothing. I bought it because the town on the tang is just over an hour from my house. (I actually called the historical society and they said that Ridley was a hardware store on Main St from 1850 to 1914). The shave is on par with my F.W.E. and the feel is much like my Reno.
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So show off your underdog. Let's hear it for your favorite "little guy"
 
Here's mine:
Just an old Sheffield near-wedge, the name either has been worn off or never was stamped in well. Some personal marks on the back scale.
It's rough looking, but I like the way it handles and shaves so well I'm thinking of just keeping it the way it is.

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I love the underdogs. The razors nobody talks about but one discovers and gets phenomenal shaves from. Paying hundreds of dollars for a well known great shaver takes only money; but finding and restoring an unknown gem takes real effort and some risk. Here are a couple of mine that paid off:

This is a plain jane German made razor for a Brooklyn business. Holy cow what a shave. I think I paid under 15 including shipping. Easily honed and takes a great edge and it has that quality of balance, feeling natural in the hand, that my favorite razors have.
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This was an absolute DOG in its ebay pics. Manhattan Cutlery, Sheffield. Scales were shot and the razor was nearly black with oxidation. Nearly full wedge and a delicious shaver. I have at least 20 hours of work into this one and my only regret is that I couldn't save the etching.
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I've had a fair number of French frame backs go through my hands but this one, so far, has easily been my favorite. Not particularly rare and you can find them on eBay France and they still don't go for too much, though the shipping can kill you. This is a lovely shaver and I look forward to using it every time.
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One of the few I think I regret selling, especially every time I read Haggis' straight razor journal where he lists another excellent shave with it. The only identifying word is Excelsior on the blade. It looks and feels like a German razor, but I saw a very similar Torrey not too long ago, so it might be one of theirs. Not only pretty, but honed easily and is perfectly balanced. Just perfect.
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I don't know how it happened, but I managed to get this one for, iirc, under 30 bucks, which at the time was generally more than I was spending for razors with bad pics. After it arrived, I remember feeling like I should turn myself in to the local jail. It was one of my first Japanese razors and what caused me to fall in love with them. After honing it and shaving with it, I mistakenly thought that I must be the greatest honemeister in the world because that's the only person who could have put such a great an edge on a blade.

Alas, every other razor after this one managed to disprove my temporary thesis and put me back among the ordinary. It was the razor, not me. It's craftsmanship is exquisite and the shaves show it. I also love the phrase "Super Extra".
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The sum total of all of these razors was well under a 100 bucks. For any newbies reading this, keep that in mind when you're looking for razors. You don't need to spend 300 dollars or more. One day you may want to, but you certainly don't have to.
 
Very nice collection of "underdogs". There are many excellent no name razors out there.
Here's one that came from Turkey, $9. Shipping was about $10 and I'd forgotten about it by the time it arrived, long time coming. Great shaver, Size Gold by Paul Zsa Zsa.
 
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. For any newbies reading this, keep that in mind when you're looking for razors. You don't need to spend 300 dollars or more

This is one of the reasons why I started this post. I thought $55 for a Fatboy was over the top but I just about had a heart attack when I saw straight prices. I'm sure that others have just shaken their heads and walked away. I'm frugal, cheap, broke but am able to get great enjoyment in this art/hobby.

I'm curious if any of the big hitters around here(who post some of the most amazing pictures of razors ill never own but love to look at) have some lowly underdogs that they love.
 
lol yea until I found Buca and his miracle gold dollars I thought I'd have to sell all of my DE's to get started with straights lol
 
Very nice collection of "underdogs". There are many excellent no name razors out there.
Here's one that came from Turkey, $9. Shipping was about $10 and I'd forgotten about it by the time it arrived, long time coming. Great shaver, Size Gold by Paul Zsa Zsa.
well it certainly doesn't look like a 9 dollar razor. Quite a find.
 
Heres a couple of old Bokers. I paid less than 20 bucks apiece for these. You can get a prettier razor but not a better shave. IMHO

 
This is one of the reasons why I started this post. I thought $55 for a Fatboy was over the top but I just about had a heart attack when I saw straight prices. I'm sure that others have just shaken their heads and walked away. I'm frugal, cheap, broke but am able to get great enjoyment in this art/hobby.

I'm curious if any of the big hitters around here(who post some of the most amazing pictures of razors ill never own but love to look at) have some lowly underdogs that they love.

Honestly a 5 dollar vintage find can shave just as good as a top dollar filarmonica ... I just think they look pretty... Honestly I've paid 275 for a new 7/8 o1 tool steel razor made this year and it doesn't shave as good as my little $30 5/8 ERN craftsman razor

In fact this "underdog" will get it's turn in the rotation tonight in honor of this thread

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So the 2 underdogs that come to mind for me are my Espagnolette and my Hyena.

The Espagnolette surprised me by Shaving as well as a Fontenille or a Le Grelots.
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And the Hyena, feels just as good as my Puma or Dorko. I am pretty sure I pick it up more often than them.
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I have almost the same razor. All gold tang and worked spine and picked it up very reasonably. However I think ERN are some of the finest blades ever made. Not always pretty but always a great shave
 
This is a great thread. I really enjoyed the pictures and commentary. Thanks to all for increasing my knowledge.
 
Mine says "The Winner" on the tang. I got it by accident on Ebay. I was registering and wanted to make sure I could place a bid, so I quickly found a razor that looked OK and placed a low bid on it figuring that I would get outbid anyway. I got it for $12.95 shipped.
I have only honed it once since its arrival 11/5/2013. It has 45 shaves and counting with just clean strops for maintenance. Sometimes the sleepers are the best.
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