Advice on Antique Store straight razors

I am a frequent flyer when it comes to antique store shopping for vintage DE razors. Up to this point I have passed over the straights. Now that I am on the edge of the SR rabbit hole I would like some advice on what to look for when buying antique store straight razors.


What should I look for in terms of the condition of the blade, scales, desired makes/models, etc. etc.? Any advice would be welcomed.

I haven't found a "bad" vintage razor in terms of the shave. It depends on how much work you want to do, though. Usually anything other than cracks on the blade and big chunks of missing metal chips can be honed out. Deeper chips and you might have to take out too much metal. But pretty much any vintage straight you find at an antique shop will need at the very least a good honing from the years of oxidation. Any chip will require grinding /removing metal to fix, so if its so deep that there won't be much blade left, pass. Try to avoid deep pitting/rust until you get a grasp of what can be polished away and what cannot.

If it is worth it to you, on a really nice or interesting blade, the scales (handles) can be replaced for as cheaply or extravagantly as you wish.

This thread may help.

Common sense is the best guide.
Reading through the existing threads on the topic can't hurt.
I think there's a couple of books out there also.

Concepts to be aware of

Hone wear on spine - should be minimal

Wear on point or heel - edge should be parallel to spine usually

Cracks in blade - can be made into shorty potentially, can affect blade width result

Chips vs bites on edge - chip can lose some mms in width, bites, less so..

Rust: red vs black, wedge vs hollow - on wedge may be superficial due to mass, on hollow it can be fatal flaw.. Depends on how deep pitting goes..

Scales - easily replaceable

Size - a 5/8s or 4/8s with issues is gonna be small when issues resolved, not many people really enjoy a 3/8s or 2/8s.. But I've heard of a few... A 7/8s wedge can withstand a bit more before it gets to that same point.

Rainbowish color on blade metal, usually may indicate temper loss..

Frowns - imagine the shallowest point being the largest once rehoned..

Smiles - not a problem ,edges don't need to be straight, they just shouldn't be frowns..

Patina, not an issue

Can't think of anything else, but with every little issue like cracked scales, missing pins, rust, wear, etc, the price should reflect condition, not restored condition. Even cheapest plastic scales gonna be around $20 in parts. Blade restoration is a lot of hours of manual labor.

Dremels and razors are dangerous near edge and for temper, use caution

Edges are always sharp, even when not honed...

Getting a bevel is the the most important point in honing.. Can take a while in both hollow and wedge, a wedge can feel like forever depending on angles.

As far as desired models, there appears to be way way more distinct straights than DEs..

Big names in vintage and really old vintage include dubl duck, wostenholm, wade & butcher, Torrey, dovo, thiers issard, Kropp, greaves, craftsman, there are just so many.. Mostly you'll find Sheffield England and solingen, Germany.. Those should be okay

Size wise anything that looks okay should be a considered purchase..

I would say bring a pocket 10x magnifier. Cracks can look like corrosion lines and vice versa. In my hunts, it's not uncommon to find some idiot got too aggressive with a wire wheel or really laid into the polishing wheel in order to make it look pretty and overheated the blade. I've had wire wheel gouges in the bevel area that were really deep. A common fault you'll see is that they get dropped toe first and part of the blade will crack. Look for bent spines. Some people must think these things are crowbars. Always check for deep corrosion near the bevel.

There are 4 blades sitting at the local antique mall and between them, they could show you almost every common serious flaw.

My rule of thumb is to not overpay. Antique store salespeople generally don't know anything about the razors they carry. I cleaned one with a dremel and a chunk of metal chipped off. I'm guessing in this instance that the steel had become brittle with age. How do you anticipate that happening?

Very often the antique store sales guy focus on more cosmetic things. Like nice scales and shinny. They might overlook the true value of a blade. I have a couple #14 I got cheap because their scales were cracked, yet the blades are pristine.

California Cajun said:

My rule of thumb is to not overpay. Antique store salespeople generally don't know anything about the razors they carry. I cleaned one with a dremel and a chunk of metal chipped off. I'm guessing in this instance that the steel had become brittle with age. How do you anticipate that happening?

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Steel usually doesn't become brittle with age. Temperature extremes absolutely. Exposure to fairly nasty environments not likely in habitable areas; possibly. There is something called "hydrogen embrittlement" which can occur during manufacturing (I'm looking at you CalTrans!). More likely the blade wasn't properly tempered to begin with (or it was just a crappy batch of steel). No way to know that short of destructive testing.

Great advice all around...thanks very much guys..

mtnredhed said:

Steel usually doesn't become brittle with age. Temperature extremes absolutely. Exposure to fairly nasty environments not likely in habitable areas; possibly. There is something called "hydrogen embrittlement" which can occur during manufacturing (I'm looking at you CalTrans!). More likely the blade wasn't properly tempered to begin with (or it was just a crappy batch of steel). No way to know that short of destructive testing.

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That makes sense. I cleaned a Taylor's Eyewitness (discontinued in the 1920s) and the dremel didn't hurt it at all. I have had straight razors five years and live in a hot, humid area, and have not experienced any deterioration whatsoever. Maybe five years isn't enough, but I do wash, dry, and strop each razor after use. Now if a razor spent 30 years in an attic, I would understand because it is unbelievably hot, I am impressed overall about how durable straight razors really are.

California Cajun said:

That makes sense. I cleaned a Taylor's Eyewitness (discontinued in the 1920s) and the dremel didn't hurt it at all. I have had straight razors five years and live in a hot, humid area, and have not experienced any deterioration whatsoever. Maybe five years isn't enough, but I do wash, dry, and strop each razor after use. Now if a razor spent 30 years in an attic, I would understand because it is unbelievably hot, I am impressed overall about how durable straight razors really are.

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Maybe I should of been more specific. If your attic is hot enough to change steel's temper, it's because the flames are shooting out the vents.