Thread: Questions about new razor

I just purchased my first razor on ebay for $10. I was wondering if anyone could tell me from the pics if this might be a decent razor.

It might be a decent razor. It might only be a decent practice razor. It's going to depend on how deep the rust is on the edge on the toe end. If it's just surface rust, it might hone up just fine and you will have yourself a perfectly serviceable razor. On the other hand, the rust may be deeper into the edge and it will take a heck of a lot of metal removal to get to the good stuff. If that is the case, then you will have ample opportunity to gain some honing muscle memory!

You did just fine with your purchase, UNLESS you thought you could buy a $10 razor and just start shaving. Given that you are on this forum, you probably already know that is not the case. If you want a razor to practice with, you can't go wrong with a $10 razor. Now if you want a razor to shave with, you are going to have to invest more time and money. Good luck with it!

Cant really add anything to what Utopian has said, I think he covered it all. If that toe will clean up it will be a good razor at a good price.

The idea behind this purchase was to have a razor to practice stropping, honing, and restoration.I have pm'd kenrup about a DA starter kit for shaving. My next question is if it cleans up is this particular razor of decent quality?

In general the older razors with embellishments on the blade are OK.

It would be helpful to see the maker's name on the tang.

The razor was advertised as Crown Razor Co. Boston, Mass.

A crown razor is a good brand. Practice your restoration and stropping first. Then you can practice honing it.

Thanks to all for your responses!

yep - the honing wear is rather large and uneven, plus the rust on the edge looks a bit scary from the picture, but for practice should be no problem. At least at this point there's not much worse that can happen to the razor, so just have a go at it and you'll learn plenty.

The razor came in the mail today. My first thought was it's smaller than I expected (watched Sweeney Todd). The good news is that it is in much better shape than in the pics. The rust is very light and should come off easily. The hone wear on the spine is uneven. What does this affect when honing/stropping? Is this common? How do I prevent this from happening when I start honing on my next razor? Sorry for all the questions but your replies are very much appreciated.