My name is Bill, and I am an irritant... so my wife says. I make custom knives and I also collect and restore old straight razors. I have written a comprehensive book on CD telling you how to restore them. It includes over an hour of video. I also have a section on the CD that shows you how to buy a razor off of eBay. You can check my about Me page for a lot more information. If you dig a little bit, you can find where to get it. I'm not here on this page to make sales.

I have bought and sold a lot of razors here. And, I know the word "thousand" belongs in that sentence somewhere. During those transactions, I picked up a few tips along the way. I will give up a couple of them to you on this little pulpit.

There has been a significant rise in unscrupulous sellers on eBay since I started back in March of '98. When a buyer gets a $15 razor and it turns out to be absolute junk, they usually remain quiet and eat the loss. They figure it's not worth exchanging negative feedback with the seller over the small amount they paid if they actually deserved a refund instead. 

There are some sellers who take advantage of those of you with smaller feedback scores. Here's how. They may have 3 or 4 thousand feedbacks. They use that with intimidation because they know a single "negative" from a peon like you will not affect their percentage much. Their negative feedback to you can really be upsetting, especially since all you did was pay them immediately and expect to get what you paid for. I really think sellers should not be allowed to leave negative feedback unless a buyer doesn't pay, but that's another story. If you have a problem with the razor, tell the seller. The good ones, and there are several in the eBay community, will make things right.

Here are some of the things to look for when you want to buy that straight razor.

• If a seller has over 500 feedbacks and is still giving you fuzzy pictures, it's probably on purpose
• If a seller says it "looks" like ivory, it's celluloid. A person who knows ivory won't say it "looks" like ivory
• If the razor has metal inlay caps on the ends of the scales, they are celluloid, not ivory.
• If the seller says it's carved ivory, they need to be slapped. There are only a very few carved ivory razors around. I doubt you will ever see one here. It's celluloid. A design on the scales... molded celluloid... it's not a debate.
• With very few exceptions, the razors you see that have straight lines cut into them in a couple different patterns usually involving "rays" as an offshoot to perpendicular lines are cow bone, not ivory. The same pattern can be found, however, in mother of pearl. Those are pretty obvious, though. 
• If you can see "pores"  on the surface of the scales, it's cow bone, not ivory.
• Be very wary of a seller who uses ALL CAPITOL LETTERS to describe their razors. I don't quite know why, but I have gotten a lot of duds from people like that. This comment is mostly in jest, but I am beginning to re-evaluate the comment because there is a certain amount of truth to it.
• If you see any kind of  arched chunk of blade missing, no matter how small, it was not made that way to go around mustaches as one seller suggested.
• If the seller tries to blow smoke up the ole wazoo with "it is in good shape for its age", ask them what age would that be. It doesn't matter how old it is. It's either in good shape or it's not. Go to my about Me page for a clarification.
•  If the seller says it can easily be cleaned up but will leave that to the buyer to preserve collectibility, they will also sell you the London bridge. They either don't know how or they are too lazy to do it themselves. I don't like dishonesty... what about you?
• Check to see if the blade is parallel for the entire length of the cutting edge. Only a few of the older razors are narrower at one end or the other. The blades can be curved, but they still need to be parallel.
• I have over 500 razors in my collection. I only have ONE from Pakistan... that should tell you something.
• Messerschmidtt (spelling) is NOT a german razor. See the last sentence.

Anything that looks worse than this razor...   I S   N O T   M I N T.  Don't let anyone tell you different.

The next person you run across that uses the word "RARE" needs to be taken out back to the woodshed. There are not a whole lot of "RARE" razors out there. Most of them are already in collections. The person who has one for sale hardly ever has to use the word to describe it because they know what they are talking about when it is listed. Those buyers who collect razors don' t need to be told if it is rare.... they already know.

Rare razors are the celluloids with the snake, the lobster, the fish, and the cowboy with the two little rhinestones on one side. These aren't all of them, but you get my drift. So the seller who normally uses this word is trying to take advantage of your lack of knowledge to get more bids. And I hope they don't like what I have to say about it, either. I'll be happy to make the trip to the woodshed with them.

If a seller gives you junk for pictures, ask these questions...

• Are there ANY cracks in the blade?
• If you run a toothpick lightly along the cutting edge, can you feel any snags?
• Are there ANY cracks in the scales (handles)?
• Ask if the blade looks like it has been shortened. If there is more than 1/4 inch gap between the end of the blade and the spacer in the scales while in a closed position... it has been shortened. You can always use a ruler, as you would a compass, on your computer monitor to swing an arch from the pivot pin and tip of blade down to the butt of the scales to get an idea.
• Is there more or less than a sixteenth of an inch flat spot anywhere along the top of the blade at the spine? Any more than a sixteenth, then stay away unless you already have my restoration CD to know how to fix it. :-)
• Ask if the "tarnish" they talked about extends below the surface of the rest of the blade. If so, it's pitting, not tarnish.

Hope this smidge of info has helped you to make a somewhat informed decision. Hopefully, you have picked up on my sense of humor. Some of you may not... sorry. If this information helped at all, don't be afraid to say it did by pushing the "yes" button. No one invades your computer and there are no forms to fill out. It's just a button. If you just want the power to put me in my place, push the other one to make me cry.

take good care...  Bill