I was poking around eBay this evening and came across this razor (see attached) with the BIN set at $8.99 plus $4 shipping. Here's the listing: Antique Vintage Hunts Sons Straight Razor The Crusader. This is another antique vintage men's straight razor. The blade is marked-Edwin Hunts Sons Importers Chicago-The Crusader, with hallmark. The black handled razor was in this case but we do not believe this is the original case. This is a neat vintage razor. We can combine won razors when shipping to save on shipping costs. Feel free to ask questions. Shipping cost to be paid by the high bidder and it includes delivery confirmation. I did some digging with Google for about half an hour and found evidence of Edwin Hunt's Sons Hardware in Chicago in the 1870s...even found an antiques site listing a postcard that originated from the store dated 1875 (see attached). They wanted as much for the postcard as I paid for this razor! In my digging, I found, on the University of North Carolina library website, a collection of letters to home from Andrew Lucas Hunt during his enlistment in the U.S. Army during the Civil War, with mention of him joining his family's Chicago-based hardware business after returning home from. With provenance like that and the $13 price tag for what looks to be a very clean razor, I had to jump on it. I figured at the very least, I can practice my honing skills on he thing. One thing I could find no mention of was who they got their razors from. My research told me Edwin Hunt was English (b. 1809), so perhaps an English maker? The box that comes with the razor (which the admittedly uninformed seller surmises is not original to the razor) clearly has "Temperlite No. 20 5/8" on it, which research informed me is a Case & Sons model. Pictures of those razors have scales that look surprisingly similar to those on the razor I just bought. The shape of the shank is similar, too, specifically the bevel on the bottom. So, yeah, I might have scored a sweet little gem or nothing more than a victim for my efforts to learn how to properly sharpen a blade. Any input on what this thing is would be greatly appreciated.
Very interesting! Hard to tell the razor's condition in the pics ( at least with my poor eyesight), but looks promising, and I probably would have grabbed it if I had the opportunity. Hopefully, the experts have some more info for you.
Yes, crap pictures. Why an eBay seller with thousands of transactions logged feels compelled to post two almost identical pictures of an item for sale is always baffling to me. I could have fired off a bunch of questions the seller should have known to include in his listing in the first place, but then someone could have swooped in and gotten a sweet razor while I was waiting for a reply. If the other side of the blade looks like a battlefield, that's what eBay's Buyer Protection is for.
Very nice looking razor. personally i would pay someone to have that honed, (unless you know what you are doing) as that looks very nice, If you have never honed a razor before I persoanlly would practise on a razor that is not as nice as that. yes I know what you mean about askin questions re-ebay pics i did the same as you dont ask and hope its good, I got a TI straight that was very nice, I hope its works out good for you.
I can't see anything wrong with the razor from the pic, at least the side he showed you. All in all it sounds like you scored a great deal and I don't think I'd use that for a practice honer, there are many crap razors around for that. Great job!
Got my pop's Dremel out yesterday in anticipation of the arrival. Gonna hit Home Depot for some buffing/polishing attachments and some MAAS. Hopefully that's all this thing will need before getting it professionally honed. The recommendation to avoid hacking it up myself made sense, so I'll get it in the hands of a pro. I see that WhippedDog.com offers honing lessons via mail (he sends you razors, you hone and send back...repeating the process until you're good at honing).
I'm going to be participating in that offer as soon as I get a Norton set. His half set prices are outstanding too if only having half blocks don't bother you.
Please be careful with the Dremel, I've seen a lot of razors irreversibly damaged with one of those; not to mention the fact that it can be dangerous. High grit hand sanding can produce some great results. Just a thought...
I have no practical experience, but I have seen threads warning folks against polishing a straight with a Dremel because it is a sure fire way to chip the edge to the point of turning it into junk. A progression of sandpaper grits is a safer albeit slower course of action. [EDIT] As you can see, Chris beat me to the punch.
I use a dremel for buffing my straights. Use a progression of sand paper first. It the safest and easiest way to get rid of years of neglect. Things that might help if you are going to use a dremel. (this is what I do) I only use the cloth buffing wheels with a gentle metal polish (Blue magic metal cream, is what I use), it can really bring out the shine , but you must stay away from the Blade edge with the dremel, hold the blade very securely, and don't use the highest RPM, only do a small section for a short time (you don't want to heat the blade too much). If your careful, gentle, and take your time, a dremel can give excellent results, but you might want to practice on some really bad blades with the dremel 1st to get the hang of it.
I'd only be using cloth or felt polishing wheels and something like Maas. I've got a variable speed foot switch I need to test out and see what kind of speeds it gives me. Of course, all this will depend on what this blade looks like. Thanx for the advice all.
I am one of those guys who nearly killed a blade with my dremel. Luckily Glen was able to turn it around. BE CAREFUL!
battle.munky...and anyone else who can chime in here...please explain how y'all are (almost) ruining your blades with Dremels? I understand the heat build up thing. I figure if I'm using a felt polishing wheel and some Maas, heat should be my biggest concern. Aside from keeping the blade under control so it doesn't shoot across the room or slice into my hand, this seems like a pretty straight-forward polishing job. Some have mentioned staying away from the edge. How much damage can I really do with a felt polishing wheel? I understand not to go across the edge with the wheel, only polish along (parallel to) the edge. I'm not being combative...I really don't know, never done this on a straight razor before.
Alright, I received the razor and its condition isn't as nice as I'd hoped. Looks like it's been honed a lot and badly. It's got a heavy honing line on both sides of the shoulder and the blade edge is wavy, with some aggressive honing into the heel. No chips, deep rust or pitting that I can see; the metal is quite clean for its age. The plastic scales are in nice shape, still tight at the pivot pin and the blade closes somewhat centered...perhaps a bit off to one side. Is it even worth trying to save?
I see the uneven edge, is the blade warped ? I've found that you hone out an uneven edge and even it back up. But a warped blade is way beyond my limited honing ability. If it's not warped you've now got a good razor to practice and learn on. Get out the dremel and the hones and go to town. Honestly, if your interested in learning to polish up and hone straights. 13 dollars got you something to practice on. It's worth trying to save if it's not warped.
What happened to me is that I was polishing away and got too close to the heel and the felt got some traction and dragged the collett into the edge and took a good 16th" size nick out of it. All of this happened in a flash, like a snake strike. I could have really screwed myself up in hindsight if the momentum would have ended up pulling my hand into the blade instead of/before the collett hit. I had the razor clamped to a board....tried to make sure I had everything under control the best I could and still had a bit of a mishap. You could try it if you skills exceed mine, which wouldn't be a huge feat. Just be cautious. If you hit the blade wrong it could quite literally get you. I couldn't image a str8 cut with force behind it.....
You don't have to. If you have Netflix, just watch Deadliest Warrior: Mafia vs. Yakuza........you'll see... I tried to find the clip of the guy using one against a dummy, but I couldn't.
