Yes, the temper is basically the process in which a bladesmith heats the razor up and then quickly cooling it down to harden the steel. With out this the blade will not take an edge. Some amateurs may just use a dremel and flatten the tip off. Others may just put it on a belt grinder. Regardless if done incorrectly you can break the temper turning the razor into a glorified butter knife. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I Have Recieved Very Few Razors from EBay I Havent Had to Hone..There are a Number of Reliable SR Sellers on EBay...But its a Shame Cause People are So Suspicious Now that its Hard to get a DECENT Price in the UK at Least for Selling Proper Clean Shave Ready SRs...Its Annoying to Me & Other Honest SR Folks I have Spoken to that Attempt to Sell Proper Shave Ready SRs on EBay...Buyer Folks in the UK are Miserable as Well with their Money... By the By..Most Official or Big Company SR Dealers/Shops in the UK are Unscrupulous as Well when it Comes Down to SR Shave Ready Claims...Most are Just Downright Liars.. Billy..
The one I have issues with is ukmerchant, or something like that. I bought a razor from him, and it was so overpolished, the temper was gone. I complained, and he immediately banned me from any purchases of his, as well as another name he goes under.
I've never heard of a Mahar & Grosh razor before, but that's just me. Google search revealed this. I don't think you caught him in a lie because he has 1274 100% positive feedbacks. I think he got caught by the regrind due to ignorance and just got embarrassed by your correction. I think the regrind, if there was one, was very minor at the toe. You'll notice there is some pitting at the toe "T". It could also have been an improperly stamped or engraved logo, although it was supposed to be a very reputable company with high-quality standards. The reason I say this is because he describes the blade as being 15/16" wide and 5-3/4" long. That's a big razor! None of the 80+ blades in my collection come anywhere near 5-3/4" long, except one I got from Jerry Stark and that was a modern artisan blade. I just don't think that a seller with that feedback score would take a chance on getting a negative feedback score due to dishonesty.
To each his own, I guess. Keep in mind that nobody forces anyone to buy something on ebay. That site has always been "Buyer Beware!" to me. One of the determining factors in a purchase is the seller's feedback score. I won't purchase from anyone with a score lower than 99% and that's with reservations.
100% agree. I, too, have a 100% positive feedback score and would never "knowingly" do anything to jeopardize that. The operative word here is "knowingly".
Right. People should bear in mind that most of the straight razor sellers are antique dealers that purchase from estate sales and don't really know much about straight razors...even dealers who sell a lot of straights.
To Me the Operative Word here is AS ADVERTISED...Or We Just Get Caught Up in a Somatic Debate...Dealers that ADVERTISE Knowingly or Not are False Adverts & False Sellers...When All of the UK Dealers in the UK are Confronted by Buyers they Tell Absolute Lies...I Have Seen the E Mails...When I get the Razors to Hone Most have been Run Over a Low Grit DMT or Low Grit Stone & Claimed Honed... I Warn Folks about this..Not Only that its Dangerous as the Unwitting 1st Time Buyer Believes they are Honed to Shave Ready & Attempt to Shave with Em & Think it their Technique its at Fault...I have Honed Hundreds of SRs from Dealers...They Know All Right..Cause they have Been Told & Keep Up the Same Selling Practices..The Unwitting Antique Dealer...Hell Yeah...That Happens... I Am Talkin SR Sellers Here... Billy..
Having never bought any straights from ebayUK, I'll take your word for it. I never meant to imply that all dealers are honest but ignorant. There is a bit of larceny in all of us...myself excepted, of course. My point is that if you are going to spend your hard-earned money on an auction site, then you had better educate yourself with some knowledge of the item's worth and the realization that there are unscrupulous dealers. Hence, my rule to never buy from someone with a feedback score of less than 99%.
Understood. I wouldn't sell something that I didn't know what it was, indeed every detail of said object.
5 3/4 is probably measured from tail to toe(end to end). He stated he added this, after our conversation.
Still, if the blade is actually now 5-3/4" long from tail to toe, where and how much could have been ground off? That would have been a very long blade. Unlikely IMO.
Believe him if you like. I wouldnt believe anything he says. The picture says it all. Still, you are free to buy, or make an offer, for that razor. Since you are certain he is not being dishonest.
Heh, heh. I've never paid $190 for an ebay razor in my life! $30 & under is more my style. It's not really for me to judge whether or not the man is honest. I'm just looking at his positive feedback score of 100%. That has to mean something. Incidentally, I did buy a nice CW Dahlgren frameback from him for $20!