Thread: Nice W&B, Buut...

So, lots of mixed opinions!

I guess the auction will tell us the truth. With his reserve set at 700, perhaps one of you on the "its worth that much" side of the fence will pick it up. It's more then halfway there already with 5 days left to go in the auction!

But I suppose it goes to show that when blade collectors are involved, one man's trash is another's treasure!

Personally, I would have been more apt to bid on that in the raw, as found state. Mainly, it is because the rust and everything beneath it is still there so that is the point resto result will have the highest yield. Kind of like a classic car barn find.

Originally Posted by Aldwyn

So, lots of mixed opinions!

I guess the auction will tell us the truth. With his reserve set at 700, perhaps one of you on the "its worth that much" side of the fence will pick it up. It's more then halfway there already with 5 days left to go in the auction!

But I suppose it goes to show that when blade collectors are involved, one man's trash is another's treasure!

I'm a big W&B collector, and given what people pay for customs, for a unique piece of history like that, I would normally go for that no problem. Only reason I don't now is that IMO, it is a big chunk of change for a blade that I don't think would really be anywhere near a good usable razor, it's essentially an unfinished blade, I don't even know if you could call it a wedge as it is unfinished, and don't think that it would be even remotely enjoyable to shave with...IMO of course.

The whole presentation of the auction is lazy. No blade on a scale photo, no great stamp photo, a spine thickness measurement would be a huge help to calculate what kind of bevel that thing would generate.

My opinion is that unless you are a wealthy collector of large wade and butchers, and not an end user, stay away. For that amount of money you could easily get your hands on a 10/8 charlie lewis, dylan farnham, or silverloaf, all of which feature true artists in the peak of their razor making abilities. However, men will be men, so bigger is always better and "I" must have the biggest one!

Originally Posted by prodigy

My opinion is that unless you are a wealthy collector of large wade and butchers, and not an end user, stay away. For that amount of money you could easily get your hands on a 10/8 charlie lewis, dylan farnham, or silverloaf, all of which feature true artists in the peak of their razor making abilities. However, men will be men, so bigger is always better and "I" must have the biggest one!

I like bigger blades in the Sheffields and smaller blades in the frame backs personally as they are the most enjoyable to shave with for me, it's not a big swinging d__k thing, I get tired of that old canard, any more than people paying enormous sums for custom razors because they are unique and outlandish and want to stand out.

The big W&B is a very old piece as you mention, very rare, but I agree that in terms of it being an "end user" piece I for one am staying away for that reason - I just can't see that being enjoyable to shave with IMO.

I've seen a few marked 'blank for concaving' over the years. It is not 'that' rare a mark AFAIC, and not worth what he is looking for, even though it is that large a blade. If it were in original scales, with the original patina, maybe, but not as it is. IMHO.

Two prior examples ;

http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...concaving.html

http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...concaving.html

It's not to my giant Sheffield tastes, but it is more than likely going to fetch stupid money. Poor as the presentation is, it has gotten up to a respectable level so far.. The scales probably would have needed scrapping anyway, it's just nice to get blades in honest shape as you can make 1:1 duplicates of whatever is damaged.

The last two large blades on there were both e l and co. One was a rust bucket, the other had serious issues as well, both were not 10/8 and got very strong cash. 10/8 is hard to get.... All you need is one bottoming out blade dinging the edge over the last 150 years, or a sink ding, or a drop, or having been thrown in a box opened with other metallic objects rattling around because nobody cared, or severe rust down low and you lose the height... Or you find them reground by fools...

If someone paid me to make finding 10/8 sheffields my full time job and I was forbidden from just messaging ppl who posted them on here in the past or on other forums I think maybe I could find two a year... Maybe....