Hi folks,
How rare are these wade and butcher anchors? I heard a lot of hype about them.
And is it rare because it was made at another town (ie Birmingham)?
I found this blade, what do you think?
Attachment 296359
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Hi folks,
How rare are these wade and butcher anchors? I heard a lot of hype about them.
And is it rare because it was made at another town (ie Birmingham)?
I found this blade, what do you think?
Attachment 296359
Wades have a big following and are nice blades, Rare? Sure are a lot of them out there, they were around a long time and many probably millions made. And that one isn't original, so rare no. Tc
It's not that it is rare. Has been restored with new scales. What it is is an early Wade & Butcher
Wade & Butcher. Anchor stamp. Sheffield, 19th century.
imo Wade & Butchers not incredibly rare but they are a loved brand so it will get higher prices. Although finding older ones in good condition can be sort of a hard thing to do.
Buying larger razors in that condition with those scales prices will be about the same as a new custom razor. I believe I know that vendor that has that razor and I personally am a fan of how his razors come out. His prices I think are a bit high but I also think his work is bit nicer than some of the other restores.
quick edit: if you are looking for your first razor or starting your collection I would recommend a different razor. Don't want to go investing a good sum of money on a collectors piece when you are not sure about the hobby yet.
Thanks, guys for your opinion. I wanted to buy a blade either for myself or a relative who actually knows and likes blades. So I wanted to give him something valuable.
In your opinion, what is a nice collector's blade, ie in terms of specific brands and such
I would check out Griffith shaving then, nice video tags blades there for good price
Very large and heavy razors are not everyone’s cup of tea. Before laying out that kind of cash for a gift for someone, I would want to make sure it was going to be to their taste. I have a few bigger blades and honestly they don’t see as much use as not quite as large and not quite as heavy of blades.
Wade and Butcher's are the best razors available on this earth.....
My opinion :)
Not just yours . . .Quote:
Originally Posted by JOB15
This could turn into an all out war with the Wostenholm contingent.
Or the Rodgers or the Greaves you get the idea :rofl2:
This could turn ugly :tameshigiri:
They are nice razors, nothing special they don't do it for me much in the same way Filarmonica doesn't, I've owned some really nice versions of those two makers sold them on, I personally would place Wade & Butcher as a good solid honest piece of steel nothing more.
To me . . . that's all you can ask of a razor.
I think of steel in 2 ways : Brittle & Malleable
Most vintage Sheffield razors are malleable which gives an unbeatable edge, sharp and soft at the same time.
That's how I see it .. Just typing this has triggered my honing hormones :)
Seems we decided a long while back that the anchor on these had nothing to do with Birmingham.
Lots of makers used it?
A decoration to entice sailors, I seem to remember...
Whoever thought those scales were the way to go needs their tools taken away and given a time out...
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...no need to be rude.
I do wonder what some of the owners/workers would think if they knew their goods were having such devoted followings a century later...
And also reminds me of the anecdote I heard from a historian at the Cutlers Co. in Sheffield of workers making razors with an assortment of stamps in front of them for various firms and might stamp the same batch of razors with different "makers".
I don't think we've reached a definitive researched answer. The Birmingham bit probably comes from one of the city marks used to assay silver - Birmingham had an anchor and London a lion's head, for example (and I add that this was only for silver and did not translate to steel goods).Quote:
Originally Posted by sharptonn
