Thread: Wade and Butcher w/ stag

I am new to straight razor shaving and have a real hankering for a stag handled razor. I love the aesthetics of natural materials, and I saw this one on Ebay today:

Straight Razor "WADE & BUTCHER" 7/8" Stag great cond. - eBay (item 130413010118 end time Aug-01-10 12:41:44 PDT)

As I've come to really appreciate the collective expertise of the forum members here, I'd love to hear of your opinions. I see that this seller only has 75% positive feedback, but it seems like it's only based on the last year which was only 6 transactions (so one bad one will heavily skew the rating). I also looked at the negative comment, which is not for a razor sale. So, does anyone have any personal knowledge of this seller? It seems that they do quite a bit of razor restoration with custom scales based on a couple of other things I've seen they have sold. Part 2 of my question is related to the razor itself. Is there anything concerning about it that is detectable by eyes more experienced than mine? Thanks, Mike

I have bought two razors from this seller under their "manyrazor" name, the seller is a member of this forum. I wouldn't be put off by the one negative feedback, both razors I bought from this seller were superb. This seller has one of the few websites I regularly check for good vintage razors, he generally has excellent vintage Solingen razors in stock, with the occasional big Sheffield piece.

I'm not a fan of stag as a scale material (only aesthetically, not functionally), so I have no comment there. I do like horn in general as a scale material, though.

The razor itself looks great to me. Coincidentally, I have an almost identical W&B razor that was beautifully rescaled in G10 Blue/Black by forum member and rescaling/restoration wizard Maximillian (aka Max). This model of W&B must just be a good candidate for rescaling in general, because mine had beautiful steel but came to me via eBay as just a blade with no scales. Here's what Max did with it (pictures by Max, not me). But even the great pictures don't really do the razor justice in person, it shines like a jewel.

It's a very good shaver that hones easily and handles very well, I'd say go for it unless some stag fanatic drives the price up to unattainable levels.

If I were you I wouldn't bid on that razor.

Because If I were me, I already did.

Yea... that thing's gonna go for a pretty penny.

Yep, that razor is one to drool over! I have bought from the seller under both of his handles quite a few times: Manyrazor and Manyware. He is absolutely reliable for high quality razors, super secure packing, and certainty of the shipment arriving. He is also a huge collector and expert on Solingen razors, very helpful, friendly and a real gentleman. Too bad I can't afford to bid on most of his auctions anymore! No competition from me here, but I am watching that razor.

Well, I lost it, by 2 dollars and 50 cents. Someone wanted it more than me...

Being the first loser is never fun, but just remember, you have no idea how high his max actually was.