Newbie Here

I've been Kicking around the Idea of Getting a Straight razor for awhile now, and hadn't really looked into one too hard, kinda had a vague idea of what to look for........

... and when looking through a antique shop, I found a old Wade and Butcher. Ill post pics In a Bit, I want to clean it up and use it. It was only 17$ the Blade is in pretty good shape from what i can tell.

SOOOO I have the blade,I need to restore it, and start outfitting for the rest of the gear..

I hope to be learning alot from here!

Btw, Im not taking it to my face for awhile, but i have been shaving peaches.:)

Welcome, I sure do enjoy peaches.

Good luck and don't forget to post your updates on your first restoration!!!!

Congrats

I took the plung about 18 months ago and started with an inexpensive disposable straight razor. Jumping into straight shaving was a great decision and I have not looked back.

Check out the SRP Wiki to get started. My straights are resevered for one purpose only - To give me a BBS shave whenever called upon. I let my other knives deal with the peaches.:medvl:

Pabster

Def get it to a pro and get it shave ready, especially if its your first so then you have a benchmark, wade and butcher r great shavers congrats:) lets see some pics soon!:)

Congrats! Pics?
I agree with thewatermark - send that thing off to be professionally honed (or buy a shave-ready razor) so you know what sharp is and can start shaving comfortably. Shave with the one while you monkey around with the restore and learn to hone... Next thing you know you'll have two shave-ready razors! (...and a set of hones, and a sandpaper collection, and a worried spouse...)

-D

Here's the pics i promised...

http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/v...aPyCb/raz2.jpg

http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/v...aPyCb/raz1.jpg

http://i698.photobucket.com/albums/v...MaPyCb/raz.jpg

Ive been trying to find one with a spine like this one and i cannot find one.... Any help would be appreciated...

Also there's no missus...... so no worry's there:)


http://s698.photobucket.com/albums/v...rrent=raz2.jpg

Very nice! I'd say you got a good deal. I like the spine too. Get her honed up and tell us how she shaves...

-D

Madwolf,
Congrats on your razor. There is a wealth of infor here and a ton of people willing to help. The Wiki is a great place to start.. or the forum "The Workshop".. full of info on restoring razors..

You can sure get it cleaned up a lot on your own...but you'll still need to have is sharpened.. and you'll need to learn to keep the edge sharp with a leather strop.

There is a lot to learn and it's great fun.. Read everything you can online here or buy the DVD from lynn Abrams and watch it over and over to you extract evrything you need.

For starters while you are learning.. It would be fun to clean up your razor with some Turtle wax (green bottle) rubbing compound, polish wax... Some people prefer MAAZ and still others like to use Mothers Mag and Aluminum Cleaner first... It won't hurt anything and it will surely make your razor shine more than it does now.

After you read a while you can decide if you want to restore your own or send it out.. It's not that hard to do it yourself.. but it does take some elbow greese and time.

At the workshop forum .. you'll get to see what other first time restorers hve accomplished... if you run into trouble ... there are plenty of people to help you..

Hope this helps you get started a little... I know after I got my first old Razor .. I wanted to clean it up a little, but wasn't sure how to start...

Welcome to SRP.. its a great site with lots of great people to help you along..

Maq

I have found that I have a Frame back with a barbers notch. Its a 5/8 blade. I have been trying to see what year this sort of razor was produced and have yet to Find any info.

I have been scouring the Wiki BTW, I will be having some questions soon!

Madwolf,

I have a book.. "Standard Guide to Razors" Identification and Values... I like this book.. only 12.00 approx ... at several places online... amazon..ebay.. and at stores....borders and barnes and noble.. Lots of fun information and lots of pics and examples of great razors too!

Anyway.. on page 73 of the book they have a page called Razor Dating at a Glance.. according to the book.. Framebacks started into production about 1810 and were made through 1870 or so.. That said... I'm always looking for a nice frameback... It would be the oldest razor I own..

Another example are wedge ground blades... started in 1740 and stopped in 1870 as well... If the book is accurate .. that is nice information..

Hope that helped.

Let us know how it shaves too.. you'll be shaving with a blade 140 to 200 years old!!! Wow!!

Have fun!

Maq