Wade & Butcher Cleanup

This is a razor I happened upon in an antique shop this summer. It is a Wade and Butcher 8/8 with dyed horn scales. I believe that it is in original condition. I am new to restoring razors, but decided to put some work into this one. It really was in surprising shape for an antique store find. I have not seen another razor in the same configuration, I would be interested if anyone has anymore information.

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Following advice I found here I removed the scales and soaked them in neatsfoot oil, followed by light sanding. I then cleaned up the blade with 800-2000 grit wet/dry sanding paper. Finally, I re-peened the scales using a washer inside as a bearing surface and a single washer on the outside.

This is my second attempt at peening. Following a tip here I sanded the ends of the cutoff pins and slightly rounded the edges before peening, which helped immensely in producing a smooth finish.

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I just finished honing the blade and look forward to shaving with it tomorrow morning.

Well done and a beautiful razor!

I really like the scales! Beautiful razor!!

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Nice work! Congratulations on bringing the scales back to life without them breaking :bow:

I hope Martin can chime in as he's quite knowledgeable about the W&B razors (among others).

I would ask if the blade holds open at all positions, especially the 3/4 to fully open as these heavy blades make a rather nice miniature Guillotine for fingers :w

What are your plans for bringing it to shave ready? (honing) Just wondering :shrug:

Great job on that! I really like the scales as well.
W&B are my favorite razors, awesome save

Very nice razor and well done on the cleanup.

I keep looking around the antique shops but am yet to find anything interesting I am quite jealous. I would really like to add a Wade and Butcher to my collection and have yet to even see one in the flesh.

Let us know how the first shave goes.

Thank you for the kind words everyone.

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Originally Posted by cudarunner

Nice work! Congratulations on bringing the scales back to life without them breaking :bow:

I hope Martin can chime in as he's quite knowledgeable about the W&B razors (among others).

I would ask if the blade holds open at all positions, especially the 3/4 to fully open as these heavy blades make a rather nice miniature Guillotine for fingers :w

What are your plans for bringing it to shave ready? (honing) Just wondering :shrug:

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I would be interested in learning more about the razor. I believe that it was made before 1890, but do not know much more than that.

It opens smoothly and begins to tighten at about a quarter and is tight with the scales straight with the blade and all the way open, (in standard shaving position). I decided not to tighten past that point so as to not overly stress the old horn.

I honed the razor myself last night. I had done this previously, but the edge required touch up after the work. I currently use lapping film for honing, (finishing on 0.5 um). Based upon my opinion and loupe this produces good results. However, I would like to switch to stones, I currently own 1K 6K stones and need to round out my progression.

I have included a close up photograph of the tang markings below.

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Nightcap, Welcome to SRP, you did a fine job on this razor its quite lovely. Its really not a common Wade & Butcher it doesn't have a "For Barber Use" stamp as most 8/8 have, no barbers notch, it does have a deep thump notch, its hollow ground, even more the stained horn scales are not common on these.
From what I see I'm almost certain that this razor was re-ground at some point, a common practice to take a wedge and turn into a hollow ground razor. That razor is definitely much older then 1890, I would date it more like 1850-1860. Somebody took really good care of this blade, Enjoy it.

This morning I shaved with the razor, which produced superb results. The 8/8 blade is heavier than I am used to, but the hollow grind easily cuts through facial hair. I am very pleased with the razor and plan on using it exclusively for some time in order become better acquainted with it.

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Originally Posted by Martin103

Nightcap, Welcome to SRP, you did a fine job on this razor its quite lovely. Its really not a common Wade & Butcher it doesn't have a "For Barber Use" stamp as most 8/8 have, no barbers notch, it does have a deep thump notch, its hollow ground, even more the stained horn scales are not common on these.
From what I see I'm almost certain that this razor was re-ground at some point, a common practice to take a wedge and turn into a hollow ground razor. That razor is definitely much older then 1890, I would date it more like 1850-1860. Somebody took really good care of this blade, Enjoy it.

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Thank you very much for the useful information, I will enjoy the razor for many years to come.

That is a good start into the addictive world of razor restoration!! I love those old Sheffield blades:)

Fantastic job, love everything about that razor. You really did a top notch job with it.