Thread: What should I expect ?

Hi all, so I did it, I won a razor off ebay and am looking forward to getting it in good shape. This is the second one I've won and to be honest, I haven't had the best luckwith the first. Both have been Wade & Butcher (not sure if that's going to make a difference) and I feel like I've had to do 50 or 60 passes on the Norton 4K/8K to get the first one even cloose to sharp and to be honest, I don' think there's any question it's still not ready to shave with.

So, here's the new one.

"Up for auction is a wonderful old vintage antique 5 7/8 inch closed Wade & Butcher Flat Ground Straight Razor. The dish point blade is 13/16 inches wide and marked on two lines WADE & BUTCHER – SHEFFIELD over their classic W in a circle-ARROW-CROSS Logo on the tang which is c1819-1918. The heavy blade has been very lightly sharpened, has its original mirror finish and appears to be in excellent condition. The handles are very pretty Smooth Dark Brown and Black Horn or Celluloid, in very nice condition with no cracks and a few very tiny edge chips."

I'd say that although it's in great shape, it's not sharp at all. I haven't tried it, but I have no doubt that i could run it across my hand without cutting it. So, my question is, what should I expect for what it will take to sharpen. Right now I only have the 4K/8K but think I'm going to get a 1K to have in my arsenal. I'm just worried about over sharpening and was worried that I took the first one too far which is why it's still not sharp. Not sure what to do or expect for this one. Thanks for the help! Also, any suggestions on the first one welcome too! :-)

-Matt