Thread: And So It Begins...

So SWMBO dragged me into an antique store this afternoon, and I asked the lady whether she had any straight razors. She rummaged around behind a counter, and pulled out 3 coffin boxes. The first had the unidentifiable remains of a severely corroded razor. The razor in the second box had two huge chips in what had been its blade. I didn't hold much hope for the last box.

The third box contained this Wade and Butcher "The Celebrated Hollow Ground Razor":







It measures 15/16ths at the widest part of the smiling blade, and resides in what I believe are horn scales. As you can see, there's rust present. The scales are slightly warped, though the blade closes centered. To my inexperienced eye, there seems to be little hone wear.

I gave the lady $20, because I like the way the razor feels in my hand. But now that I have my first razor, I don't know what to do with it! Is this razor usable? Should it be restored? Any advice is welcome!

[I apologize for the crummy pix, I don't have a light box set up, and was too excited to wait, so I snapped these with my cell phone.]