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.]

I can't see with a good clean up and honing that it can't be put back into service. It might be worth the effort and money to have it professionally restored. A very nice find and first razor, congrats.

Bob

Originally Posted by Dzanda

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.]

$20? I need to visit the USA

Very nice score must be stolen for the price
Looks like a easy cleanup too so you should be very happy

Congrats, that's an awesome first straight to have. That looks like it should clean up nicely.
15/16 is certainly on the big side for a razor. Large razors certainly have their advantages -- such as they hold a lot of soap whereby you do not need to rinse very frequently. The size can present some challenges navigating around the trickier parts like the upper lip and neck areas.

Yea like Bordee said it can be a challenge so send it to me and I'll give ya $25.

OMG $20 let's get real. Super nice find. Hone it up shave with it and see how you like it then restore the blade.

I would have been taking pics while paying the lady! The post would read: Look what I'm buying right now.

You bought yourself a good reason to be excited. Good looking razor, I hope you enjoy it.

To find a Wade & Butcher Celebrated in any condition for $20 is a feat, and even to send it to a pro for a restore and a hone for perhaps another $100 still puts you well below the going eBay rate for a big W&B blade like that. Congrats is what I'm saying

That is indeed a very nice razor, congrats.

Please post some pics when it is restored.

Definitely get someone here to restore that blade for you! That is one magnificent razor and you don't want to ruin it, for you'll never get as lucky again.