Thread: Wade & Butcher Comeback

Originally Posted by Utopian

Thanks I knew about Sheffield steel using Swedish ore but somehow I got it in my head that they also sometimes used Swedish steel.

Looking back over the details, I had one wrong. Sheffield did not import Swedish ore, they imported Swedish iron for refining.

However, there were definitely Sheffield goods made from Swedish and Indian steel, though how much is anyone's guess -- I doubt every razor stamped 'Fine India Steel' really was.

Your point is interesting Captain, as I interject a bit between the lines. The only razor's I own come from antique dealers. They deal with so many things and a lot of it is basically trash but the price the strike on the item becomes hilarious. In two years now I have been returning, periodically, to this one Antique Mall where a fellow has a razor I am interested in. He wants $60 for it. I offered him $30 because of its condition. There were a number of things that needed attention, but he flatly refused my assessment. He argued it was old and that was the reason for the price. It has been two years now and the razor still sits in his stall. Because something is old does not always equal good.

I don't feel it cheapens the brand in the least...it just means it is evolving.

Evolution is a continuum. The thread is gone....
Somebody needs to have the balls to marque their own product, not commandeer a venerable name and call it a W&B.

Originally Posted by WW243

Evolution is a continuum. The thread is gone....
Somebody needs to have the balls to marque their own product, not commandeer a venerable name and call it a W&B.

Well by that point...the thread was gone after 1825, and again in the 1870s, and again in the early 1900s with this brand. Even modern razor companies have evolved....LeGrelot is now Tiers Issard...I don't see anyone criticizing Tiers for continuing to market that brand who's thread is clearly broken. Some might argue that Tiers Issard has a superior product to LeGrelot at the end of the day...and some will also say the whole thing has gone to crap and it'll never be the same, or any host of other pessimistic opinions.

I get it right....I mean there are a lot of feelings around this brand, probably more so than any other. To several points made here earlier...the razors we all revere so much were nothing special in their day, any more than a DD or Fili were special in their day. We all probably also need to justify what we pay for these ridiculous things so clinging to that reverence makes sense. The fact that the brand itself has remained in ownership, despite its current lack of production, speaks to that reverence.

I am obviously a glass half full kind of guy, so I will remain optimistic that something new and fun is going to happen here. There aren't a lot of people making these tools today, and as we read these forums, we often complain about QA this and warped spine that (because no W&B vintage EVER had a QA issue....) so I think, and perhaps this is just me, that we should applaud someone trying to break into the business and bring another quality product to market.

I'm glad Michael C stepped up and cleared the air on the name and his plan for it.

I'll be following and I wish him the best in his endeavor.

As for things changing, I used to pursue the I-X-L brand of pocket knives. I've owned examples from the 19th C up to about the time they closed their doors in 70's IIRC. I have one "end of days" I-X-L knife that has never been used. Original package and papers. It is without a doubt one of the crappiest examples of a pocket knife I've ever seen. Old George would defecate himself if he saw it and handled it.

I have a couple of I-X-L razors, they're good, but I've got others I like more.

As for the Wade and Butcher name, I think Michael C will do it justice.

Stuff like this is out there under that name and it does not do justice to the name.

I'm hoping I can get a new razor to match my current W&B. Modern/Vintage 2 day set sounds fantastic.

Good luck in your venture. No one can appease everyone.

There has been revivals that worked and some that don't. None of us can truly know unless someone tries with their best effort, no matter how one phrases their opinion.

Our razors will be truly pristine, my aspiration is to far exceed the quality, the fit, the finish - that historical Wade & Butcher ever achieved, ever could achieve. Handcrafting individual razors with the best tools and materials of our day affords us this ability. There will be nothing cheaply or casually done - from the steel selection, to the packaging it will be done properly.
Cheers,
- Mike

If your W&B's are going to be superior in so many truly rarified ways, why don't you just start with a new name for the razor?

I'm pretty sure that Michael is aware that the bar is set quite high for this. He is not going into this with the naivete of someone who is new to this and has, to paraphrase someone earlier, dollar signs in his eyes. He has a lot of work ahead of him and he knows it. If you read his posts in this thread it is clear that he has given this matter a lot of thought. He clearly already considered the philosophical issue of reviving the brand.

Whether we choose to agree or disagree with his choice to use the brand name is irrelevant. He bought it and has the right to do what he wishes with it. In my opinion it appears that he has been, is, and will be, doing his due diligence on this effort. We all will have to just wait and see what happens. Criticizing his decision is premature and pointless. If you don't like what he produces, then don't buy it.

One more time: "Our razors will be truly pristine, my aspiration is to far exceed the quality, the fit, the finish - that historical Wade & Butcher ever achieved, ever could achieve. Handcrafting individual razors with the best tools and materials of our day affords us this ability. There will be nothing cheaply or casually done - from the steel selection, to the packaging it will be done properly."
Oh man, they are going to be soooooo much better than the old W&B's.....no criticism from me just some questions which won't be answered apparently.

Originally Posted by WW243

If your W&B's are going to be superior in so many truly rarified ways, why don't you just start with a new name for the razor?

There is no necessity for that.



Do you notice a difference between the two cars? The red one is "superior in so many truly rarified ways" and yet both of them are Fords. Is that a problem too?