Thread: Wade & Butcher Comeback

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

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.

That's not a ridiculous goal. W&S Butcher weren't in the business of producing luxury goods. They were average for a big Sheffield firm. Average Sheffield compared to the product of anyone else was obviously better. However, there were firms in Sheffield producing higher-end goods than the Butchers, or Wostenholm or even Rodgers (with their nose firmly lodged in the aristocracy's behind).

James Crawshaw's razors were significantly better made, from the uniformity of their grind to the precision of their scale fit.

Pickslay & Green genuinely made their own steel which was actually superior in rust-resistance, and they also had better fit & finish.

Joseph Cam. Rhodes & Champion. Thomas Scargill. All the people that either died or went bankrupt before the factory system completely took over. The post-Bessemer crowd.

The Butcher brothers' products were factory goods -- among the best factory goods made at the time, but factory goods all the same. It's a bit silly to argue that a small group working with good funding and time cannot produce superior razors.

Any given W&B branded razor spent no more than ten minutes in the hands of any of the craftsmen working on it. Do you REALLY think someone with hours to spend can't make a more refined product? They were polished by children.

I'm pretty sure well-rested adults with time and resources can do better.

OK Michael, Zak sussed it out. All you have to do is get in your 8 hours every night and everything will be fine!

Michael if you own the rights to the name and trade mark I guess I should ask you if it's ok if I tattoo in on my body��

At the risk of being redundant .......... I love old Winchester rifles and have always wanted a 'High Wall' single shot in a centerfire smokeless caliber. I could find a custom one from back in the day, but prices are high. Browning (Japan) made the B-78 which is a bit different internally, has better steel and looks like the old High Wall. I've got one in 45-70 ( a mistake but that is another story) and I've got a "Winchester" ( made by Mikuro in Japan) in 38-55 which is gorgeous and shoots way better than I can.

The aforementioned Case knife company started a separate entity called 'Case Classics'. These are old patterns that were discontinued before WWII and bring astronomical prices in the collectors market. They are made by a small outfit of artisans in Tennessee IIRC. So if you want in original 5193 whittler in nice condition you'd pay thousands. The Case Classic 5391 hundreds. They are very nicely done, even if they are not quite as nice as the real McCoy.

As the Rolling Stones said, 'If You Can't Be With The One You Love, Love The One You're With' .........

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

At the risk of being redundant .......... I love old Winchester rifles and have always wanted a 'High Wall' single shot in a centerfire smokeless caliber. I could find a custom one from back in the day, but prices are high. Browning (Japan) made the B-78 which is a bit different internally, has better steel and looks like the old High Wall. I've got one in 45-70 ( a mistake but that is another story) and I've got a "Winchester" ( made by Mikuro in Japan) in 38-55 which is gorgeous and shoots way better than I can.

The aforementioned Case knife company started a separate entity called 'Case Classics'. These are old patterns that were discontinued before WWII and bring astronomical prices in the collectors market. They are made by a small outfit of artisans in Tennessee IIRC. So if you want in original 5193 whittler in nice condition you'd pay thousands. The Case Classic 5391 hundreds. They are very nicely done, even if they are not quite as nice as the real McCoy.

As the Rolling Stones said, 'If You Can't Be With The One You Love, Love The One You're With' .........

Lord knows I hate to be picky....

But, the Jap Brownings were made by Miroku ... and extremely well done, BTW...

And I think the old tune was done by Stephen Stills... don't know if the Stones covered it, but not to my knowledge.

Otherwise... I agree!

BTW, got an old Model 70 in completely original condition from my birth year (1949)... Beautiful rifle in every way except for the stock dimensions that probably fit no one properly! Waaaaay too much drop!

Originally Posted by Druid

Lord knows I hate to be picky....

But, the Jap Brownings were made by Miroku ... and extremely well done, BTW...

And I think the old tune was done by Stephen Stills... don't know if the Stones covered it, but not to my knowledge.

Otherwise... I agree!

BTW, got an old Model 70 in completely original condition from my birth year (1949)... Beautiful rifle in every way except for the stock dimensions that probably fit no one properly! Waaaaay too much drop!

Are you trying to say I was (shudder) ........ wrong twice ? Impossible ! .............

Jimmyhad: I am getting very curious about the seriousness of the topic. I just bought 2 vintage straight ER's today at an antique dealer. One was $30 the other $15. Now when I started using a straight razor it was about 1976. It was a Wade & Butcher that I paid one dollar to the vendor for it at an antique fair. At the time Wade and Butcher didn't mean squat to me. The W&B was in rough shape, but for a dollar what can you expect. I guess the razor was once owned by a barber because the spine edge is really ground down. It took me a couple of weeks to hone it and started shaving. My skills of sharpening at the time were minimal. Well now, that old W&B was put in its casket and has lain silent for a bunch of years. I knew nothing about brands at the time and still don't. All I care about is can I get it sharp and shave with it, that's all that matters. Who made it, where it came from, where it's at now and etc. has no truck. I figure there is no extra special pedestal any blade should set on. The important proposition between you, and the blade is will it sharpen, and will it perform as it was designed to do.
One I bought today has a ivory handle and apparently just German Cutlery--that's the stamp ID. Paid $30 for it and it is now the most expensive vintage razor I own. The next one I paid $15 for is a King Cutter by H Boker Co. The Boker has a nice ting to it when the edge is ticked with the finger nail. The other Boker I have has a dead nothing when ticked, same for the German Cutlery. I guess what I am trying to say is that they are tools. If they perform as they are intended then the goal was achieved. I am going to venture a guess that the majority of men who use a straight razor probably know nothing special about their blade except that it cost them $389, or a dollar. Me, I will never be able to afford most of the blades I see. I stay with vintage razors from antique dealers because they are the ones I can afford, For several years now I have been running 7 blades with a backup 8th in the event I am lazy at stropping
Now. If Mike buys the W&B name he has purchased the right to own the name and process the blades with the name. I guess I can't see the problem. Before I stop please note that I am not attempting to be a troll, or kick up dust. I am merely sharing my beliefs. It is hard to post on these sites without someone becoming offended and it is not my intention to offend you but to say I am puzzled about the eagerness over a tool. I guess I must be a dud because I have never been able to afford what I really wanted and always seemed to be broke, so I have always had to do with second or third best and sometimes less.
I think I am having brain diarrhea and blathering like an idiot. I don't even know if I really made a point at all. My apologies if I haven't performed as I should have.

Really this is all a non-issue.

In the watch world almost all of the luxury brands are simply outfits that bought the name from some defunct manufacturer and when you do that unless the sales contract says otherwise you have bought all the history that goes with it and for all intents and purposes you are that brand. Similarly if you buy an existing company the result is the same.

The buying public is the one to decide if they will continue to buy the product and in most cases if it is a quality item they do. If it isn't then it's demise is all but guaranteed.