Thread: Wade & Butcher Comeback

Hi Guys, (I posted this in the Butcher Shop thread, so just re-posting it here).


... It would be nice I won't lie, if there was just some more kind/optimistic support and less unfounded bitterness - having been part of this community for around a decade, it's a bit disappointing being cast as some nameless/anonymous 'foreign' entity rather than as a passionate fellow enthusiast who's just trying to make something extraordinary happen.. Life is just too short guys..


Anyway, I just wanted to lay down some points:

1. We’re starting with the ‘Irontusk’ razor as a ‘new’ model simply because the company/brand is being revived and the inaugural product needs to stand on its own merits, not rely wholly on past success. Had we chosen to first create a re-issue of the FBU, folks would be crying that we’re just creating what already exists, and that we have no forward-moving creativity – so we just can’t win whatever we do…
2. Can you imagine any Heritage Brand today that doesn’t create new products along with their ‘classics’ ? That would be ridiculous to only live in your company’s past.
3. The Irontusk razor – every aspect of it – is critically being aligned to Wade & Butcher precedents. We aren’t making a random gaudy ‘custom’ razor. Its intention is to be quintessentially ‘Wade & Butcher’, so as to inaugurate this restart of the brand.
4. So, we have a notched point, a deep jimped thumb-notch, a shoulderless ½ hollow grind, a smiling edge, flowing/Victorian lines, a ‘black-polish’ mirror finish throughout, a rounded spine, an extended tang/tail that is reminiscent of an African elephant tusk (this is an iteration of W&B’s ‘improved tang’, and of course ties in with the new production locale of South Africa). In fact, the city I’m in is called ‘Place of the Elephants’ in Zulu. Also, 'uncharted Africa', and especially the elephant and their tusks/Ivory are prominent elements in the Victorian era/age of exploration – the real heyday of our brand and an aesthetic that really appeals to me most. So every aspect of our ‘new’ razor is actually painstakingly being thought out to represent the very best of W&B and the era of the brand’s greatest successes. Even the markings on the tang are being deep-engraved (as you would see on the movement of a fine Swiss watch) and their placement and even the kerning of the letters is being carefully thought out. We aren’t using this electro-etch method that most custom makers use (it’s frankly just a terrible marking method in my opinion). And stamped marks leave inconsistent depths and a mushroom effect on the edges, that just signals ‘mass-production’.
5. OF COURSE we will bring back all the classics – in due course. Why would folks assume that we wouldn’t, even after I have said repeatedly that it is in our roadmap... We’ll be slowly rebuilding our catalogue with: FBU, Anchor, Diamond Edge, Arrow Razor, Bow Razor, Special, Double Swaged, Frameback. Etc. You can either have it done slowly with extreme care, or rushed and sloppy – you can’t have it all, all at once guys...
6. The different models will have different pricing, as indeed the makeup of each model will require different processes/materials. Not all will have custom presentation cases for example, some models will have aluminium cases, some will have embossed cardboard coffins.
7. As for the pricing on the Irontusk razor, it's likely going to be around the $1800 mark (which includes intl. courier). This is an inaugural/showpiece model, with incredibly costly materials and processes. The razors will ship with a handcrafted custom wooden presentation case (lined interior), foiled and embossed certificate/art cards, and a fit and finish that is obsessively precise - far in excess of most custom makers work, yet at a comparable price point to some of them. This point we've intensely deliberated upon, and proudly I believe that we will offer more objective value, than any other razor in this bracket.
8. Irontusk pre-orders will open closer to end of this year.

So I implore you to please have patience, faith, and hopeful expectations. I know we won’t please everyone (some folks just love to hate), but I’m optimistic that many of you will be very pleased indeed.


Thanks friends,
Sincerely,
- Mike