Thread: Flea market find: W&B Masonic razor

Found a very cool razor yesterday; I hope it's useful as well. It's a Wade & Butcher with what appears to be gold Masonic symbols etched in all over the blade. One scale is cracked and poorly repaired, and the end wedge is missing. The blade itself is very nearly a straight wedge; if I put a straightedge alongside of it, I can see that there's just a hint of hollow to it. I have some questions about it:

1) The edge is curved, from about a 7/8 near the toe to maybe a bit under 6/8 at the heel. Is this the way the blade was made, or was it poorly honed in the past? Is this going to be a PIA to hone? (In other words, should I forget about ever shaving with it?)

2) I haven't polished the blade yet. Am I in danger of removing the gold from the etchings if I scrub some Flitz on it? How best should I clean it up, or should it be left alone?

3) Regarding new scales, I'm tempted to try my hand a making a pair (I have some black walnut that I've been waiting for a use for), but obviously it would be faster and easier (and more certain to get accomplished) if I just buy replacements from Classic (if they'll fit; the existing scales are 5" from pin to pin). Is there any collector/value concern over what it gets rescaled with that I should keep in mind? I at first thought these scales were plastic, but I'm starting to wonder if they might be bone.

4) Anything else I should know about this razor? Can it be used as a Ouija board?

Oh, I paid $10 for this. Good deal?