Thread: A fake Wade & Butcher?

I recently purchased the razor pictured below off of eBay. It came with plastic scales that were damaged and an OLD case that does not look like it belongs with the razor. What makes me wonder if the blade is fake is the incredible condition it is in (absolutely NO rust, no pitting, no spots whatsoever) coupled with the fake-looking etching.. crooked arrow/feather and stained black inside, which really makes it stand out as you can tell from the pictures.

Have any of you ever come across a fake W&B before? If so, are there some tell-tale signs? I would note that the seller does have 100% positive feedback and has sold over 100 razors on eBay from looking at the description of the items sold.

Thanks!

No expert by any means..but I for one can't see the logic in faking them. For one thing if you reproduced them, you might as well say so and get creative with selling many repro's...
Albeit the prices for them have certainly gotten a little ludicrous...

That's a nice looking shaver. If it concerns you that it may be fake, I'll give it a shot. Looks like a nice grab.

Counterfeit pocket knives became a common occurrence in the 1970s when some of the Remington Bullets, Case Tested and what have you started bringing high dollars. I couldn't say on that one but if they were going to go to all that trouble it seems to me they would've went with a "For Barber's Use" to get the top dollar.

Its real, don't worry. If the scales are plastic it was rescaled. Often times the old horn scales were mouse eaten. probably someone else did all the hard restore work for you. Count yourself lucky.

it is real and you don't have to worry a lot. make handles and have fun

Originally Posted by dpl2

I recently purchased the razor pictured below off of eBay. It came with plastic scales that were damaged and an OLD case that does not look like it belongs with the razor. What makes me wonder if the blade is fake is the incredible condition it is in (absolutely NO rust, no pitting, no spots whatsoever) coupled with the fake-looking etching.. crooked arrow/feather and stained black inside, which really makes it stand out as you can tell from the pictures.

I can state with absolute certainty that;

1) Many razors have been re-scaled throughout the last 2 centuries and have been sold and re-sold without the knowledge of the buyer or seller.

2) A good amount of the razors with cases sold on the bay are mismatched.

3) I've never seen a counterfeit vintage English straight razor.

It looks to me like it has been cleaned up (possibly hand sanded), re-scaled, and matched to a random box. If you bought it for the blade, you should be safe, and it looks like a good one.


*edit* beaten quickly by a mod and a mentor. Ya'll are too quick

Thanks for reassuring me! Although, I'm still puzzled by the shoddy etching. How could it have crooked, rather than straight lines? Guess it's not stamped onto the blade... And how could it have been preserved so well? I have never seen one without at least some minor rust and/or pitting.. One the other hand, maybe someone ground everything out and then poorly retraced the etching and then black-inked it up... Who the heck knows, right? Well it's off to Max now for new scales and (further?) restoration!

Where is the crooked line? I can't see it from here...

One thing, though, I have to ask: Why do people keep thinking they have counterfeit razors? Who is the big mastermind making all of these fake razors (of all things...)? And how do you PROVE that a razor was faked, rather than just made by the guy at the factory having a bad day?

Originally Posted by JimR

One thing, though, I have to ask: Why do people keep thinking they have counterfeit razors? Who is the big mastermind making all of these fake razors (of all things...)? And how do you PROVE that a razor was faked, rather than just made by the guy at the factory having a bad day?

IDK where others are coming from, but I made a thread about a particular razor around a year ago.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...-fake-idk.html

It had a light stamp covered by another maker's mark and scales that looked like they were from yet another manufacturer.

It turned out to be a franken-razor of sorts, and it's still one of my favorites, but that's one explanation of a forum user crying "fake!".