Thread: Wm Gilchrist Jersey City marked Wade and Butcher

So I stumbled upon a blade some time ago at a local antique shop, it's a W&B frameback.

It's currently in sapito318 (Matt) possession for some new scales. I was going through some photos on my computer and forgot how it was marked. The tang is marked Wm Gilchrist Jersey City.

I did a google search, and it turns out that William Gilchrist was a famous composer in Philadelphia who was born in Jersey City. I found this very interesting, and was wondering if anyone else has seen anything like this?

I don't have the Goins book, but I've owned a Gilchrist razor. It did not have the WB logo.

Chris L

A pic:


Chris L

I did read about a separate Gilchrist razor maker.

However, this blade looks alot like some other W&B framebacks I've seen.

Here's a pic before I got the chips out of the edge.

I have a Gilchrist Frameback but it's nothing like yours. Scales look a little similar though.

I don't have a Gilchrist but I do have a W&B made in Jersey City This may have something to do with the Jersey City stamping on the frameback.

I believe that Sheffield companies back then did sometimes make razors under a separate name, for a separate company- usually elsewhere in the world. Kind of like a distributor. That might have something to do with it. Solingen companies did the same.

As I understood William W.Gilchrist(1851-1861) was a distributor. He was listed as "merchant", "razor maker" at the same time in many places. His home was in Ramapo, Jersey City.
Wm.Gilchrist Jersey City - 1852-1855.