Thread: Wade & Butcher Pyramid Point

Hello my favouritest forum,

I just picked up an old W&B blade from a vintage tool shop for next to nothing.

I was quite taken by its distinctive pyramid-esque point. I couldn't see one like that in the Wiki, and it seems to be quite well done so im reasonably sure its original and not a regrind as a result of a damage or anything.

The stamp also doesn't have "England" after the "manufactured by wade & butcher sheffield" so im guessing its quite old (still a noob at all this)

There was quite a bit of hone wear but the fact there was pleanty of meat left and its other features sold me.

BUT - when I lightly sanded some tarnish away, I noticed a fine fine line extending up from the small chip right at the shoulder of the blade, sadly I think its a crack.

Is this a death sentence for my blade? or is there a way to stabilise tiny cracks? Im not worried if its visible once the blade is cleaned. I was thinking about tying to squeeze some glue into it, but it isn't 'open' so I cant imagine anything would get into it.

I couldn't capture the line with my camera, may try again once the blades a bit cleaner. Here's some pics to show it off in the mean time.

Thanks all!

The point is factory original IMO. At least I have an identical point on my W&B Bow razor. As for the possible crack, since it is so close to the heel you might get away with honing it and shaving with it. If it is indeed a crack be careful of applying too much pressure when you're sanding the blade. If you flex the blade the crack will probably travel. Just IMO.

yes this is factory I have seen it on a few Bow W&Bs, I even thought this one was a bow as soon as I saw the toe.

Yep, I had a Bow with a diamond point like that.
Maybe once you clean it up you can assess the crack. With luck it may only be superficial & not extending to the opposite side. Have a look under magnification. Sometimes what looks like a hairline is a series of small pits.

if the crack is at the dashed line it can be reground and you will end up with usable blade.
Example of reground W&B :
http://straightrazorpalace.com/custo...ody-death.html
I am not talking about doing something that extreme, but you get the idea of how to fix the heel if needed.

I hate the idea of destroying something original, but a 5 second photoshop play has me thinking otherwise... thoughts?

- Its definately a crack too btw, I very gently moved it and saw the flex - and it goes from one side to the other. Damn!

I like the sweeping curve on the bottom one. That would look pretty good IMO.

I like the first one, it has the best symmetry between toe and heel imo.

I also believe the point is original. I bought this Wade & Butcher within the last two years or so and the tang reads,
"Manufactured by Wade & Butcher Sheffield" and the word "England" is not on the razor anywhere.


By the way, this razor was honed by Utopian and a fine job he did.

Thanks for all the input and advice. I'm 95% convinced about a regrind now, theres no museum in this blades future so I might as well remove the offending crack with some customization. Prob. going to go for the 3rd version from above, I quite like the idea of another curve to follow the curve of the text, looks like it would be quite comfortable to hold and still leaves me with 7+ cm of edge to use too. A straight regrind like my 1st mockup would have to go in quite far to catch the top of the crack so may not be that good.