Thread: W&B question

Just would like to know if this type wedge W&B is a good shaver. I know it needs some work. By looking at the blade does it look like it will be able to be fixed. The hone wear is quite uneven.

It isn't in too bad a shape and it should polish up nicely. The hone wear will not interfere with your shaving but they are a little more difficult to hone as they get older. A little more metal must be taken off to keep the cutting edge right. It is going to be a good shaver for you though.

For a blade of that grind and age, I'd say that hone wear is not bad at all. She should clean up nicely if you choose to do so, and she'll be a heck of a shaver either way.

It will do nicely after getting the bevel evened up. What will you use for the job? My "go to" for that kind of job is my DMT 325 plate, to get the initial bevel set.

Originally Posted by Croaker

It will do nicely after getting the bevel evened up. What will you use for the job? My "go to" for that kind of job is my DMT 325 plate, to get the initial bevel set.

I have a norton 220/1000 would that work?

The Norton 1k will do nicely - it was my go to bevel setter for quite some time and I honed many a wedge on it. Personally, I never much used the 220 side, because the grit that comes loose loves to scratch heavy ground razors, like that W&B you have there.

IMO, the DMT 325 is overkill for that job too, but I'd rather spend more time on a 1k and take my time than go nuts on a coarse hone - just personal preference.

unfortunately the only way to know if it's a good shaver or not is to fix it and find out. depending on how deep that pitting on the edge is it may or may not be fixable, again the only way is to find out is to try it.

That one looks like it is very healthy. I have a few just like it and each one turned out to be fantastic shavers. I use tape to protect spine when setting bevel on all my wedges cause bevels being larger than hollows, more time on the hones. Good luck with it I am sure you will love it. Gugi's advise to hone it up before spending much time on the restoration is great, if you have a microscope you can tell very easily if there is micropitting going on, but I have a feeling you will be just fine with that one.

I have one almost identical to that, but rescaled in black acrylic. Its a really sweet shaver and the hone wear was about the same as yours.

What I did was start out with two layers of tape on a 1k Shapton and got a pre-bevel set. Once I could shave arm hair at skin level, I moved to one layer of tape and set a true bevel.

Then I just went up the hones to 4k, 8k and 16k, then finished on my Maruichi. Then the tape came off and I stropped on webbed fabric and plain leather. That razor is by far my best shaving wedge, and glides through the hairs like they arent there!

Thats a lovely find, especially with the original scales! Hope you enjoy it!