Hello All,

I recently had the privilege of meeting a woman who said she had about 20 or so straights that were available. I made arrangements to meet with her and was able to obtain about four blades.

One of them is the following W&B, and I'm hopping that someone can help me with this one.

I’ve seen a lot of W&B’s both here and on other sites, but never one with this etching (if it's been posted here, please accept my apologies. I did go through the "Wedge" thread, and much of the "Butcher Shop" thread, but haven't yet seen another one).

It appears to be a 7/8” near wedge. It’s so close to being a wedge that the grind of “near wedge” could have easily just been the human error factor. There is however an ever so slight hollow. There is still some gold wash left on the shoulder, and underside of the tang (seen in pics). The etching appears to say, “The Americans wish for PEACE” towards the toe, and towards the heel it appears to say, “… with Honour and FREEDOM”.

The blade is also ¼” thick.

It’s a shame, but I don’t think the etching will survive any rust removal process. I’m more the sort that is more interested in functional, but also respect rarity, and collectability. If I thought this was a rarity (or of some importance), and that it could be salvaged, I’d probably have someone with the necessary skills do so.



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