Thread: Wada & Butler??

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Well Wada Ya Know about that ! Great work guys !!

Surprised me too.

Originally Posted by str8fencer

I only hope I can get rid of the rust without de-peening it

I am not a restorer so with a razor in the condition noted in the photos I would use a metal polish such as semichrome or maas and maybe a toothbrush on the tang. In the area of the pivot I would get what I could with dental floss and the metal polish. I wouldn't unpin the blade to get rust out of it. Than again, it ain't mine.

Wait and see what you've got, but I certainly wouldn't de-pin it. Those pins are lush. Jimmy just stated what I'd do. You've got to have these things in your hands to know though. You lucky dog.

Ah, if you hadn't out-sniped me, Str8fencer, I could have gotten rid of that rust without de-pining it. Perhaps the best thing to do is send it to me as soon as you receive it and we can forget all about this little unpleasantness...

mvh,
Torolf

Who knows ,I doubt the guy who made it ,if he was a counterfiter,was splitting atoms in his spare time anyway....

Lol Torolf. Perhaps I'll come get you to de-rust it for me
I wasn't sniping at all actually, was happily asleep. Discovered next morning I had won it.

Okay, so the razor arrived today. I am thrilled! These are pics as recieved, still not cleaned up.

Blade is in fair condition, with a little bit of rust in the pivot and perhaps in the stamp, have not investigated it thoroughly yet. No cracks or major nicks to the edge. A fair bit of honewear, uneven as well. Should clean up well with a little buffing.




Horn scales are pressed I guess (is this a common practice?) There is a little bit of fine cracking of the lines in the pattern, but I think it looks sturdy. There is one crack through the butt pin, but it does not run all through the bone. It is in the picture but very hard to see. Again, still looks sturdy to me.


Not all good news, the scales are a bit warped toward the end, under the patterned area. All the way from the pin down to the patterned area they are nice and straight, but from thereon a little warp, with a butt that bends to one side.
Also, peculiarly, there is no sign at all of a wedge. Looking at it closely, there does not appear to be room in there to have accommodated a wedge either. Could it be there never was none?


Blade is a nice wedge with lots of metal to it. Almost 1/4 thick, close to 6/8 wide. Blade centers nicely in the scales.



I am far from sure what this razor needs. initial thought is to try to straighten the scales and get a proper wedge in there, but it appears that would be a huge error. The way they bend at the end suggests they are not evenly sized and any altering of shape might give huge problems if messed with. At least the blade is in good shape, no cracks and just a little pitting, and it appears the rust is not worse that it seemed in the auction pics. I think it should clean up nicely without picking it appart.
Guess I'll settle for cleaning it at the moment while I think it through

I wouldn't mess with it too much and just clean it up, it's beautiful the way it is.

I agree. If the blade's not touching when closing, no problem, your move though. The scales are surely pressed horn , I have a John Barber (blade and scales in worse condition) with 'identical' ones. Very nice by the looks of it.

Originally Posted by Bayamontate

I wouldn't mess with it too much and just clean it up, it's beautiful the way it is.

+1. I've got a couple of Joseph Smith and Sons that have horn scales with no wedge. As long as the blade centers I wouldn't try to straighten the warp. Pressed horn scales bring a premium BTW and those are beauties. Going by what I read in "Collecting Straight Razors" by Robert Doyle, I would say that is an early 1800s made piece. Looking at the straight scales and the shape of the tang. A very nice razor you've got there and rare with that stamping.

BTW, just thinking out loud here, if the maker wanted to counterfeit a Wade & Butcher that would be what he would have attempted to stamp on the tang. When you see Wostenholm razors with "The original and only true pipe razor" or W&Bs with "The Original and Only True Bow Razor", they wrote that because of bootleggers knocking off their trademarks.

There is a possibility, IMO, that the maker of that razor was trying to use a name close enough to ride W&B's coat tails but it is probably more likely that the maker was one of the many obscure outfits making cutlery back in those days and that was the name of the company legitimately. Just IMHO.