Thread: Wade and Butcher questions

I am about to begin work on these two, I wonder if anyone knows if the first one had possibly a gold washed blade? There is a bit of it on the blade left and it matches the remnants on the tang. On the second one, I have not seen this type of tang stamp. I wonder if anyone could date it for me? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

The first looks to me like staining or oxidization or something of that nature. I have not seen a blade like that goldwashed, and it wouldn't make sense to me for it to be on the tang and that area of the blade.

The second is a much older stamp that W&B used. The WR is for King William, though I don't remember which one off the top of my head. Given the stamp, the tail, and the look of the shoulder, I would say with near certainty that the blade was reground.

WR is William IV. Those Wade and Butcher regrinds can be great shavers. I'd go with oxidization on the first, too, but I can see why you posed the question.

I've never seen a gold wash on a W&B. There may have been though, I tend to agree with Dylan and Alan that it may be some patina. OTOH, somewhere along the way someone may have treated the blade with the stuff. That regent mark on the other is cool. IIRC William was only on the throne a short time. If you do a search for British Monarchs you can more closely date that one.

I have looked it it under magnification and it definitely was gold washed! There is some extending from the tang on the other side as well as on the spine. Probably a presentation piece or a display. The blade is super nice,though!
William IV was in from 1830 until he died in 1837, so thats a short window for the other one.
I am in agreement it had to have been reground, but whoever did it was a master and it was used/honed very little after.
Thanks for the suggestions and comments! I suppose you will see them again on Restorations as I complete them Tom

William IV: 26 June 1830 – 20 June 1837. A short regency and therefore also a pretty exact time stamp.

Lovely razors btw!

I have never seen a bad vintage regrind. I think they were done by professionals, and very possibly by the companies themselves.

If you are sure the razor was goldwashed, then we'll not likely be able to tell you different from the photos. The photos are a bit blurry, and something like that is best seen in person anyway.

Whether the goldwash is original or not it is a beauty. Smiling blade and slight barber's notch are way cool. If those were mine I would clean them up with a paper towel and metal polish, hone them to shave ready and call them restored. Unless of course the scales were cracked at the pivot. Different strokes for different folks, for me as close to original is what I like, warts and all.

Heres a pic thru a magnifier. I guess it is all academic anyway! And awaaaay we go!

It is a lovely razor! Definitely looks like it was gold-washed, but gold does not stick readily to steel - it needs a layer of another metal that does stick to steel between it and the gold - usually nickel, sometimes copper. If it did have a layer of nickel plating, you should be able to see it on the razor as a dull greyish area. Without another metal between it and the steel, gold can be rubbed off on your finger.

Regards,
Neil