Thread: How many razors did Wade and Butcher make?

I have several, not all of them Big Bad Blades, couple of smaller ones. Always thought the name went well on the big ones for street fighting??? That aside, I have found most take a lot more work to get right, but stay right a loooong time. But I gotta agree with Mainaman, most Sheffields seem to do that, IMHO. Maybe price has something to do with collector markets and price guide publishers, sorta like old woodworker's tools?

How many razors did Wade and Butcher make? That's kind of like asking how many pills did Carter make? As some of the other posters have said, hype drives the price. The question is, "Is the hype deserved?" Generally I would say yes. Wade and Butcher made a pretty good razor and made them consistantly. Not all of these great old vintage razors are going to give you a great shave but that's for a variety of reasons. The biggest reason would be the tempering process. As scientific as they thought they were, they weren't. Back then the means to control the tempering process were crude and it was somewhat inconsistant from lot to lot and some lots of razors were just better than others. You also have to consider what that razor may have been through over the years and how much of that tempering process has been removed. Generally speaking, Wade and Butcher made a lot of razors and generally they were pretty darn good.

My guess is..... Umm... Somewhere between the three I have and eleventy billion.

Seriously though, I would say definitely hundreds of thousands and most likely millions. Bear in mind the company was around for the best part of the 19th century and was based in one of the biggest steel making cities in the world. W&B's were probably one of the most common blades around back then.

On a vaguely related note, I had a dream the other night that I had a time machine and went back through time picking up all these wonderful blades brand new off the production line. Then I woke up and realised I didnt have most of them!

I've not got a nice big W&B and have quite a few Sheffield blades at next to nothing to buy but they all turned out to be very decent shavers.

ian

May be this table will help you to understand how many people were in cutlery business including razors.
Employment in the Cutlery Trades, 1830 and 1851.

The thing that really Irks me is when antique seller's and flea market people decide to base their pricing off Ebay! yes i will pay for a vintage blade in good condition that would take 10 minutes to make shave ready, but a razor that needs 100+ hours of work and you want $95 dollars???? your outa your ever loving mind!

just MHO

Originally Posted by alb1981

The thing that really Irks me is when antique seller's and flea market people decide to base their pricing off Ebay! yes i will pay for a vintage blade in good condition that would take 10 minutes to make shave ready, but a razor that needs 100+ hours of work and you want $95 dollars???? your outa your ever loving mind!

just MHO

Just say no.

Originally Posted by AlanII

Just say no.

I dont believe I say no.
I think its more like muttering followed by you really have no idea huh? then I walk out of the store.

Originally Posted by Joed

Oops, the pearl scaled W&B was a lot more than $28, maybe 28x4. I must be getting old, I forgot about that one. Thanks Jimmy.

Joe, it's kind of sad that Jimmy knows more about what you have than you do yourself

Originally Posted by LinacMan

Joe, it's kind of sad that Jimmy knows more about what you have than you do yourself

LOL, I know. I must be getting old and forgetful or I just had a bunch of computer code working in the back of my head and wasn't able to give it full thought. or both. Check this out: http://straightrazorpalace.com/membe...n-6-20-10.html