Thread: Wade & Butcher question "Blank for Concaving"

I just got a W&B I bought off the internet in a lot of 3 razors for $21, including a "Man-o-War" Hermann Graukopf - Solingen and an M. Jung, New York, M.I. Germany, No. 80 on the other side of the tang - not bad, I think. Anyway, the Wade & Butcher has this on the tang:

Wade & Butcher
Blank for Concaving
Sheffield, England

So I'm guessing after 1891 or so, but doesn't seem all that old; the part that is unusual is the "Blank for Concaving". Maybe this was a practice piece? It's a 5/8 maybe 1/2 hollow, not sure what the scales are made of. Anyone know anything about this?

Thanks for any info!

Pictures please!

I concur...Pics are a must! I won't be able to tell you anything...but I wanna see!!!

I've seen someone post one of those at least once before. I think that it was something like W&B furnishing just what the stamping says, a blank for someone else to do the grind ? OTOH, I may be wrong, I was wrong once before.

Edit; no help info wise but here is another .....

http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...concaving.html

I would guess the word blank is the key. That's the term for a razor before its ground basically a blade shaped piece of metal.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I've seen someone post one of those at least once before. I think that it was something like W&B furnishing just what the stamping says, a blank for someone else to do the grind ? OTOH, I may be wrong, I was wrong once before.

Edit; no help info wise but here is another .....

http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...concaving.html

Yeah, I own that exact one now and I can't find any info on it at all except for WBK looking for info

It may have been a marketing gimmick as they moved away from wedges into hollows or a simple reminder to the grinder to use the newer method. Maybe both.

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

It may have been a marketing gimmick as they moved away from wedges into hollows.

I was thinking ..... my impression is that the big guns of straight razor making in Sheffield were W&B, Joseph Rodgers and George Wostenholm. I base that on my impression that there seem to be more vintage razors by them than any other of the makers by far. Some of the smaller outfits may have had the wherewithal to grind and finish but not the forging capability. W&B may have made blanks and sold them to such outfits as that. OTOH, if they were furnishing blanks for another maker it doesn't make sense that they would stamp the tang with the info. This is a job for Supermanah ....... I mean manah ..... If he doesn't know, no one does.

I had one like that at one point, and I think JoeD has one two. Our theory was that W&B made blanks and lightly stamped them, with the intent that another company would buy the blanks, grind off the W&B mark, and put their own on.

I'll try to post some pics - had to leave it at work yesterday, as we were going out to dinner in NYC, and didn't want to get caught with an offensive weapon... ;-)

The lettering is not what I would call lightly stamped, so I think a substantial amount would need to be ground off to make it disappear..