wade and butcher famous keen shaving bow razor

Hi there,
I am brand new to the site and I was just wondering what you guys would think of my very first straight razor that I bought about two days ago. As the title implies it is a Wade and Butcher Famous Keen Shaving Bow razor. I bought it for $20.00, the blade is cherry and the scales are pristine, there is a an engraving on the scales that says Billings 4, I love the personality that it adds to the piece, I believe the manufacture date to be between 1863 and 1891 seeing as how there is no manufacturing location stamped on it and the handles are made of bakelite. Any input would be fantastic, thanks for reading.


- Dylan

Welcome to SRP. You'll learn in a big hurry that around here...a pic is worth a thousand words :)

Welcome to SRP. You will find there is a wealth of information and very helpful members here to help you, read the links for beginners and ask questions. This forum is full of gentlemen, and ladies, and since we're all gentlemen, please post some pictures so we can oogle your goodies. :)

Here is a picture of the razor, sorry for poor quality.

Looks good! Get it honed and enjoy!

All i need is a quality strop and I am in business, cant wait to get a nice edge on it.

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Originally Posted by dylan133

All i need is a quality strop and I am in business, cant wait to get a nice edge on it.

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Did you get it shave ready? I've been mentioning a lot but here's a good place for an inexpensive strop, Whipped Dog Straight Razor Shaving Equipment

No i have not done anything to it at all beside clean it up with a cloth, is there anything important I need to do to get it shave ready? I don't think I need to put it to a stone but it definitely needs to be honed. Thank you for the link.

Welcome to SRP. I've got a W&B bow too and it is a good shaver. Unless you're an experienced razor honer your best bet would be to check in member services in the SRP classifieds and send it out to be honed. :gl:

Thank you for the advice, I will probably send it out. Any idea on the worth?

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Originally Posted by dylan133

Thank you for the advice, I will probably send it out. Any idea on the worth?

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Appraisals are not permitted on SRP. (see the forum rules) One reason is that they are generally a matter of opinion and nowadays it is easy to go to ebay, do a search for 'completed items' to see what the market is on your particular item this week. You can also access the SRP classifieds and check the 'archive' for going prices on some razors there. Even then there is a lot of variation for a given razor depending on condition, collector's appeal and such. I will say that based on the price you mentioned I think you did well ...... but that is only 'my' opinion for whatever it is worth.

Oh ok, that makes sense. I thought I was getting a pretty decent deal. Thanks again for the input, I definitely want to start collecting and this place has already been a huge help.

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Originally Posted by dylan133

I definitely want to start collecting and this place has already been a huge help.

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You're in a lot of trouble, don't say I didn't warn you. :rofl2:

Haha well they are just such wonderful instruments, I got hooked the second I held mine.

Can you say R.A.D. Dylan. There is a 12 step program for our kind, but it doesn't work!:beer1:

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

You're in a lot of trouble, don't say I didn't warn you. :rofl2:

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Oh Jimmy, you are so right!
Dylan, it will start very harmless. Razors from antique stores, flea market, your great aunt gives you one. BUT, then come the $15-$20 ebay specials. Now, you are hooked and will wind up with 40 or 50 of these things. Well, that's OK you say. Well, it's NOT ok. You will start looking at the pics of the restored razors in our forum and say-- I can do that. You probally can, but NO TOOLS to work with. SO---- new band saw, new jig saw, belt sander, drill press, punches, anvil, and a new work bench because you need more room on top of it. Now the treasure hunt for nice scale materials starts. They are not cheap!!!
OK, you manage to finally restore one and it looks really nice, BUT you really don't want to put this one in the mail to be honed, so NOW the search starts for all of the fantastic natural hones from all over the world.
By now you realise your shave den is to small and you add a room on to your house. Thats ok, but by now the wife has had enough and you have to sleep there too.
This wonderful hobby of ours------------I LOVE EVERY SECOND OF IT!!!! It has been going on now 43 years for me.
Dylon, WELCOME to SRP and the wonderful world of straight's. Read all you can, watch the video's and ask all the questions you can. There are no dumb questions, just dumb answers.
All the very best, John

I just bought a similar one as a restoration project. Ill post some pics soon. Im still in the blade refinishing stage and need to take a break from the hours of sanding.

Ha its funny that you laid out that scenario, I have already begun to look at restoration projects. Not for this blade, I am amazed at the condition of the razor especially the bakelike, but I want to start some restoration soon. I do have some tools at my disposal but I definitely see some future trip to some flea markets to search for tools as well as some potential razor projects.