Thread: Wade and Butchers

Originally Posted by Martin103

Actually the company started by 2 brothers William and Samuel in 1820 and later they partnered with Robert Wade, perhaps the first example of
this newly partnership were marked as Wade and Butchers!

IIRC Butcher was the American rep who marketed the W&Bs over here. Wade was the razor maker. At least I seem to remember reading something to that effect. I think it is legit. No percentage in adding an "s" to an existing blade. As for off center stampings .... back in those days they, the people that made and marketed them, didn't foresee a bunch of crazies paying exorbitant prices for their goods. They weren't that fussy about such things. I've seen many a Case Bros pocket knife with part of the stamping off center to the point where it runs off the side of the tang.

Originally Posted by Wullie

Does anyone here think that is a reground blade?

I had a full hollow, like that , W&B Barber's Use and traded it a year or two ago. Good razor and I don't think it was a regrind. Not all of them back then were notch point wedges. Ya never know though.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

IIRC Butcher was the American rep who marketed the W&Bs over here. Wade was the razor maker. At least I seem to remember reading something to that effect. I think it is legit. No percentage in adding an "s" to an existing blade. As for off center stampings .... back in those days they, the people that made and marketed them, didn't foresee a bunch of crazies paying exorbitant prices for their goods. They weren't that fussy about such things. I've seen many a Case Bros pocket knife with part of the stamping off center to the point where it runs off the side of the tang.

You got it backwards, but that's more or less the standard story. Robert Wade, as the story goes, was an American businessman who hooked up with William and Samuel Butcher back in 1818 to found Wade & Butcher. Wade died in 1825. According to the Sheffield Tilthammer site, Samuel Butcher took over the New York agent side of things from there.

However there are a lot of mysteries that aren't particularly resolved, not least of which being the fact that Robert Wade also had a trademark with the cutlers guild and had been producing razors for a number of years before the Wade & Butcher partnership. It also appears that his wife, Jane took over his trademark and produced some razors, as she's listed in one of the Sheffield registries as a razor maker residing at the location of the W&B factory in 1829.

Robert Wade is on my to-do stack of research, but the name is hard to trace because it's very common. Fortunately there's an internet project to trace Wade lineages via genetics, they might be able to help.

As for the stamp, it appears to simply be a variant version of the For Barber's Use. It would normally have a possessive apostrophe -- Wade & Butcher's -- but details on those dies often got mangled in use.

Wow, some really amazing information, guys! I really appreciate all the help. I'm a little disappointed now that I didn't get a chance to bid on it. Truly fascinating though!