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Hello,
I just ordered my first straight from Whipped Dog... while waiting I picked up an old straight at the antique store. Should I have bought this? Is it worth sharpening?
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Thanks!
It's always hard to say for sure from pics, but Wade & Butcher made some fine blades. From the pics, it looks like it isn't frowning and isn't chipped or cracked, so I'd be willing to bet it wouldn't be hard to turn into a great shaver. And if you decide not to, I'm sure there are plenty of folks here who wouldn't mind taking it off your hands. :)
Great find, and good luck with it!
It is steel sharpen it. It looks like it might have had some of the smile honed off but give it hand rubbing to remove the black stuff. Then look at the edge with magnification checking for small cracks or pitting at the edge. Then get out the stones and go to town. Really you might consider sending it to Glen gssixgun cause he could work miracles with that piece.
I have not seen a wedge or near wedge with shoulders before.
Could this be a re-grind?
Also the "point face" is interesting being angular rather than flat.
IMHO I dont think it would have the etching on the blade face if it was a regrind.Quote:
Originally Posted by bonitomio
I have two different Straights with the angular end like that, and I've seen it on quite a few french point razors.
Yep I agree with your point about the etching. I should have considered that.Quote:
Originally Posted by justinA
Still its strange that a wedge type razor would "need" a stabilizer.
Thanks for the info on your razors with the "angular point faces"
The stabilizer does seem excessive, my fidour near wedge is slightly less ground than this without a shoulder and it is miles stiffer than even a half hollow with shoulders.Quote:
Originally Posted by bonitomio
No problem about the point face, I think its fairly common you just dont always see them from the front.
Aha, I just found this on an old completed ebay listing. This must be what it looked like before someone ground the hell out of it.
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Yours is in better shape than that one, it just looks like someone may have already cleaned yours up at some point, which would lighten the etch when removing metal to clean off rust.
Those W&B Bow razors are not a wedge. They are a very stiff ground hollow & the few I've seen all had the diamond point nose.
If the pile side looks as good as the side we can see it should hone up fine. The slightly irregular spine wear shouldn't be too much of a challenge.
Attachment 99313Quote:
Originally Posted by onimaru55
Would you consider this to be a 1/4 hollow and not a near wedge?
That ebay bow looks like a Dali painting! what a POS.
I think a Picasso would make a better representation - smacked out of shape.Quote:
Originally Posted by EisenFaust
YES! Sharpen that baby up and bring 'er back to life.
Is everyone referring to the shape of the edge, it looks like it's frowning/smirking? Or is there something else wrong with that blade. This is probably a good teaching moment for me.Quote:
Originally Posted by EisenFaust
I'd say 1/4 hollow. A near wedge of this blade's age would show more honing wear, in my opinion.Quote:
Originally Posted by bonitomio
[QUOTE=alk;979267]Hello,
I just ordered my first straight from Whipped Dog... while waiting I picked up an old straight at the antique store. Should I have bought this? Is it worth sharpening?
Attachment 99299
Your razor is in good shape, though as someone pointed out, it looks like someone honed away its original smile. A smiling blade is one that bows out in the middle, and this is a nice feature. It enables you to shave into hollows a little more easily than a straight profile. A frowning blade, like the one in the ebay picture, is one that has been honed carelessly, with a heavy hand in the middle of the honing stroke. This razor probably had a matching hone with peculiar wear of its own. The two together would tell a story of one man, one razor, one hone, one lifetime. Or maybe two men, two lifetimes... that's a LOT of hone wear.Quote:
Originally Posted by alk
You can see the evidence of the former smile on your blade--look at the hone wear along the spine. See how it's wider in the middle? That's because someone had to hone the middle of the blade a lot to get it to match up with the blade width at the heel and toe. That's a shame to those of us who prefer smilers, but the honewear looks careful so I bet you'll be able to get a good bevel set and maintain that blade as it is. I don't know if it'd be possible to restore the smile without adding a LOT of hone wear to the spine, though.
Anyway, it's a good piece of steel and should become a good shaver for you.
Best wishes
The other razor (not yours) has excessive hone wear on the spine and shoulders making it nearly flush with the tang, and that lopsided frown..............more work than its worth in my opinion.Quote:
Originally Posted by alk
Your razor is light years ahead of the other.
I just finished a identical razor to yours, be light on the face as you want to keep the etching but she's a fabulous shaver and yours looks to be in better condition then mine was in.
I agree OZ!Quote:
Originally Posted by onimaru55
I've offered to clean it up and hone it for free. I do hope he takes me up on my offer! It'll be nice to help a newcomer out and get to see the razor in person! It should be a nice shaver and a great comparison for his other razor that he purchased!
IIRC a 1/4 grind or wedge is achieved with one wheel. The profile of the bow looks like more than one wheel was used pushing it more towards a half hollow to my eyes but have a look at the Henckels grading system below & you'll see a lot of variation compared to the example you posted. I can't think of any wedges or 1/4 grinds that have a stabiliser as its simply not needed.Quote:
Originally Posted by bonitomio
Very helpful information Oz,
thanks for sharing.
No problemo. You'll also find a lot of the W&B's that are stamped as hollow ground are nowhere as slim as what we're used to in say a Solingen.
