Another "date this Wade and Butcher" thread

[carlmaloschneider]

It's be a great pity to get rid of the patination on that, in my opinion. I'd also ensure I used tape on the spine when I honed it. It looks like you may need to remove a little bit from the edge as it appears quite uneven. The steel on older razors can be quite soft...

[Maladroit]

Jonah, in my opinion, the etching looks a lot like the shield from the royal arms of Great Britain i.e. the UK. In the left bottom quarter you can just make out the Irish harp and the top left and bottom right quarters bear the 3 lions of England. I'm willing to bet that the top right quarter has the lion rampant of Scotland. So, what does this mean - that it was made for the royal family? Not a chance, it's just a manufacturer claiming the royal warrant. USAans may not be familiar with the words "by appointment to his (her) majesty" and other variants such as the "Prince of Wales" etc. Us Aussies and Canadians will all have seen this on anything from biscuit tins to hair brushes. i would not be at all surprised if an old and respected firm like W&B didn't score at least one royal warrant in their long history. You could try researching to find when the right to use the royal arms was granted to the company - that could give the earliest date the razor could have been made.

[Jonah]

Jonah, in my opinion, the etching looks a lot like the shield from the royal arms of Great Britain i.e. the UK.

You are absolutely right about that.

This is the best picture I could (and probably can) get.




The red arrow marks the crest for the royal coat of arms, though it is just the shield itself. The blue arrow points to another shield, though it looks like it just has vertical lines running on it. The green arrow points to what looks like a man, but that's just my opinion. I circled in purple on the top left where it looks like George is written. I am dying to know what the whole blade looks like. This seems to be a case for the Hardy Boys.

[Maladroit]

I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that the second shield is that of the United States. It should have 13 alternating vertical stripes of red and white - the red being represented in engraving (etching in this case) by closely ruled lines. What we seem to have is an image of the arms of the two countries on crossed flagpoles or lances (with furled flags) surmounted by an eagle or other winged creature. The figure in the centre is probably meant to be bearing the flags. I don't think it means W&B were claiming royal endorsement, just the kinship of the two great English speaking nations - or something along those lines.

I hope you can do a sympathetic restoration that keeps the etch and the scales. It's a great razor!

[Jonah]

Not that I'm complaining under any stretch, but I had no idea what I was getting into when I bought the razor. I'm kind of torn as far as what to do with it. The scales...or scale I should say is not salvageable. The washers aren't perfect but can most likely be saved. As carlmalo pointed out, the blade is a little rough towards the heel. Then of course, the biggest matter is what to do with the face of the blade. Part of me does want to keep the patina on, and the other part of me wants to get it off to show the etching. Even if I only used some Mother's, there is no guarantee the etching would be intact. The good news is I don't need to make a decision just yet

[Jonah]

After debating what the best course of action is, I'm thinking I will probably sell this razor as is. I don't know that I would call it a historical piece per se, but I am confident in saying it is pretty rare. I feel that sharpening it for my own sake and removing the (shot to hell and back) scales would be doing a disservice to the razor. The opportunity cost of me holding onto it is not letting it go to a person who can truly appreciate all the razor is. I know that ebay isn't necessarily the most noble of ways to sell the razor, but I think it will get the most exposure there. So, it will most likely end up where I got it.

Thank you everyone for the advice and offerings, I really appreciate it.

Cheers

[Martin103]

Jonah a possible find for the etching on your razor. The etching on this one reads "Commerce, Freedom & Strenght United"




Actually im pretty positive this is it.

[sharptonn]

Yep! Nail on the head, Martin!

[Jonah]

"Commerce, Freedom & Strenght United"

Yep! Nail on the head, Martin!

Mighty find detective work, gentleman. For sake of keeping the character of the razor, I don't think I'm going to do anything to it. Almost a shame, that etching is reaaaaalllll purdy. Does that etching help narrow down the production date?

[sharptonn]

Well, it is proclaiming a partnership with the U.S. and England. I suspect things like this go with centennials. I would guess the 1880's at latest.