Thread: New to the groups need some ID help on razor

Hi everyone!
I have been a DE razor user for almost 2 years and just happens to browse around and got interested in possibly using a straight. After seeing all of these very cool razors i remembered that I had bought on at an antique shop about 10-12 years ago just because it looked cool. I dug it out of storage and can't find a pic of it on the Internet. The trade marks on the tang are really faded the first line is 'er' and the second line might be a 'd'. I assume it is a wade & butcher. It kind of matches the style of that brand. The etching on the blade says 'special hollow ground'.The scales look like plastic with a grain. I don't know what ivory looks like.

My main concern is that I do not ruin a "valuable " razor. I am very interested in straight shaving but need to do this right. Thanks for any feedback.

First of all welcome to the forum.
I can't help a lot with the razor, I'm a newbie myself
It might be useful to put your location in your profile, that way it easier to see if there's a member near you. So you can send your razor to him, or perhaps even meet.
As I understood, to judge if a razor is worth restoring, it's highly recommended to see it.

From my point of view, that a very good looking razor.

Thanks for the reply! I updated my location per your suggestion. I barely remember buying that razor. It jus thumped out at me and the price was not very much, probably $20.00. It was just sitting in one of my treasure boxes waiting for me.

Hi, welcome to SRP

Could you get a good pic of the tang stamp?

I'm pretty sure that's not a W&B, looks more like a typical German razor, it's possible the tang stamp once said "Silver Steel"

Originally Posted by Zephyr

Hi, welcome to SRP

Could you get a good pic of the tang stamp?

I'm pretty sure that's not a W&B, looks more like a typical German razor, it's possible the tang stamp once said "Silver Steel"

Thanks for the info! I will try to get a good pic of the tang. It is really faded but very possible the last letter on the second line is an 'L'. This will happen tonight.

Welcome to SRP!

The razor doesn't look like it need much cleaning, maybe some metal polish, that and honing should make it usable. I would suggest getting a professional to hone it for you. Check the Classifieds under Member Services.

I am taking a wild guess about the scales but best I can tell from pics they almost look like bone. If you send it to a SRP member for honing they should be able to tell more when they have it in hand. Should be a good razor.....Enjoy!

Here is the best i could do with my crappy camera. The letter on the first line is an R the letter in front of the R Could be an E. the second line has a blemish but might end with MD or maybe ND
The opposite side of the tang has no visible markings. Both edges of the tang have file grooves. Thanks again for looking at this. This forum is awesome.

That could be so many things. I would clean it up, get it honed, and enjoy the shave.

Hard to tell, there have so many brands of razors through the years, and in addition there were many barbers, importers etc. that got the razors branded with their own name so there's litterarly thousands to choose from.

Get her honed up and use her, as long as it's a vintage you basically can't go wrong

Welcome. As stated above looks like u have a good German razor from early/mid 1900's with moderate/even honeware and fairly good condition. Get it honed and start your journey as is or it shouldn't take much work to get that razor looking good with a light restoration.

If i were you I would polish it up and see what u got and send it out to be honed. You however are not me so whether you choose to try your hands at restoration at this point in time is all up to you, I say just get it honed up and learned to shave.

We don't do valuations, but I wouldn't worry about detracting from this particular razors value. It's a nice razor suitable for shaving, not a bag of gold.