Thread: R. Wade Frameback

So I finally got a Wade razor. And funny enough, it's a frameback, which are really hard to come by from this era. Recently I saw a John Barber frameback from the period but was outbid. I have a neat Greaves brass frameback as well. I'm not sure just how prolific this style was at the time, but there don't seem to be many examples around today, at least around the market. Interestingly, this one is pined collarless on horn scales, which I've seen really only on French razors. Enjoy!

In England, at least, the frameback razor was first made by Bennington Gill of Birmingham, but Ebenezer Rhodes bought the rights to it in 1824. He was out of business by 1828, though.

Wade & Butcher also marketed a frameback in the 1820's:


From January 29th, 1827

Robert Wade, of course, died well before that, in 1825.

And this is fun trivia, surely useful any time you'd like to mess with the heads of straight razor enthusiasts, that is also the date at which Wade & Butcher ended as a company. All the razors and knives and saws and chisels stamped with 'Wade & Butcher' that were made after 1825 were made by a different company, namely W & S Butcher. (Not including the brief period when they were Butcher, Brown and Butcher -- but that ran only from 1826 to 1830).

I'm guessing your frameback was made between 1826 and 1828 by Jane Wade, Robert's wife, who continued producing razors from the same factory address as Wade & Butcher, until she too died in 1829.

It was their son, Robert, who came to America in the 1830's and ran the American side of the business.

Great find! Not a common razor for sure. I remember reading that at the beginning of frameback razors, most believed they were cheap razors. The lack of grinding and basically just putting 2 piece of metal together didnt require the skill of grinding a razor from a blank.
Jacques Lecoultre changed all that, the quality of his razors, and the ease of maintaining the edge, like a full hollow razor without the meat of a wedge, made these razors very popular.

Originally Posted by Martin103

Great find! Not a common razor for sure. I remember reading that at the beginning of frameback razors, most believed they were cheap razors. The lack of grinding and basically just putting 2 piece of metal together didnt require the skill of grinding a razor from a blank.
Jacques Lecoultre changed all that, the quality of his razors, and the ease of maintaining the edge, like a full hollow razor without the meat of a wedge, made these razors very popular.

It's really interesting to note that blade is ground to a shape that was very, very popular at the time -- full hollow point, extremely square heel and a long-cut shoulder (not that this one has a shoulder). The much more common Greaves 'Cast Steel / Warranted' is that shape, but I've seen many, many other cutlers who made them, from big names like Rodgers to tiny companies like Green & Pickslay.

Certainly a lot of the Sheffield cutlers produced framebacks, and some of them went out of their way to make them look nice. In fact, ScienceGuy has one of the coolest I've seen.

Very nice addition to your collection I would say. These early ones have an appeal all there own. Love it and congrats.

I've been watching for an early Wade like that, here's the closest I've got.

5/8 Dittmar A. Heilbronn




Name and date scratched into the horn scales, Harvaker 1825.

Originally Posted by DennisBarberShop

I've been watching for an early Wade like that, here's the closest I've got.

5/8 Dittmar A. Heilbronn




Name and date scratched into the horn scales, Harvaker 1825.

That's QUITE a rare one!

To date, I've only ever seen later models from when the company became Gebruder Dittmar.

(Most of the information I've got, I've got because Neil Miller is better at digging these things up than I am).

They were founded in the late 1700's by George Dittmar in Heilbronn, Germany. That's a long way away from the historical center of German cutlery. Yet, Dittmar razors are the ONLY German razors I've ever seen from before about 1870, when mechanization revolutionized the Solingen industry.

I have seen a total of three Dittmar razors, and yours makes number 4. The other three are all the same basic design. This one:





What's odd about this is that the tang is clad in German silver (which, like French ivory, has no relation to the material it's imitating). You can just make it out in this picture.



I have no idea why it was made that way. But the company was a little odd.

At some point, George Dittmar passed the company along to his sons, Adalbart and Theodore Carl. It was them who did business as Gebruder Dittmar (Brothers Dittmar), and they gave an interview in the 1840's about their techniques which involved double-refined Sheffield steel, arcane acid baths and rolling and a process more closely related to alchemy than the metallurgy more commonly practiced. They were among the most successful Jewish businesses in the city and were still in business up to about 1880.

I have no idea of 1825 is a realistic date for your razor. I'd guess not, but bets are pretty much completely off for razors made outside the usual cutlery centers. That said, your Dittmar looks very Sheffieldy. I wonder if George spent some time there?

Although not as early I believe as the WADE, this is a lancet edge 'Brass Frame-back' that I have that is inscribed simply with 'PATENT' on the tang. Lumus references and pictures a "Naylor and Sanderson" made blade with this configuration with just the 'Patent' inscription. Don't know if this is this razor or not but I have seen a Joseph Elliot that looks almost exactly the same, with the same PATENT inscribed on the tang but also with Joseph Elliot inscribed on the brass spine.

Originally Posted by Wolfpack34

Although not as early I believe as the WADE, this is a lancet edge 'Brass Frame-back' that I have that is inscribed simply with 'PATENT' on the tang. Lumus references and pictures a "Naylor and Sanderson" made blade with this configuration with just the 'Patent' inscription. Don't know if this is this razor or not but I have seen a Joseph Elliot that looks almost exactly the same, with the same PATENT inscribed on the tang but also with Joseph Elliot inscribed on the brass spine.

Hahaha, the wood in those pictures is from my deck, funny that one of my old razors makes a comeback in my own thread.

Originally Posted by ScienceGuy

Hahaha, the wood in those pictures is from my deck, funny that one of my old razors makes a comeback in my own thread.

I would wager that I have more than a few of your 'prior owns'!

Although it wasn't honed when it came into my hands, it has since become a very, very nice shaver that never fails to please when it comes out of the box.

Since you 'owned it at one time' perhaps you can fill me in on what you might know about it's origins?

WP34