Thread: W&B Question

Picked up this W&B off of ebay to restore, and while examining it, I discovered that it had an acid etch on the top of the spine that was unmentioned in the listing. I cannot figure out what it means. There is an upper case, plain "H" followed by about a half letter space with lower case "cloiter," followed with a florid upper case "H" different than the plain one, and beginning the word " Hartford". So the etch is "H cloiter, Hartford"

It's not clothier, it's not cloister, it's cloiter, which as far as I can tell means nothing, and it's not a proper name since it doesn't start with an upper case letter. And then there is the stand alone plain "H". All of this is between two leafy and lined end pieces. Also, what is the significance of the stamp reading Wade & Butchers (plural), rather than Wade and Butcher (singular)? Any guesses on the etch would be appreciated.

Wow that is an oldie! I have no information for you wish I did, Voidmonster, Martin or Scienceguy will more than likely be able to help you out and I imagine will be along soon enough. Beautiful razor, she will be beautiful when shave ready and usable

OMG. That's gotta be the oldest W&B I've seen yet.[emoji33]
Hopefully someone in the know will be along soon...I want to know myself.!!

Love it.!!!
A great piece you have, jealous I am.[emoji17]

Well there is definitely older Wade & butchers razors out there.

I believed the significance of the Butchers Plural was because there were two Butcher in the partnership William & Samuel. As far as the etching on top of the spine I would think its a personalize razor with someone name? But it is beautifully done, very cool early W&B razor. The early history about this firm is indeed shady and confusing.

Patent tempered steel razor usually around late 1820's.

Yes, there are some nice earlys floating around. I wish this one hadn't been reground, but I like it anyway.

Starting to work on it and a Greaves, but tendonitis is giving me fits.

I've beat my head against that etching and come up with nothing.

My recommendation is to take a pencil and really go over the corroded bit. That'll take off the worst of the oxidation, then use some 2000 grit sandpaper, preferably wrapped around a wooden dowel or something equally firm, and just lightly sand the surface to make the etch a bit clearer.

As for age, it's definitely from near the beginning of their run.

Imho, 1820-1825.

Here are two more examples with a similar blade pattern and stamps.



As for the S on Butcher, it's almost certain possessive. As in "Wade & Butcher's"

There may have been another stamp or a blade-face etch of something like "universally approved razor".

Originally Posted by Voidmonster

I've beat my head against that etching and come up with nothing.

My recommendation is to take a pencil and really go over the corroded bit. That'll take off the worst of the oxidation, then use some 2000 grit sandpaper, preferably wrapped around a wooden dowel or something equally firm, and just lightly sand the surface to make the etch a bit clearer.

As for age, it's definitely from near the beginning of their run.

Imho, 1820-1825.

Here are two more examples with a similar blade pattern and stamps.

As for the S on Butcher, it's almost certain possessive. As in "Wade & Butcher's"

There may have been another stamp or a blade-face etch of something like "universally approved razor".

The etch is clearer than the composite photo allows, and is quite legible. What little pitting invades it does not obscure anything, and under a loupe, the one questionable area is plainly seen. When I first noticed it, I brought it out with 2500, removed some red rust with Envirorust, and resanded with 2500. The gap between the first "H" and the "cloiter" has been given full forensics, and even though the most pits are there, there is no evidence of anything having ever been there, and there really isn't any space for a full letter. Where a narrow letter like "i" or "L" would extend, the metal is unpitted and under 40x is bare of any trace of etching-- not that an "i, L or dash mark" would make it turn into a recognizable word. The serifs on the first "H"are a bit obscured, but the bar connecting the two uprights is plain. Before cleaning, I thought it might be an "E", but it wasn't. I have a feeling that it will remain a conundrum, unless I have a 3 AM eureka moment.



What I thought might be a face etch turned out to be lather swirls.

Thanks for the comparative photos. At the same time I won this one, I lost the bid on a GR with crown, universally approved version that was in really good shape. I had to sooth my RAD by repeating over and over, "there'll be another one, there'll be another one."

That's a nice old W&B, here's another example that is close in form and age. I would also estimate the age to be from the 1820's.

I did some initial searching on that name from the etch and couldn't find any hits.

Posted this one on the WB club but here it is again, similar era, with original blade finish: