Thread: How did I do?

Paid $5.00 for this Wade and Butcher at an antique store today. Saw it in a case and figured the price tag had a 1 in front of the five or a zero after the five. After I picked my jaw up off the floor and resisted the urge to do cartwheels (which would guarantee a hospital visit), I happily paid the asking price.

Horn handles, 0.75" think heavy wedge. Based on the pins I think it is really old. The blade needs a little work, but should be fixable.

I think you may have done very well, clean her, hone her and use then then you can know for sure

scale doesn't look bad but that blade has seen a very rough stone, looks like it was filed

Like a lot of the cars and machinery I fix I found myself wondering what the plan was with this. If it had been hollow ground or something other than a Wade & Butcher I wouldn't have bothered but there is plenty of metal to work with and it will be a good challenge.

Nice buy for $5. If there is NO damage to the scales that need work first clean them up and five them a good long soak in neatsfoot oil. Makes a huge difference. If you are like me and still avoid unpinning you can still drop the whole razor in.

For 5 bucks any razor with good scales is a good price to me. As scales alone are worth more. But as a whole you did well IMO. TC is right. Its got some hone wear and the edge looks very hard worked. But after you clean it up and do some sanding, even if it doesn't turn out to be a beauty it will shave nicely. Enjoy the restore job. Take your time doing it and enjoy the fun. Lots of info on how to sand a heavy blade back to shape found in the workshop. With the heavy blades you got a lot more to work with so go for it.

I agree, can't beat the price!
Even if there was no blade, you have vintage collars that look intact, horn scales that need little work. Good deal with those alone.
And then there's also a blade that could be made to shave at least.
Most antique stores seem to think they struck gold and want to cash in on straight razors with ridiculous prices.

Thanks. I agree on the price of some razors, I think 99% of the time what they want is way too much. In my observation it seems to be one of two things, most of the time people think the blades are worth to much. In other instances they don't know what they are worth and pick an arbitrary price that is too high. One small store had about 20-25 some razors for sale in one the display cases all were at $20.00 each. Most of them had some significant, non-repairable damage to the edge, large chips, cracks and more but were priced the same as the 5 or 6 that had no damage.

In some ways that isn't always bad because if everything were this cheap I'd probably have to add on to my house to accommodate my collection. It's hard to resist good deals so in a way it also ensures that there are numbers to the left of the decimal in my bank account.

When the Apocalypse comes, the only things that will survive are cockroaches and Wade & Butcher razors. They can take a joke.

The scales, pins, and collars on that piece look very solid. Bugs haven't chewed it up, it's not cracked or dried up or split. No ugly deep corrosion, rust, or chips. Soak the horn scales in mineral oil, they will come back like new with a little polishing and care. The blade has seen some misuse, but is 100% saveable with some tape and patient honing IMO. For $5, you stole it. There's only upside here. I would have paid $20 - $25 myself, just to have the chance to work with it and bring it back. For less than the price of a McDonald's Happy Meal, you bought fine vintage British steel with potential.

I like "When the Apocalypse come, the only things that will survive are cockroaches and Wade & Butcher razors" I'll have to remember that.