Thread: Antique Store Find...

So today I went up to an antique mall in Ft Worth with really no intentions of browsing around and killing time. I was looking at some old straight razors when I came across one that I just couldnt pass up. On the tang, it has Wade & Butcher stamped on one side with Curley NY Aristos stamped on the other side. It cannot be used because it has a substantial nick in the blade, but for $1, I couldnt pass it up.

Does anyone know anything about these razors?







I am pretty much certain that the razor will never be able to be shaved with again, but at least as something to collect, it seemed like a nice place to start.

Hey Neighbor,

Yeah she's cracked. Darn shame as it looks like a nice one.

That razor is a "contract" razor that was made by W&B for the company listed. YOu might do a google search and see if you can find a reference to the company.

There are several of us in the N TX area that mess with these things. Give a holler if you need any help.

Wilie

I've done a couple of Google searches and what Im coming up with is seven-day sets. I dont believe this was part of one of those sets as it doesnt have a day engraved on the spine. It has a long tail, but it isnt marked as "enhanced" as some that I have seen. I know Wade & Butcher stopped production in 1890, but I also know the company did live on until the 50's, I just dont know if they were still branded with the normal Wade & Butcher logo.

The scales seem to be celluloid or plastic with a white spacer at the bottom. There is practically no hone wear that I can see at all on the blade. Its a full hollow ground blade and seems pretty sharp. It makes me wonder if the razor was ever used at all. Its just strange that I cant really find anything on the razor or the Curley NY company it was made for.

On a side note, they also had another W&B straight that I saw but didnt know much about. It appeared to be mid 1800's with a barbers notch. What struck me as odd was the guy selling it said it was a REAL mother of pearl scales. It diidnt appear to be the pearloid plastics I've seen used lately. But they wanted $275 for it. Has anyone ever seen any real pearl scales used on a straight before?

MOP ( mother of pearl ) was indeed used on razors. They were usually high end razors. You can rub it against your tooth and if it feels rough, it's MOP.

Your razor was probably made around the turn of the century. Curley's NY was an ongoing concern and held a patent for Curley's Safety razor. I found a reference of the "ARISTOS" as 1902-1903 but that reference also included extra blades so it doesn't sound like the same item.

From what I can see yours wasn't used much. Must have gotten cracked early on and put away for "posterity". If you wanted to use it, you could grind it back toward the heel from that crack and hone it, but the blade would be shortened. This was a common cure "back in the day", and you occasionally see one that has been fixed like that for sale on ebay.

If you decide to grind it, GO SLOW and keep the blade cool. I'd also tape the heck out of the cutting edge just in case it got loose so it wouldn't take off a finger.

Thanks for that info, Wullie. Im a little scared about the idea of grinding the blade back but when I picked it up I knew that at the very least it would be a razor that I would hang on to even if for nothing more than just the "cool" factor of having a W&B in my collection. I mean, it will probably never be sold anyway. I guess I could and even it didnt work out it would matter much anyway. I dont think it would be worth any more or less one way or the other. But d*mn would I love to be able to shave with a pre-1900 Wade & Butcher!

Try looking up J.Curley & sons NY. I believe thats the same company. I have a Joseph Rodgers from them.

Ok, so I've been looking into it. Its really hard to find anything about this razor or J. Curley & Sons or even Curley NY. The best only real information I can find about it is that its late 1800's. I did find the faint remnants of some words on the tang. The only thing I can make out is "IMP" and then it fades out so bad I cant see any more.

The overall length of the blade is a little under 3", probably around 2 7/8". I looked at it and if I can cut out the crack on the heel the blade will still be roughly 2 1/8". So it would take about half an inch off the blade length. Given my proximity to Larry Andreassen, I could probably take it over to him to have it rehoned and rescaled because given the age of the razor I think 100+ year old plastic is probably getting a bit brittle and I would hate for it to break. I could probably have a pretty nice vintage straight for about a $50 investment total. Do yall think it would be worth it?

I'd think that one would look neat in a display.

Like you said, as close as you are to Larry, hook up with him and get one of his to start with for probably less than what you're talking about with that W&B. There are TONS of old W&B's out there to be had yet, just keep your eyes open. There are also TONS of old Sheffield blades out there by scores of respected Sheffield cutlery houses that will shave just as good as a W&B.

I don't know where you want to go in the realm of straight razors but if honing and restoration is one of your goals this would be a perfect practice piece.

My self I would take a pliers and crack off the rest of the heel. Then sand it rounded. Hone it and shave away. I already have a sander and hones and am not including the original cost of those! Or my time! But for less than $2 you could shave with a W&B. And if you mess up it will cost you a dollar.

My first project blade as far as shaving goes was a failure. But I learned a lot and it still is on my workbench and used for a knife.

Well I bit the bullet and took the chip out of it. I took about 3/4" out of the blade but the chip came out. The blade never got hot cause about every 15 seconds or so, I was dipping it back in ice water, call me paranoid. I have seen what Larry charges for honing and rescaling, so Im not gonna be out much either way I go.





I would eventually like to get into restorations and honing although I've never honed a straight razor before, so I will have this one done for me. I guess we'll see how this one turns out.