Thread: Opinions on this W&B please

Hey Gents, I've had this for quite a while and it has me stumped.
The edge is pit-free so no worries there.

I'm not really sure how to proceed. As you see, I could go back and sand it
and leave it with a matt finish to de-emphasise the pits....or I can lose the
makers stamp on the tang and make it nice and shiny.

Other options ?

I don't really like the idea of obliterating the Wade & Butcher stamp but....

This has been wet'n'dry sanded to 2500 in my own less than perfect way.

What say you ?

I say slap some scales on it and get shaving. It is an old blade and while i do like to shine them up as well i also like to leave some sign of age. plus if the stamp is gone how will the person you leave it to find out anything about it?

and i have a similar W&B i am about to clean up. It is a 5/8 but it is possible it used to be bigger. I haven't looked into it much yet.

I would only sand the 1/4 of the blade from the edge to ensure a clean bevel erea if anything, other wise scale it up and use it

You could work on the blade more and probably get all those pits out. Soften up the tang and spine a little more and then satin finish them out or just polish. Not much you can do if you want to save the makers mark, which makes the razor what it is. You definatly want to get all your sanding scratches out of it but other than that it is a razor that has been rusted to a point of no return. Do your best and use it. It is better than it was right ?

Yes, I wouldn't worry about the pits in the tang where the stamp is, do a minimal amount of work there. The rest of the blade you can go as far as you like. Leaving it a little rough at the stamp would make sense.
Here's one I'm leaving some pitting and uneven surface behind, it would do too much damage to try and correct.

I agree that you need to leave the stamp alone. It is an essential part of the character of that blade. The rest of the blade you can do whatever you want. If your not sure then put some scales on it and use it while your deciding what to do next.

A little off the OP question. I noticed there is no logo, just the Shefield so it is pre 1890. Does the absence of a logo narrow down the manufacture date? Sorry for the off topic question.