Thread: Wade & Butcher Restore

I bought a 5/8 Wade and Butcher off eBay the other week, that I'm starting to clean up.

I've taken the scales off, which went fairly well...yeah they did crack a little bit but I glued the crack and hopefully they'll be ok to go back on.

I do have a couple of questions, though. First, here's a picture of the inside of one of the scales:



What would you suggest doing with those flappy bits? I could try gluing them, sanding them, or just leaving them, I suppose.

Secondly, what do you guys make of this razor?





In the first pic, right where I'm holding it, there's a kind of darker, raised knob of metal on the spine. Also, if you look at the stamp, it's very faint and a lot of the 'Wade & Butcher' is cut off fat the top of the shank. I'm also thinking that there's some strange wear along the spine, though not from honing. I realise that it's probably quite hard to tell anything from those pictures, but does it look like someone has done work on this razor, previously, or do you reckon it was like this since new?

I mean, I'm not worried about it, but it seems odd compared to the condition of all my other vintage blades.

Looks to have some delamination of the horn inside the scales. Not unusual, since the horn is usually "rough cut" on the inside. If you dribble some super-glue down the sides of the splinters and clamp with a clothespin and let dry a bit, you can move on to the next one. Sand it smooth as it is all dry. Lots of W&B razors have crooked tang stamps which are sometimes partially not even there, but not to worry. Humans stamped them and it did not seem to be a quality control issue with everyday razors, at least. That knob on the spine is probably black rust. I will sand off and hopefilly not hide a deep pit, altho that would not effect shaving. The blade is a good grind, but pitted somewhat. I would say fix the scales, polish the blade a bit and get a good bevel. Enjoy an antique shave!

Thanks for that. I'll try gluing the splinters down, as you say. The crack at the wedge end still seems to be there but it's only a small split so I'm not all that worried.

I'll start work on the blade over the weekend

I'm pleased with the grind. I thought it was hollow when I bought it but it's actually at least half hollow, if not 1/4. I'm not too sure.

The pics aren't very good but I've sanded up to 3000 grit—here it is ready for polishing:





There's still some pitting in places on the blade and tang but I'm very pleased with how it's turned out.

I was very surprised at how well the scales polished up. There's a crack in the scales at the wedge and a few careless filing marks around the pins but overall I'm very impressed with it. She's honed and ready to go—I'll be shaving with it tomorrow.

Pics:

Looks good. I like how you left some character in it.

Thanks. I shaved with it last night and it was ok. Cutting no problem but it wasn't smooth. It didn't tug but it felt somewhat harsh.

I think I'll give it some more work on my welsh slate and try again. If that doesn't work, then I'll keep going backwards.

Originally Posted by PigHog

Thanks. I shaved with it last night and it was ok. Cutting no problem but it wasn't smooth. It didn't tug but it felt somewhat harsh.

I think I'll give it some more work on my welsh slate and try again. If that doesn't work, then I'll keep going backwards.

I am No Expert But I Think If It Is Shaving Well (Sharp Enough) Then You Should Be Able To Strop It To Make It Feel "Smoother"

I could start with that.

Thanks for dissuading me from going straight to the hone again. I did another round of 60 linen and about 120 leather before shaving this evening and this time it shaved like a dream! Possibly the best shave I've had since I began!

Even if I failed at hand-eye coordination and cut my right sideburn at a funny angle. I must say, taking a beat up razor and making it shave like that does give a huge amount of satisfaction! I'm already keeping my eye out for the next restore.