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This Razor: This is a nice chunky, heavy older (1840s - 1850s) Fine India Steel wedge to 1/8th- hollow cutthroat straight razor manufactured by therenowned Sheffield cutlers, Wade & Butcher. It measures just under 7/8ths of an inch in width at its widest point. It has a nice old-style shallow barber's notch on the toe and has newly custom-made scales of natural streaky caramel-blonde water-buffalo horn. It boasts its original lead wedge-spacer and lovely wedge-end brass florette collars. It has plentiful pitting throughout.
Wade & Butcher was one of the truly legendary Sheffield razor manufacturers and the enduring quality of their blades even now remains highly desirable.
The Work:I refurbished this blade by unpinning it, removing all rust, polishing it to a nice sheen. I made custom scales from water-buffalo horn, pinning it together with the original florette collars on the wedge end understated brass pins and collars at the pivot. Slightly less visible, I also included brass pivot washers to enhance this razor's already impressive longevity. The original wedge-spacer is made from lead. Please scrutinize the photos for details. 160+ years old and still going strong, ready to serve several more generations!
This razor has a nice solid feel in the hand and with the generously bellied edge it glides smoothly on the face. There's good reason these gorgeous old W & Bs razors have a broad and loyal following.
I honed this razor with great care, as I would for my own razors I use for personal daily usethis razor was honed with the following progression with 3 layers of tape on the spine to maintain edge geometry:
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My Story: I fell in love with vintage straight razors some years back when I became irritated with the exorbitant cost of disposable razor cartridges. I taught myself to refurbish antique straight razors, utilizing my background in jewelry and sculpture in learning to make custom razor scales, to pin them properly,and, through great effort and dedication, have gained a reputation for nicely honed shaving edges. Each of these blades is a journey, with a history. A man's hands created it long ago to last for generations. You and I are part of those generations. I try to be sensitive and cognizant of the historical context of each razor, as well as the spirit and intentions of the original blademaker so that I may bring them back to life for you, my customer.
