Wade & Butch update. I had to share these.

[JohnnyDemonic]

I found this razor in an antique shack for $40 and haggled it down to $30.
I posted photos of it and Harvitz81 (Joe) was kind enough to offer to clean it up, polish it and give it a sharp edge at no cost to me. The notorious generosity of B&B members.

Here are the before pics that were taken after I cleaned it and tried to make it shine.

After a Harvitz81 cleaning.

She is on her way home now and I can't wait to slice my face to ribbons with her. I'm trading in my styptic for some QuikClot and gauze.

 

[Skyrider55]

Great score. Let us know how she shaves. Kudos to Harvitz81 (Joe) for his offering and splendid job!!

Is that real tortoise shell?

 

[JohnnyDemonic]

Great score. Let us know how she shaves. Kudos to Harvitz81 (Joe) for his offering and splendid job!!

Is that real tortoise shell?

From what I understand it's pressed horn made to look like tortoise shell. I've seen the same type of scales before and I think it was common, but they look pretty cool. At first I wasn't a huge fan of them, but they grew on me and I think it's a nice break from common black scales.

I wish I had experience shaving with a straight so I could let you know how it is, but I'll let you know how well it cuts me after I give it a try. LOL

 

[O.G.]

That's a really cool clean up. I wish someone could help me with my w&b for gentlemans use blade I found at an antique store. Original scales and all.

 

[azmark]

Nice score! Great job by Joe!

 

[JohnnyDemonic]

That's a really cool clean up. I wish someone could help me with my w&b for gentlemans use blade I found at an antique store. Original scales and all.

How can you not post a photo of it?
Stop teasing... LOL

Here is the W&B Barbers Use that I stole from an antiques barn for $10. Still can't believe I found it.

After a little cleaning...

I decided--with the advice of others--to send it out and have it restored as close as possible to it's orginal condition. The scales are good, but the blade is in really good shape for being 200 years old. I'll miss her.

 

[O.G.]

Ill post it today when I get home. It doesn't have a barber knotch in it as most have. I don't have much to go by on it. The scales have a small crack in them that needs minor repair, nothing major. I plan to take fine sand paper to it and step it up until I get to needing the Dremel and Jewlers rougue. I honed it on my Coti and it cuts well. We will see. Any help, once I post pics, would be greatly appreciated.

 

[O.G.]

Pictures on the way. I took them with my iPhone but they dont make it easy at Apple to upload pics to sites from the, dang, phone.

 

[Obiwan]

I decided--with the advice of others--to send it out and have it restored as close as possible to it's orginal condition. The scales are good, but the blade is in really good shape for being 200 years old. I'll miss her.

I've got the same W&B @ 15/16 and chose to send it off to have it done right. I couldn't be happier with my decision and suspect you will be too.

 

[Greyfox]

 

[Legion]

Yeah! I'm getting into these really old wedges. They are a PITA to hone, but once you do they are fun to use. I'm glad you kept the original scales on it.

I think we should start some sort of razor preservation society, that stops people pimping razors over 150 years old.

 

[dakotaev]

Nicely done! I recently cleaned up a big W&B Celebrated For Barbers Use. Normally when cleaning up an older blade I'll opt to disassemble and re-pin, but the fancy washers on this one were so nice, it would have been a crime.

It took about 2 attempts to get the edge right, but OH man did it ever shave good. One of my best shavers.

 

[O.G.]

Now what?

 

[Legion]

That looks in pretty good shape. What grit did you sand it to?

After the final sand, then metal polish, then Brasso (the ammonia kills any bugs that might be hiding in the pits).

Honing is always a lot of fun on these oldies, but I use three layers of tape on a full wedge. That one looks about 1/4 so, one layer? up to you.

Scales, light sand with 1000 grit, light mineral oil, and then seal with Renaissance wax, if you can get it.

 

[O.G.]

I haven't sanded it at all. I put some Brasso on it and let it sit and wiped it off with a microfiber cloth. I then put a touch of Tuff-Glide on it to seal it from any more corrosion, there doesnt initially appear to be any pitting. I honed it on a coti and I got an edge on it. I'll get sand paper today and work on polishing it lightly. Does anyone have any info. on this because most of them I see say barber but I havent seen may that say gentlemans use. Thank for the motivation and guidance. I'll add to the post after I get a bit of the work done. I want to be careful with it.

 

[dakotaev]

I haven't sanded it at all. I put some Brasso on it and let it sit and wiped it off with a microfiber cloth. I then put a touch of Tuff-Glide on it to seal it from any more corrosion, there doesnt initially appear to be any pitting. I honed it on a coti and I got an edge on it. I'll get sand paper today and work on polishing it lightly. Does anyone have any info. on this because most of them I see say barber but I havent seen may that say gentlemans use. Thank for the motivation and guidance. I'll add to the post after I get a bit of the work done. I want to be careful with it.

I've seen Gentlemen's use W&B's before, I think they were just produced in smaller sizes. Should be a fantastic razor though. You can use the metal polish to clean it up even further or just leave the patina which is also a good look.

You might want to touch a bit of sand paper to the bigger spot on the back, it looks like it might be a bit worse than the rest, however it might be just fine.

Just as a warning, if you don't want scratches (they can be difficult to buff out later) don't use the sandpaper, just clean it up with metal polish.

 

[O.G.]

Thanks dakotaev. I've tried Brasso, and Tarn-X said don't used its on this type of metal. What are my other polish options? I bought the dremel kit for Jewlers so that I can lightly buff it a bit but after that I'm going to stop and enjoy it once I get some oil on the handle.

 

[dakotaev]

My favorite is mothers aluminum wheel polish. It works wonders. You should be able to get it at wamlart or most stores that sell carwash products. It won't get rid of texured corrosion but it will clean up a lot of the tarnish, you might have to do it multiple times to get the best result.

 

[JohnnyDemonic]

Now what?

What now? Now I pick up my jaw and mop the drool off the floor.

A restoration clean up like "Legion" did on his W&B or "Harvitz81" did on mine would make an already very nice blade look even better.

Anyone know how old the "Gentlemans Use" razors are? The stamp looks really basic; which makes it look even older.

That's one nice meat chopper O.G.
It's an awesome feeling to find something like that in an antique shop. Keep us updated on the clean up.

 

[Joe Edson]

What now? Now I pick up my jaw and mop the drool off the floor.

A restoration clean up like "Legion" did on his W&B or "Harvitz81" did on mine would make an already very nice blade look even better.

Anyone know how old the "Gentlemans Use" razors are? The stamp looks really basic; which makes it even older.

That's one nice meat chopper O.G.
It's an awesome feeling to find something like that in an antique shop. Keep us updated on the clean up.

Depends on the grind. I think I've used mainly 1/4 hollow Barber's Use, For Barber's Only, and Gentlemans use and they all are pretty much the same.