Legacy Razor

[Lexicon Devil]

My dad called me today and told me he had found a straight which belonged to my great-grandfather, he believes. I don't know all that much about straights but it appears to be a 5/8 hollow ground Wade and Butcher Special. The scales seem to have been replaced but are very nice. The blade closes on the center of the scales. There is a lot of patina and some hone wear. I am hoping someone can take a look at these, admittedly crappy, photos and tell me what I can do to restore this and if it is worth restoring. Also *any information* about the razor would be nice.


You can't see any of the markings but the blade has "Special" etched on it with a "lazy" in a circle on the left of the word, an arrow going through the word and a Maltese cross on the right of the word. The tang(?) or whatever has "Wade & Butcher" on the first line with "Sheffield, England" below and the same "B arrow Maltese cross" symbol underneath that.


Any information at all would be greatly appreciated.




It probably goes without saying, but I am incredibly stoked about this development.


Thanks in advance for all the awesome nformation I am sure is coming my way

 

[Legion]

The marking you describe are W+B's logo. It would have been made some time after WW1, I'm guessing the 30's, looking at the scales. Clean her up, get it honed, and have at it.

MAAS and a lot of elbow grease should be enough to remove the bulk of the patina.

 

[Lexicon Devil]

The marking you describe are W+B's logo. It would have been made some time after WW1, I'm guessing the 30's, looking at the scales. Clean her up, get it honed, and have at it.

MAAS and a lot of elbow grease should be enough to remove the bulk of the patina.

nice, I can supply the MAAS and the grease, who are the likely suspects to send it to for honing. Sorry to seem like such a noob but...well...I am such a noob.

 

[Firewalker]

There is no way I would touch the patina, it's simply gorgeous. If it were mine,I would buff the scales and metalwork inserts and hone her up.

 

[Legion]

There is no way I would touch the patina, it's simply gorgeous. If it were mine,I would buff the scales and metalwork inserts and hone her up.

I here what you are saying... But you need to knock the patina off if you want to shave with it. Too many cooties can hide in that grime.

 

[Antique Hoosier]

Congrats to you on this Legacy razor...I am fortunate to have my Great Great Grandfather's Wade and Butcher circa 1850

 

[Lexicon Devil]

Oh man, that is a pretty razor.

 

[oakeshott]

Oh man, that is a pretty razor.

And the provenance is even better.

 

[Kentos]

Is that patina or a forced blueing?

 

[Lexicon Devil]

Is that patina or a forced blueing?

I have absolutely no idea. It may be some kind of blueing. It is pretty uniform. It is soaking right now in water and soap to be scrubbed a bit, perhaps after this I will have a better idea. I'm guessing scrubbing bubbles aren't the right way to go here.

 

[Firewalker]

It sure looks like an early Parkerization using Phosphoric Acid and some base metal for transference. If we can get some better pictures, you will clearly see that this is a coating of some sort and not a natural patina. BTW- the patina doesn't hold cooties or bacteria any more than bright steel, if a disinfectant is used on the steel, it will be just as safe to use as and razor.

*Often times we confuse rust with Tetanus and while a heavily rusted surface offers a habitat for the tetani bacteria, the bacteria itself is found in dirt and fecal matter.