My first restoration: 1830 Wade & Butcher with horn scales

[Bjornvetr]

Thought I'd drop by and share my first restoration experience.

After a couple of months with a contemporary 5/8" Boker, I went full vintage and bought a 6/8" Wade and Butcher from a contact of mine; apparently it's dated around the first half of the XIX century. [Pics 1 and 2]

First things first, I scrubbed it thoroughly with a toothbrush and some delicate dish soap.

It wasn't in a terrible condition, so I cleaned the blade with Arexons abrasive paste and then polished it with Sidol, and it cleaned up pretty nicely, I guess. [Pic 3]

Then I looked at the scales.
They didn't look celluloid or bakelite, and some savvy friends suggested the possibility of it being blond horn.

I wet-sanded with 600, 800, 1000 and 1200, then switched to 2000 and finally 3000.

A terrible smell of burnt hair assaulted my extremely sensitive nose.
Yeah, it's probably blond horn.

It was quite dry, so I let it soak 24 hours in cooked linseed oil; I haven't used neatsfoot oil because it's hard to find, apparently, and I already had the linseed oil.

You can see the result below. [Pic 4]

Any further advice is extremely welcome!

 

[sfeile]

That's looking pretty good. Personally, I'd leave it where it is. It's clean, but still holds a little of that "worn and weathered" look to it.

 

[Ice-Man]

Wow that is nice and even better you managed to keep the original scales, as sfeile has said above leave it where it is now.

 

[Bjornvetr]

Well, I just got restless hands so I washed the oil off the blade, used a bit of abrasive paste, then polished it with some Sidol. The last spots of black oxide are gradually disappearing, and the metal is starting to reflect shapes.

I'll probably leave it just like it is now, except one thing: I should replace the pin and the washers.
That freaks me out, so I'll look for someone with more experience here in Italy to do that work.

Yes sir, I have kept the original scales because I'm kind of a history buff (and a XIII century re-enactor), so I like to take loving care of old stuff.

Without further ado, here's a closer pic of the W&B, with my loom strop as a background (that feels more appropriate than, let's say, the red-lit keyboard that I have in front of me right now).

As you can see, the scales are translucent. They weren't when it arrived with the mail.

 

[Ice-Man]

No you can see the gunk on them in your first Pictures, and yes the blade is looking nice now much better than it was.

 

[Bjornvetr]

I was thinking about finishing the scales with beeswax and buffing, but maybe it's just overkill.

Oh, on a side note: I've been using it for some shaves, and it's wonderful!

I've honed it myself, on my vintage belgian coticule / BBW combo with progressive slurry (just water in the end), so it's even more satisfying to shave with.

The hone was my girlfriend's grandpa, who was quite into wet-shaving.
He passed away before I met her, but the hone lives on.

 

[Ice-Man]

If you can get some Neat's foot oil that's even better, I've got some scales in soak tonight ready for morning so i can get mine finished. But my scales was shot so I had no choice mine was black but now it will be in honey horn.

 

[Bjornvetr]

I've read about that oil here, but for some reason it's hard to find. We use more grease and fats in Italy, I guess.
Didn't want to order it online because most of them are fake (various compounds, chemicals, vegetal oils).

I used cooked linseed oil because I had it already, plus it's quite healthy for one's hair and horn is of a similar substance.

If I'll find neatsfoot oil at a reasonable price, here, I'll give it a shot.
More oil can't be bad, now, isn't it?

 

[Ice-Man]

If you have any riding stables around you try them, I have never tried cooked linseed oil. Will have to try it as I have that as well here, But have a look at the thread "What's on your workbench" in this section. But congrats on your restore It really looks Stunning, plus its nice to keep the original items gives it that wow factor. Plus they look better to me.

 

[Bjornvetr]

I have just one tiny complaint: the blond horn of the scales has a greenish hue I cannot get rid of.
When it's backlit it appears golden, but in normal light it looks greenish.
What could I do? Polish it with something? Use a different oil or beeswax?

 

[Ice-Man]

I'm not sure I would leave it as is or you could end up spoiling the scales, but it could be in the horn when these was made they never thought it would have a light behind it.

 

[Bjornvetr]

Ok, I looked it up and it's the natural color of that material.
I guess I'll leave them as they are.
Maybe one day I'll order some neatsfoot oil and I'll try to soak them again, to see of anything changes.

 

[Ice-Man]

Mine has the green tint and they was soaked in Neat's Foot oil, I think its the light that alters the horn colour.

 

[clyde72]

Great job!

You might check with a farm or horse supply business. Neatsfoot oil is used a lot on saddles and such.
I purchased my from amazon Fiebing's is a well known brand here.

 

[lazshav]

Wow, beautiful job! Something you can use with pride.

 

[Bjornvetr]

Mine has the green tint and they was soaked in Neat's Foot oil, I think its the light that alters the horn colour.

You're probably right, there's the same hue in a couple of those pics.

Great job!
You might check with a farm or horse supply business. Neatsfoot oil is used a lot on saddles and such.

Thanks!
I asked a friend, who is a horse breeder and a professional jockey, but apparently they use grease and different oils here in Italy. Who knows.

If I'll find another vintage razor with horn scales, I'll end up buying some on Amazon and call it a day.

Wow, beautiful job! Something you can use with pride.

Just used it in a wonderful shave! That near-wedge is a silent killer.

 

[Mr Brian]

That turned out pretty fantastic
I have found neat foots oil at my local ace hardware. As far as wax? Renwax all the way. Renwax can be found at Amazon 15 ish $$$. Buff out with a clean buffing disk on a dremEl to make the grain pop out

 

[Bjornvetr]

That turned out pretty fantastic
I have found neat foots oil at my local ace hardware. As far as wax? Renwax all the way. Renwax can be found at Amazon 15 ish $$$. Buff out with a clean buffing disk on a dremEl to make the grain pop out

Thank you!

In Italy, apparently, grease and different oils are far more commonly used than neatsfoot oil. Go figure.

About Ren Wax and waxes in general, I've read here (on this same forum) that it contains solvents that can dry and crack the horn. I'd rather avoid that, of course.

 

[Mr Brian]

I read the thread. Thanks for the link.
Ive had mycarver do work on 10, or so straights . He used renwax on the scales he made, including the George wostenholm original scales. This gw was made in 1850 through 1874. It's was polished and buffed. That was 5ish years ago. It still looks fantastic for the condition of the scales. I have taken to using renwax, I like it a lot. I have never had any problems with the horn scales deteriorating