Wade & Butcher 7/8 (In Progress)

I just started a new restoration this past weekend so I thought I'd share some images of the progress I make.

I picked this blade up off ebay some time ago and I'm finally getting around to doing some work on it.
Here is how the blade appeared in the auction photos...

Obviously the razor is in need of some new scales. The large washers were corroded through and crumbling.
Some black rust (= pitting) which is worst around the pivot point. The blade itself is relatively free of the nasty stuff.


Here is the blade after removing the scales. The pivot hole needs to be reduced (worn oblong with age). Some black rust near the nose notch (common as this is where the closed blade meets the top of the scales—a potential moisture point)


Here is the reverse side after one pass on the buffers....


I'll be using black horn for the new scales. Other decisions on the wedge and types of washer TBD.


For the scale design, I decided to try something 'non-standard'— more modern look versus the traditional shape seen in the first pics. I know...some claim 'heresy!'—but sometimes ya gotta try other designs to keep things interesting.
I'll be making the scales following the 'A' angular pattern shown below. Beveled-edge. A hefty design that I think pairs well with the large bladed size...


More to come.....

 

Awesome!

 

More blade work…
Worked both sides of the blade on the buffer, working my way through the compound grit scale (85, 180, 240, 400, 600, emery), to get to this point. There is still some more work to be done, particularly on the pitted tang area around the company name. A balancing act between minimizing the pitting and not compromising the legibility of the text…


The blade itself cleaned up decently, and the next step will be more hand-sanding and polishing up to 8k.

Off the buffers, starting to get some 'mirror-like' reflection. This will continue to increase after more polishing….



THE SCALES: I cut out the scale template and glued it to the horn blank. Rough cut them out on the bandsaw, adhered the two sides together with double-stick tape, and then refined the shape on the 4 x 24" bench sander. I carefully beveled the edges on both sides using my 1 x 30" belt sander. The face(s) have been sanded to 800grit at this point.


Next step is to separate these two halves and thin down the thickness of each piece….



Still plenty more work to do on both the blade and scales, but the razor is coming along!

 

Looks really nice. I left my wade and butcher bow pitted for fear of ruining it with too much sanding and buffing. Now I am going to re-think that.

 

I've had a number of blades that not only had severe pitting, but also extensive blade engraving. I try to find some type of 'balance' where the pitting is 'softened'—or excessive rust is removed—and the legibility of the engraving remains intact.
It's a delicate dance, sometimes. Remove too much pitting (such as the tang above) and the maker's name goes away.

Unfinished scales resting upon an unfinished blade....

 

That looks very good. I like the squared ends of the scales.

 

very very nice.
is this one pre-mckinley, prior to 1890?

 

Thanks. I may soften (round over) the outer edges slightly in the finishing stages but maintain the crispness on the bevel. We'll see how that goes....

Yes. Tang states 'Sheffield' not 'Sheffield England'

 

I learned that from you.
see us new straight users are listening.

 

Just be wary...I can easily become a fount of misinformation as my sources can sometimes be unreliable.

 

so warned
but I trust you, and there's a wealth of knowledgeable guys here to set us straight.

 

Awesome! You would happen to want another W&B to polish and do scales for would ya?

 

Busy hand-polishing the blade using polishing cloth with these grits: 1200, 2000, 4000, 5000, 8000…
Meanwhile I've also been doing some thinning down of the scales. Currently the thickness is around .140" and ideally I'd like to get them to the .120" range. I rough-sanded them down on the belt sander, but now its a bit more delicate fine-tuning and hand-sanding them flat on the work top.

 

Update:
Due to a recent bout of stomach flu, my work schedule has suffered a bit of a set back….but back at it today!

For the wedge, I'm using white cow bone.
I began by cutting a square section and dry-fitting it on one half of the scales. With the blade held in place at the pivot point with a temp. bolt, I can sketch out the needed clearance required from the blade edge. This determines the extent of the wedge edge on the razor side. The bone needed to be thinned as well so this was done on the bench belt sander.
For the front thickness of the wedge, I wanted somewhere in the .06 -.07" range for the outside edge to a .09-.1" inside edge—thus creating a proper wedge shape.
I decided to line the bone wedge with brass (.010 x 2) so i had to figure the additional thickness of the brass into my final calculations.

The bone wedge, rough cut to size and sanded to desired thickness. I used waterproof epoxy to glue the oversized brass to both sides of the bone.
Clamped and allowed to dry. Next day, I trimmed the excess brass (shown below) to 'rough-out' and began to hand-file down the brass down to near the bone surface.
Because I had pre-drilled the pivot pin location, I can temporarily micro-fasten the wedge to the scales and further trim down the wedge to near flush.



'Refined' wedge; shown the toe end. Final sanding, buffing and polishing will take place once the assembly is put together...


SCALES:
Further finish sanding (1200, 1500, 2500, 3k) and polish. I noticed a few small scuffs/scratches (see on the lower left section of front scale) that i'll need to backtrack down the grit scale and remove, but so far, the scales are coming along nicely.

 

Seems to be coming along nicely

 

Very nice! I've been watching videos and think I'm about ready to get a set of stones and precut scales, then sand/shape them as needed.

 

Finishing Up:
Entering the home stretch with this razor so now to put it all together. Time to pin the scales and blade.
I'm using domed brass washers on this one. The washers are a bit tarnished so usually I put a washer on a temporary brass pin and clamp both in the vice. I'll apply a dab of metal polish and buff them up with the Dremel. Sometimes this is easier than when they are in place of the razor scales.


Wedge End: The brass & bone wedge has been put in place. I'll temporarily secure the wedge between the two scale pieces with a micro faster nut & bolt and finish sanding & polishing the wedge so that it is completely flush (smooth transition) with the scale end. Once completed and the wedge fits well, I'll add a dab of epoxy to both sides of the wedge and pin the end (sorry for the blurry shot—I'm still learning the limitations of the iPhone camera)...


Pinning the pivot end: This can be challenging for a number of reasons. One, which I always dread, is the pivot end assembly.
On this razor, the assembly sequence goes as follows:
the peened end (capped end)> brass domed washer>stainless support washer> 1st scale half >inner brass thrust washer>blade>inner brass thrust washer>2nd scale half>stainless support washer>brass domed washer>rod end to be peened.
When successful—after you've managed to drop a number of the assembly pieces countless times, it should look like this photo when peened and completed.


Although I checked for proper clearance earlier in the 'dry' assembly as well as when I initially measured to trim the wedge size, it is always a good feeling to see that not only is there adequate clearance (approximately 1/8" or so is what I try to shoot for) for the blade to swing and not hit the wedge, but that the blade is properly centered in the scales


I'll be taking some 'glamor' shots of this razor next, once I give it a final polish and clean up. More to come….

 

Beautiful! I know mine won't be this nice since I don't have proper tools(bench and vice and experience) but I hope to have mine scaled in the next week or so... I'm a structural mechanic by trade and am familiar with bucking rivets, just not this small. We usually used vice grips for rivets this small.

 

Another beautiful shaver about to be christened,can wait until finished.