Anyone care to guess the approx age of a Wade & Butcher 7/8 full wedge with Wade & Butchers celebrated Fine India Steel Razor on the blade? Issy
The approximate age will be 1830 to 1890. Photos please We need razor size, shape, grind, style, design, scale information if original, etch size and style, presence or lack of barber notch, tail length and style, tang length and style, etc
Poor picture cant even really see the etching (I need a new camera). The etching does cover the entire side of the blade though http://www.theshaveden.com/forum/album.php?albumid=15
Nice razor! The notch and well-defined tang&tail point to at least late 1840's in my opinion, but more decorated artwork and especially hollow grinds were more common by the 1870's. Civil War era might be a good guess, but I really don't know how late a date a razor like that would have been made. I don't think Wade and Butcher produced anything like that later than 1890 though If there's not much hollow at all to your razor, then I would guess civil war or earlier. if it's hollowed, i'd guess a few years later Maybe that gives you an idea. Knowing the original handle material would be useful too. Black horn handles would indicate late 1840's or early 1850's most likely, as the slick black celluloid wasn't invented until around 1850
I think It had been rescaled when I got in what looked like a dark green celluloid ? And the washers looked like tarnished pewter. The new scales are (Lacewood). the engraving is like a script or colography on a frosted background. I was guessing around 1860 myself. No hollowing at all its a full wedge. Will send more and better pictures when I get my hands on a better camera. Don from SRP did a nice job on the scales. Thanks, Issy
If the scales were celluloid and not dyed horn, then your razor is at least civil war era as celluloid wasn't used for razor scales until at least 1868 or '69. It would put your razor is a fairly narrow date range then in the early 1870's
