Here is a restoration of a Wade & Butcher I recently acquired from @david of central florida. I had posted in a TSD thread that I lamented selling a vintage W&B wedge last year and David contacted me to offer me this razor. Some of the specs: The 3/4" full-wedge blade required some minor gunk-removal and general clean up. A tiny nick on the edge near the heel will be removed prior to honing. I made the scales from a blank of translucent red-hued horn. The wedge I fashioned from a small piece of reddish cocobolo. Brass pins and domed washers; brass inner bearing washers. The razor came together fairly easily and the big blade sits comfortably in its new home. Next step is getting it shave-ready!
Yep, me too. I have a W&B out of scales. Got my 1/16" ID brass washers from microfasteners.com. Found 1/16" brass rod locally. Dad lent his 4 oz ball peen hammer, and I have a 7 pound chunk of steel I'm working on polishing for an anvil. Next step is procure materials for new scales. Horn looks so nice when polished up like that. Beautiful job and very inspiring!
horn does take a nice polish and is relatively easy to work. On the downside, some blanks can be prone to cracking or splitting, or more commonly, warping. Heat and clamping can minimize the warping.
This particular W&B wedge took probably the keenest/sharpest edge I can recall. Scary sharp. Rivaled the killer edge on the Mastro Livi Damascus I borrowed from Mike @entropy1049 -compelling the user to be on high alert when shaving with it.
