My restore que just got WAY longer!

Here is the next installment. An ebay Wade & Butcher 6/8" whale back that I assume is a regrind in bone scales.
Dismantled and ready for refurbishment.


The pivot hole was corroded to a very large size and was allowing the blade to slide toward the wedge enough to interfere with closing on my first attempt at pinning. I filed down a brass screw to fit the hole, peened it into place and filed and sanded it flush the tang. Then I drilled a slightly oversized hole where I figured the original hole had been. Not sure whether this was ingenious or foolhardy. Seemed to work though.


All polished up and ready for honing. Enjoy!


In this last pic, the razor is not fully closed.

A 13/16" Wostenholm "Hollow Ground" that I picked up at a local antique store. Some DEEP pits on the spine and lots of devil's spit. I cleaned it up as much as I could without obliterating the etch and the tang stamp. Since the blade wasn't going to get a showroom finish, I reused the original horn scales and wedge. The "character" of the blade and scales are about equal. Not great, but not too bad either.

Before:


After:

Great thread, Dave!

Great pictures, Dave. Nice touch to see the ponies in the distance. I'm looking forward to the restoration!

Captain Murphy said:

Great pictures, Dave. Nice touch to see the ponies in the distance. I'm looking forward to the restoration!

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Thanks, Cap. I thought you'd enjoy that, I usually ride the black and white pinto. And that is as far as I feel I can take the "restoration" without eliminating the identifying marks on the blade and tang, unless you were talking about the deck needing restoration.

Great thread, Dave!

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Thanks, Dane.

GolFisHunt said:

Thanks, Cap. I thought you'd enjoy that, I usually ride the black and white pinto. And that is as far as I feel I can take the "restoration" without eliminating the identifying marks on the blade and tang, unless you were talking about the deck needing restoration.



Thanks, Dane.

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Aye, I wasn't sure if you had some custom scales in the works or not. Then again, I guess it wouldn't be worth the trouble. As far as the deck goes, I love the weathered look!

It has been a while since my last completed razor. Busy with other projects. The scales for this razor also put up quite a fight.

Here is the before shot. A 13/16" W&B very hollow ground (the one on top, obviously). I was informed that this is a regrind by a couple of knowledgeable gentlemen. Thanks for the heads up.


Here it is all polished up and in a new pair of shoes. Spalted oak burl with brass liners and a horn wedge.



Since the above pics didn't do the grain of the scales justice, another shot inside with flash. I was a much better photographer with film and manual focus.

The sun came out in northern Michigan, so I took a couple of better photos for your enjoyment.

you are a pro, Dave.

The color and pattern is just gorgeous!

Thanks, gentlemen.

My nephew recently became interested in trying a straight razor and asked my mother about a family heirloom that he remembered seeing. Well since I am not willing to part with my great grandfather's razor (the one pictured on the bottom), I restored and rescaled the Shumate from the barber's lot (#8 on the original list) and used the scales from the Waterville (#16 on the original list). A fairly good resemblance and should make a nice first razor.

Outstanding work, Dave! I really enjoy hearing these convert stories and seeing the goods to get em started. Good onya, Sir[emoji106]

Thanks, CAP.

Just out of curiosity, how many are left for a restore, Dave?

Captain Murphy said:

Just out of curiosity, how many are left for a restore, Dave?

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There are five that still require attention from the original batch. I received three more with my last hair cut, plus antique store finds and a few from the bay leaves over twenty on my bench, including yours.

Twenty+! :woot! It will be a very engaged winter for sure!

For yours, I was thinking of cherry burl scales with a mule deer antler wedge. Still trying to figure out how to get the base knurl of a small antler to work well with the size of the blade.

GolFisHunt said:

For yours, I was thinking of cherry burl scales with a mule deer antler wedge. Still trying to figure out how to get the base knurl of a small antler to work well with the size of the blade.

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You could always go moose hunting

rockviper said:

You could always go moose hunting

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To use a moose antler base, I would need to rescale that giant Livi razor from that other thread. But I would love to go moose hunting, thanks for the offer. When do we leave?[emoji2]