Is this worth my time?

Hey everyone,

Bought this for 15 bucks on the bay a while back. The scales were cracked so i cut them away but I was wondering if the steel was worth my time to restore. As far as i can tell the only problems that could be a deal breaker is the chip and some minor pitting i found on the side opposite the maker's mark.

It's a 7/8" wedge from wade and butcher.

Don't need it to be up to a mirror finish, just make it a serviceable tool.

Sorry if the camera quality is too low.

Thanks,

Corey

That should be fine, you would be surprised how good it would look after a little sandpaper.

If you are not interested in taking out all the pits start at 320 and move on up, change direction with your sanding and dont move up in grits until the previous scratches are gone.

Keep a picture diary of it

Thanks Doc. I'll do that soon, gotta wait until I have a free day. When you say change up your direction with sanding should I go in circles or straight strokes?

This should make sense. Use a hard backing with some give like an eraser.

Here's a Fred Reynolds that was in similar condition- before & after.





Your W&B will clean up very well. Take your time and be gentle.

Cool blade. Good luck.

That'll look great when finished. Def worth the effort.

Just realized it's not a wade and butcher but a joseph rodgers, got it and a barber's notch I bought confused. Oops! Anyways, thanks for the help and encouragement everyone. What would you recommend for final grit of the sand paper, I've only got up to 3000. Do I need to find some higher?

You might be able to use metal polish after 3k.... might not even want to. See how it goes.
A lot depends on how well you do the ground work... spend time there, it'll pay off.

Hells yes, that is worth restoring!

A little effort can go a long way to giving new life to any of these old blades. I agree that your blade is certainly worth the effort to restore!

This old W&B wedge was in a similarly sad state, but turned out rather nicely!