angelix said:
Thanks for the suggestion.
I have not received it yet, so I first want to hold it in my hands and see what "he says" to me.
I am very keen to keep things the more "phenomenologically" correct... in other words I would like to rebuild it as it was made originally (I will dig the web hoping I can find some info) , nevertheless I always keep an open mind.
Nice blade.
1. It's not a wedge, it is a near wedge - there is a shallow hollow grind on it, so it does not require regrinding.
2. The mark on the tang is the standard W&B mark, so not helpful. The ones with a bow, 'special', 'Wade' on its own, 'Warranted Cast Steel', "W & S. Butcher' etc, all help with dating, as do etchings and engravings on the blade - but not in this case.
3. It pre-dates the McKinley tariff act, so is pre 1891.
The big old 'chopper' style, aka 'meatcleavers' were popular in the USA in the late 1840s - early 1860s, so I would say 1845 to 1865 at a guess. Part of the appeal was that they echoed the macho pioneering spirit of the time - big Bowie knives, big razors, and that the extra width of the blade gave scope for all sorts of etching and masonic details - I'm surprised this one hasn't got an etched design on it, to be honest.
The shape of the tail is not specific enough to be helpful, as that tang shape had emerged decades before and with some slight modifications gave way to what we all know today. If it was a stub, that would be different - but it isn't, and if it was it wouldn't be a W&B.
The tip shape is of no help either. Razors were hammered and ground into shape then, so that one could just have easily been a hollow tip or a barbers notch.
I wouldn't even entertain the idea of a regrind if I was you - keep it original, and make a nice set of horn scales to match it when - you get it. You made a great job on the other W&B, though this one is crying out for a lead wedge.
Regards,
Neil