Thread: Aussie Wostenholm

This is another razor I hand sanded while I was away from home last year.
An 11/16 Wosty with the blade etched "Made Expressly for John McKinney Toowoomba". Apparently the company is still in business, unfortunately Toowoomba has been devastated by floods this week (as has most of the state of Queensland Australia).
The blade had some active rust, but cleaned up pretty well eventually. still a little pitting, but I didnt want to loose the etch. The original Bakelite scales were given a light sand and buffed. It got a new Ivory acrylic wedge and Nickel Silver pins and s/steel washers.
I'm looking forward to getting this one honed and in the rotation, my first Wostenholm.

All I can say is...WOW
Nice job I really like it.
Steve

Most Excellent!
Beautiful job

Great Job, Baldy. It looks beautiful. And well done for resurrecting some aussie shave history. Did you look up the company, and what can we get from them now/when the waters drop?

Very nice!

excellant restore grant...razor looks brand new. A+++

Our thoughts and prayers are with our friends battling high water. On the news it looks quite devestating

Fantastic save baldy! Enjoy it

Originally Posted by Frankenstein

Great Job, Baldy. It looks beautiful. And well done for resurrecting some aussie shave history. Did you look up the company, and what can we get from them now/when the waters drop?

I looked up the company for Grant a while back as Toowoomba used to be my old stomping grounds in my high-school years. McKinney's now sell Jewellery in Brisbane...A far cry from the Tobacconist/Hairdresser shop wedged between a Chinese garden and a gun shop at the top end of Ruthven street started in 1884. Then in the 40's on it sold everything from fine china to Winchester rifles, Parker pens, hair clippers etc. In 1970 they expanded to Brisbane with a shop at Indooroopilly selling furniture and electrical goods. This was to be a bad move for the company as they were locked into a lease that was based on the CPI which ended up being the cause of paying a crippling amount of rent. A quick re-think on what to stock saved them. They dropped the furniture and electrical goods in favour of their tried, true and trusted fine china, gift lines and Jewellery. It was during this time that it was seen that jewellery was a good seller as on some days the company would make $500,000 in a half day sale.
For a while there in the '80's the company had bought into a chain of stores (Hardy Brothers) bought cheaply enough off the failing Christopher Skase empire, but eventually these were sold as the head of the McKinney family, John McKinney, grandson of the original John McKinney, 'ran out of family members to run them all'. His daughters had all married and moved away.
McKinney's in Toowoomba closed it's doors in 2004. On it's 120th anniversary. The store wasn't sold! Quite literally they just closed the doors. One staff member had been there for 60 years. She was 80 years old when the store closed for the last time.
They had kept a shop in Brisbane and this is what is still running to this day. John McKinney, Grandson of the original John McKinney will be 81 this year.
Diamonds never go out of fashion.


Mick

P.S If you ever find another like that Grant, and you don't want it for yourself, give me a yell. If I can afford it I will buy it for myself. A beautiful 'resto' job mate and something your son will be proud of in years to come, I'm sure.

Great job Grant! It brings a smile to my face to see you wielding your craft again, enjoy it!

Glenn

Darn classy.
Hard to believe the before/after pics. Time well spent