Thread: Geo Wostenholm & Sons

Buddy of mine picked this up for me as a birthday present. Geo Wostie Celebrated IXL "Best Concave" razor. The first time I've seen this etching.Really nice patina, I'd love to send it out for buffing but would hate to lose the etching if anyone thinks they can tackle this without losing the etching please...please pm me. The old black scales are in great shape and still holds the razor snugly in any position.

Nice razor! Wostenholms are among my very favorite shavers. Yours has a good looking edge that should hone up without problems. The oxidation on the rest of the blade is pretty heavy, and there is certainly at least shallow pitting under it. I could not remove enough of the oxidation and pitting to leave a nice shiny blade, without removing the etching. However I am NOT a master restorer! Let's see what one or two of them might say about your razor.

I've got a Wosty and it's my best razor! Good catch on that one. Mine has a nice patina on it as well that I just kept. They're great razors that will shave admirably for many years...enjoy.

I can't tell if that's just patina or if it's rust. Try polishing it yourself with some Maas. Metal polish won't remove any etching (though it does remove goldwash and frosting), so a good bit of polishing will give you a sense of what can be done about the razor. If after the polishing there are lots of pits, you can't save the etching and remove the pits (I've tried this. Etching isn't as deep as you think most of the time). It may just clean right up if that's just patina; I've had that work with a few of my razors that looked black like that but only had minor damage.

What a coincidence! I just honed the twin to your Wostenholm last night. It had about the same rust/patina pattern also. The patina proved inconsequential as far as blade integrity, and the blade took a good edge.

I don't like razors polished to mirror finish, and just remove the worst of the patina. That is what I did with the razor. So, can't help you much there.

Good friend and a great gift!