Thread: George Wostenholm & Sons Celebrated IXL Razor Restored

Just received this razor today that I purchased from ebay. Its a George Wostenholm & Sons shorty razor. I excitedly opened it up and gave it a quick strop and it shaved beautifully. It was noticeably sharper than the dovo that i got as a gift for Christmas from Art of Shaving. I will definitely be getting that Dovo honed haha. I also felt that it was a bit easier for me to control this smaller razor.

Glad to hear it shaved well for you. You do know that George Wostenholm never made a "shorty" razor right?

That was just what the poster on ebay called it. I am new to straight razors in general but the blade is shorter than the dovo that I have.

It was more than likely shortened in order to remove a crack or some damage at the toe end.

Hmm I see, that's fine with me I liked that maneuverability of it and I bought it to use not because I thought it was rare or valuable. Thanks for the info though I really like this site.

Congratulations on your purchase of the "Wosty"
My guess is that your razor has had just over 120 "birthdays".
I lot of those old razors have excessive wear on the toe and it looks like someone shortened it up a bit to remove the worn part.
As you have noted it is still a very serviceable razor.
The old English steel makes it relatively easy to get a nice smooth shaving edge.
Now you have something to compare your new razor aquisitions to and I expect some of them to come up short!
Enjoy.