Full gold-washed Wostie blade...cleaning?

So, just keeping it real: partly I want to post pics of this razor because I just got it and when I pulled it out of the plastic it made me feel like that time in gym class when I got stuck climbing the rope...but I also need some advice.

I won a lot of 3 str8s while spending time with the bane of my existence, that crotchety old backstabbing yet irresistibly sexy task mistress I call "eBay." One of the three is a trashed & busted Wostie Pipe razor, but my $20.50 winning bid got me these two heartbreakers as well...


The second is just a big old gorgeous Washington Works faux-frameback. But the first has a full gold wash over the blade. It's worn away a little around the pivot area, so I know 2 things: A) It's not the solid cast gold blade I was secretly hoping for, and 2) that stuff will wear off with at least the amount of pressure and friction the scales put on it.

I've never tried to clean something with this much cheddar on it, so I wanted to get some expert opinions before I slather it with MAAS or put the 80-grit sanding drum on it.


What do you guys think?

I've never seen a full gold washed blade & can't imagine it's purpose unless it was strictly a display piece not to be used & if it is a display item only it may not be heat treated.
Does it have an edge ? If so it may be usable but the gold wash will go if you clean it up.

Good call...it appears to have an bevel and edge underneath the gold, but no steel is showing through it. I can't find any other examples like this on the net, or in the literature. You think it was cast by the owner, or you think it was created as a display?

Either way, I think it's kind of a stunning design, and I plan to hang on to it (rather than flip it & sell), so maybe it would be wiser not to clean it up at all.

Also, no hone wear whatsoever, and a perfect bevel under the gold--doesn't appear to have been used before being cast.

Maybe keep it as is :shrug:
We don't have to restore/shave with every razor.
Some may have more value left untouched.

To me it looks like old WD40 build up. I used to make allot of money cleaning that gunk off old firearms that where only cleaned with WD40, nasty stuff...

Search out AaronX on here, he used to do Goldwash, it wasn't that hard to do either I was thinking that if it is actually gold perhaps it was somebody like Aaron who just wanted to try it out to see if they could do it...

John Crowley at shavingshop.com has done gold plating (as opposed to goldwash). The plating is a higher gold content, looking a more deep yellow, and a bit more durable than goldwash. It looks pretty good.

Those two blades look really good. 'Grats.

So here's what it looks like after mug soap and water. Looks like there's tarnish underneath the "gold" so whatever it is, I assume it wasn't applied when the razor was made. It's not sticky like WD40 build-up, but I'm also thinking even a gold wash wouldn't come off under soap and water (unless the water got too warm...?).

Moot point, I guess, since it will all be coming off now, but do these pics give anybody a better idea of what it might have been?

The bright side is that now maybe I can shave with it...which was the original idea, I suppose.

(see? This is why the disclaimer is necessary.)

That flakiness looks like old shellac. See if denatured alcohol makes it runny, or maybe try acetone.