Thread: Good find or bust?

I just won this auction on ebay.
G Wostenholm Son iXL Sheffield Eng Straight Razor | eBay

After some research it looks like this razor was won on another auction and cleaned up as much as the original owner felt comfortable. There is still considerable patina on the front but pretty cool etching. After sanding some on my first razor, that I bought new and let get some patina on it, I am afraid that I might remove the etching if I try to polish more. Does it look like a decent find? I don't think the patina on the front will be a problem but I will have to live with either cool etching or some patina. I paid $40 for it and may have overpaid a little. I found myself in a bidding war with the reserve and no one else. Not really being knowledgeable I am afraid that could have been a red flag.

I read a 5/8 is usually not going to be worth over a $100 but if I can get it shave ready that will be fine with me. I think I found the original auction where it had more patina or at least an identical razor and it sold for $20 the first time. So I suppose I paid someone $20 to get most of the patina off. Any thoughts. Should I try to take more of the patina off or just not risk losing the etching? Would a very fine like 1500 or above help get some of the black spots out but preserve the etching? I am weary of this after taking off the gold on the wolf and fading the Sheffield etching on my razor that I let rust a little.

Let me be the first to welcome you to SRP. I'll do you a favor and mention it early, prices aren't a topic for discussion as I have learned. As many will chime in there are to many variables, the one and only should be are you happy with the razor? If so then it might have been worth thousands to you buy nothing to someone else, it looks very nice to me but id love to hear how it shaves. I'll tell you one thing for sure if your here for knowledge on restoring that beautiful razor to shave with this site is full of artists willing to lend a hand.
Good luck,
Respectfully
Christian

Hi,

we don't do valuations here on SRP, so only you can decide whether it is worth what you paid. But the fact you paid it should answer that for you. Wostenholm make some lovely razors, and when you get it honed up it will probably be a fantastic shaver. It looks like it has pretty minimal hone wear (and what hone wear it has is pretty even) so honing shouldn't be too tricky.

Patina is an entirely aesthetic issue. It will not in any way affect how the razor shaves, only how it looks. Personally, I prefer older blades that look like older blades. But then lots of people want all of their razors to have a mirror finish. And of course we are all right. The important thing is to decide what *you* want.

If you try to shine up that front side, you will have to accept that the etching will likely disappear. I wouldn't do a thing with it apart from honing, but as I said above, that's a personal taste thing.

For the dark spots, you could try rubbing them with the point of a normal pencil. The graphite in the pencil lead can sometimes be pretty effective against such spots, and it allows you to be precise, avoiding damaging the etching.

Good luck, and congrats on getting what should be a great razor.

Thanks guys I am not really concerned if the price was right or not. I was more concerned as to if it were a bust in not likely to be restored. I was just afraid since I was about the only bidder there was something in the pictures I missed that affect the ability to shave. Honestly, the price paid was worth an interesting collectors item if I could not have made it a shaver. The fact it looks like I can is a bonus! It looks like someone did a good job polishing it. I don't think I want to risk losing the unique etching. If it were a plain blade with a just stamp in the handle I might try to polish more but to me the etching really makes the razor special beyond just a shaver. Well that and the fact I went from a fully functional 10 y/0 razor with a cool etching to a more shiny razor functional razor with faint etching last time I tried to clean up a razor. I regretted that. Even if it was not as bright as new the gold ram and wolf with the Sheffield silver steel is part of the reason I bought that razor to begin with. Anyway, I am glad to hear that it looks like minimal wear. So it is a good find for me not a bust. A nice collector piece that can easily be made functional.

Now I have to invest in some higher grit hones. My 1000 does ok after a few strops but can leave some irritation. I seem to be able to strop out the irritation though. I think I will try a 4k/8k first then maybe see if I can find a 12k. Thanks for letting me know the blade looks good. I should have been more clear about it was the not price but the fact I didn't seem to have competition that made me wonder. I just kept thinking is there something people who know more are seeing that I am not. I have no concern about if the blade will resale. I doubt I would ever sell it unless some day I have such a huge collection I have to start getting rid of stuff.

Welcome to SRP. You scored ......

if I had seen it I would have bid on it. (I quit looking a couple of years ago, too hard on the bank balance)

I'm not sure you ability level for a restore, but if i were you id send it out to have it done professionally, I love the etching as you mentioned. The people on here are magicians with regards to restores. Just my opinion.
Respectfully
Christian

Originally Posted by jjw509

Thanks guys I am not really concerned if the price was right or not. I was more concerned as to if it were a bust in not likely to be restored. I was just afraid since I was about the only bidder there was something in the pictures I missed that affect the ability to shave. Honestly, the price paid was worth an interesting collectors item if I could not have made it a shaver. The fact it looks like I can is a bonus! It looks like someone did a good job polishing it. I don't think I want to risk losing the unique etching. If it were a plain blade with a just stamp in the handle I might try to polish more but to me the etching really makes the razor special beyond just a shaver. Well that and the fact I went from a fully functional 10 y/0 razor with a cool etching to a more shiny razor functional razor with faint etching last time I tried to clean up a razor. I regretted that. Even if it was not as bright as new the gold ram and wolf with the Sheffield silver steel is part of the reason I bought that razor to begin with. Anyway, I am glad to hear that it looks like minimal wear. So it is a good find for me not a bust. A nice collector piece that can easily be made functional.

Now I have to invest in some higher grit hones. My 1000 does ok after a few strops but can leave some irritation. I seem to be able to strop out the irritation though. I think I will try a 4k/8k first then maybe see if I can find a 12k. Thanks for letting me know the blade looks good. I should have been more clear about it was the not price but the fact I didn't seem to have competition that made me wonder. I just kept thinking is there something people who know more are seeing that I am not. I have no concern about if the blade will resale. I doubt I would ever sell it unless some day I have such a huge collection I have to start getting rid of stuff.

I have a few wostenholms and they are great razors to shave with. I would be careful as you have good room to hone but if you want to use it I would be careful to not take off too much metal and run the bevel into the etching. Nice find and good luck.

Every Wosty I have shaved with has performed very well. They have been relatively easy to hone to a nice smooth edge and the shave comes off with very little irritation.
Personally I am a fan of the English steels.

I would really check the tang stamp. There is a charlatan selling razors with that blade etch for about $15 on the bay. the proportions of you blade seem to be right for it to be real, not Pakistani.
I found out the hard way when in a dark antique store!!! Got it out and into the light when I got home a hunnert miles away from the store...I did pay $14 for it so I broke even.
~Richard
They are also counterfeiting the Masonic etch now also.

Thanks for the advice. I should receive the razor in a day or two. There are some close up pictures of the stamp that look correct. No Pakistani stamps on it. The stamp does read I XL but I have seen I*XL on the net so that would be the only concern. It also reads Sheffield, Eng. That might mean it was a little later piece. I forgot when it became British law that England had to be added to Sheffield. I didn't pay a fortune for it so I am out about the same as a moderate priced dinner date. I will take that chance.

After buying a throw away and seeing that a stamp was partially removed before getting all the patina off the tang, I think I can live with some patina. If the stamp is partially taken off on my $8 Dixie I don't want to risk it on this one. I am finding out how hard it is to make a mirror finish on the throw away. The initial rust was easy to get off but that the patina and pitting along the spine on my throw away are proving to take a lot of time and effort. I may just leave the patina on that one buy some scales and hone it.