How should I proceed?

[Mlee]

This was in a pile of razors that I picked up last weekend. I didn't notice it was a G. Wostenholm & Son I*XL or a wedge until I got home.

After some cleaning I found this on the blade. I tried all different lighting to get a better picture, it actually looks better than this.

My question is how do I proceed, I don't want to sand too much? What's the lowest grit should I use?

Also, does anyone know about when it was made, I'm guessing about mid 19th century.

 

[NPV]

I would try to polish it first and see where that lands you. Either Flitz, MAAS, or Mother’s should work. You can always go more aggressive if need be but I would start least aggressive as possible to retain the nice etching.

 

[Mlee]

I would try to polish it first and see where that lands you. Either Flitz, MAAS, or Mother’s should work. You can always go more aggressive if need be but I would start least aggressive as possible to retain the nice etching.

I have Flitz. I'll try that later today. Thanks

 

[BrooklynSalt]

This was in a pile of razors that I picked up last weekend. I didn't notice it was a G. Wostenholm & Son I*XL or a wedge until I got home.

View attachment 949101

After some cleaning I found this on the blade. I tried all different lighting to get a better picture, it actually looks better than this.

View attachment 949102

My question is how do I proceed, I don't want to sand too much? What's the lowest grit should I use?

Also, does anyone know about when it was made, I'm guessing about mid 19th century.

What did you do to get the initial rust off?

 

[Mlee]

What did you do to get the initial rust off?

Sorry for the delayed reply, it's been a hectic time of the for me.

Im no expert and to be quite honest, I don't remember for sure exactly what my process was with this one.

I've cleaned rust from several blades since this one and what I do now is start with WD40, let it set for a bit, then rub it with 0000 steel wool. If it needs more, I will start with 2000 grit wet/dry sandpaper under running water and work my way down (grit) slowly until I get it where I want it. I've found that if I start to aggressively it causes me more work to get out the scratches that I made. After that, I work my way back up to 2000 grit and finish it up with Flitz or Mother's.

After a lot of reading, I've found this to be a pretty common process.

I hope I've helped. Good luck.

 

[ajkel64]

How did the blade come up?

 

[Mlee]

How did the blade come up?

Sorry it took me so long to reply, life's been hectic. I've actually put this one to the side for now. I have a lot of other projects going and I want to make sure I can restore it the best way possible before I continue.

 

[ajkel64]

That’s alright, thanks for getting back.