First of many posts but first of little questions

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10-29-2009, 07:36 PM
WelshC

First of many posts but first of little questions

Hey everyone,

Looking forward to meeting and getting to know lot of SR users and getting alot of tips for using SR.

So let me cut to the chase; I bought a straight razor from a decent, respectable shop including cream, brush and strop for £50. I thought it was a good deal and was pleased with it.

Today I thought id try out my new purchase and had a pretty decent shave for a first time. Its not the shave that was the problem its the after affects on the razor. Small roundish green-brown spots have appeared on the razor blade and appear to look slightly like rust.

Can anyone tell me what I did wrong with the aftercare of the razor or during use? Im really heartbroken because I was really looking forward to begin using SR and now my first experience is a bit tarnished by what feels like a poor quality purchase :(

Thanks to anyone who helps.
10-29-2009, 07:40 PM
commiecat

Quote:

Originally Posted by WelshC

Hey everyone,

Looking forward to meeting and getting to know lot of SR users and getting alot of tips for using SR.

So let me cut to the chase; I bought a straight razor from a decent, respectable shop including cream, brush and strop for £50. I thought it was a good deal and was pleased with it.

Today I thought id try out my new purchase and had a pretty decent shave for a first time. Its not the shave that was the problem its the after affects on the razor. Small roundish green-brown spots have appeared on the razor blade and appear to look slightly like rust.

Can anyone tell me what I did wrong with the aftercare of the razor or during use? Im really heartbroken because I was really looking forward to begin using SR and now my first experience is a bit tarnished by what feels like a poor quality purchase :(

Thanks to anyone who helps.

An image would be helpful. Or if you could at least tell us the make/model of the razor.

You can try a metal polish (Maas, Flitz, etc.) on the spots to see if that helps. I'd suggest uploading a picture first for feedback before using anything more abrasive on it.
10-29-2009, 07:44 PM
ursus

Razors are usually made from high carbon steel, which rusts in a jiffy.
You have to dry it out really well for example, washing the blade in hot water so the heat accelerates drying, drying with tissue paper and making sure the scales are dry too. Stropping after shave helps to dry the edge too. Leaving the razor open to dry and a light coat of oil helps keep it in good condition.

Do try to limit the water on the blade during shaving too. Not dipping/washing the whole razor (especially pivot) helps too. Some people wipe the lather off with a towel or tissue.
10-29-2009, 07:46 PM
DPflaumer

If you didn't this time, make sure that you wipe ALL the water off of the blade immediately after use. Quality razors that aren't stainless steel are made of high carbon steel and rust incredibly quickly.
10-29-2009, 07:47 PM
Slartibartfast

watch for water/lather inside the scales too....................
10-29-2009, 07:54 PM
ursus

Btw, is there anything in the wiki about this - I couldn't find anything in a quick search... It would be a good topic to add for newbies.
10-29-2009, 08:07 PM
keenedge

I've got hard water in my area and some blades I have to wipe off, while shaving, or I'll get spots on them. So instead of waiting until after I'm done shaving to wipe the blade clean, I do it each time I need to rinse lather off the blade. That seems to help keep spotting to a minimum. I also do 25 round trips on linen/cloth after shaving to make sure the edge is clean and dry.

As has been noted, flitz or some other metal polish should easily bring that shine back on your blade. Just be aware, if your razor has any gold wash, be careful with the metal polish, it can remove it.

And welcome to SRP. :) Glad your first shave went relatively well. :) Don't sweat your purchase, carbon steel stains quite easily.
10-30-2009, 12:05 AM
dannywonderful

Can you tell me where you got a straight razor, strop, cream and a brush for £50? :eek:
10-30-2009, 12:42 AM
garciagj

Yup.... drying thoroughly the blade works for me. As a matter of fact what I do is to dry it up well with a dry towel just after the hot rinse on the scales and the blade except for the edge. To dry the edge I make one stropping motion very carefully on the towel gently on each side for about 1 inch (guys: your thoughts are welcome). I also blow between the scales to make sure there is no water in them. After this I let it stand in a soft dry cloth to air dry while I continue with my morning rituals. I store my blades in a wooden box I made myself (that cost me about $10) in which I keep one of those humidity absorbers that come in medicine jars. Now, once I used a silver polisher to polish my carbon steel blade just before honing and that baby looked like new after that; If your'e not planning to hone I would polish the blade except for the edge.

Good luck!!!
10-30-2009, 01:24 PM
WelshC

Thank for all your swift replies, I took some photos for you to look at. http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/a...lyn/Razor1.jpg http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/a...lyn/Razor2.jpg http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/a...ellyn/back.jpg http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/a...lyn/razor3.jpg

Hope this helps you out.

@dannywonderful It was a shop called Menkind in Leicester, UK city centre.
10-30-2009, 01:30 PM
Lynn

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slartibartfast

watch for water/lather inside the scales too....................

+1.... This really is a common problem for new guys. When shaving it is best only to rinse the blade and not the scales. A lot of folks actually run water over both. What then happens is that you wipe the blade and scales thinking you got all the water dry and there is water inside the scales, so when you close the razor, you end up with the stain spots and eventually, rust.

As indicated, when you catch it early, you can generally remove the spots with Maas or something like it using a dremel or a quick pass on the buffing wheels.

Welcome to SRP!

Lynn
10-30-2009, 01:58 PM
Steelforge

Welcome to SRP mate. :)

Even if you'd left the blade damp, I'm surprised to see so much spotting after one day.

I've never heard of Artamis razors before, so I did a search and came up with this.

Buy Artamis Shaving Products from My Smoking Shop Tobacconist

I don't know where you got your razor from but to me £17.99 for a new straight razor seems too good to be true (and probably is), at that price point I'd expect this to have been made in Pakistan/India from questionable quality recycled steel.

My advice would be to buy another entry level blade, but one of good quality that's actually going to serve you well.

For example...

A shave ready 'Gold Dollar' from Ruprazor

Or a shave ready 'Wapienica' from Fendrihan

Either of these are superb shavers, and are about the cheapest new "quality" razors I'm aware of. Either of these would serve you really well.

I'm going to make an educated guess from bitter experience, that if you persevere with the Artamis you could well be in for a rather uphill struggle.
10-30-2009, 10:44 PM
dannywonderful

Maas is sold in the UK at Lakeland stores amongst others, but if you can't find it then Autosol from Halfords works too.

I think this is going to be one of those times where you buy cheap and buy twice as I'm fairly sure your razor will be poor quality and not worth trying to shave with. Read the wiki here, learn as much as you can by watching Youtube videos and browsing these forums, then buy a shave ready vintage razor from the classifieds here. You'll be thankful you did in the long run.
10-31-2009, 09:03 AM
PhatMan

WelshC,

Looks like it's time for some MAAS metal polish :)

You can get it at Lakeland in the UK.

There are a number of oils etc you can apply after the blade has dried to prevent corrosion.

I am very partial to TufCloth/TufGlide as this leaves a dry film.

You can get this from SentySolutionsUK or from Heinnie Haynes.

Best regards

Russ
10-31-2009, 01:46 PM
WelshC

Thanks for all your kind words of welcome.

I've thought about my options and thought it might be best to cut my losses with the poor quality Artamis Razor and get a better entry level razor as suggested by some of you. Although the ones suggested are from the USA and the total cost is going to be out of my price range for a student. Can anyone suggest some respectable British websites/stores to get a razor from?
10-31-2009, 01:58 PM
ursus

Steven at "The Invisible Edge" has been a pleasure to do business with.
10-31-2009, 02:26 PM
dannywonderful

Quote:

Originally Posted by ursus

Steven at "The Invisible Edge" has been a pleasure to do business with.

+1 to this.

I'd give some serious thought to getting a razor from the classifieds here though.
10-31-2009, 05:18 PM
Richard

I found that I also had rust spots on my blade but here's the solution: When you finish shaving run the hottest water you can on the blade for a good 20-30 seconds, then dry it off. The blade will be hot to the touch and any rust causing moisture still on the blade will evaporate.

Rich

"There is no native criminal class except Congress,"- Mark Twain
11-01-2009, 10:52 AM
PhatMan

Hi,

+1 on TheInvisibleEdge; also Mr Neil Miller at www.strop-shop.co.uk

Best regards

Russ
11-01-2009, 11:58 AM
dannywonderful

Don't throw away that razor you bought though, you can dull it and use it to practice with. By practice I mean practice your stropping and even practice shaving strokes with it while you're not actually shaving.