Thread: 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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Can you tell me where you got a straight razor, strop, cream and a brush for £50?

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!!!

Thank for all your swift replies, I took some photos for you to look at.

Hope this helps you out.

@dannywonderful It was a shop called Menkind in Leicester, UK city centre.