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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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?