Thread: HELP finish on tang rubbed off!

I just completed my second shave with a new Dove Blackstar. I used all the same soap and aftershave as I do with my Dovo Best. As usual I wipe the blade with TP and strop after my shave. I looked at the blade and my heart sank. The finish on the tang was gone! I look and found a smaller area of the same thing at the end of the spine! what did I do wrong? Or is it the razor? Has anyone had this as well?

The gold wash on Dovo's is pretty thin...VERY thin and will wear off after some time. I've had a Bismarck for a little over a year and the gold in some areas is beginning to wear, but there's a small spot that must have had oil on it when it was being plated and ended up wiping right off the blade after literally the first shave. Kinda a bummer, but if the razor still shaves well, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Firedug,

Think of it like this - your razor has now acquired 'character'

The razor is a working tool, and will be just as enjoyable to shave with, whether or not the gold wash or blacking has been rubbed off a bit.

One of my favourite razors is my 'tatty Puma'; it is a bit 'tired' looking, but it shaves a treat Beacuse it was 'tired' looking I got a fine shaving razor for a bargain price. For me, how the razor shaves trumps how it looks every time

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ

I don't mind a little wear on a tool. However it's less then a week old. I'm pretty disappointed. Still on the other hand it shaves great. It will stay in my rotation. I'm just not sure why the black finish would have came off.

Originally Posted by Firedug

I don't mind a little wear on a tool. However it's less then a week old. I'm pretty disappointed. Still on the other hand it shaves great. It will stay in my rotation. I'm just not sure why the black finish would have came off.

Because it's a "finish" and meant for decoration. Some of the old razor's had bluing which was well applied and wore like iron but like most things made today it's about hype and probably not designed to last long and possibly was applied incorrectly too.

I have a razor the brand I won't mention other to say it was a very expensive razor Damascus type and used layered steel and the razor had banding on it which I thought was the effect of the blended metal. The first time I had to hone the razor just from holding the spine while honing the coloration came off. It was just cosmetic and not well applied either. It doesn't affect the performance which is top notch but you would think the finish would have been better applied.