Thread: Tiny Blemishes on Blade

I need some quick help!

Even though I rinse my blade with hot water after each shave and dry it immediately with a piece of toilet paper then cover it in camellia oil, the blade is developing some microscopic lines... some darker than others. I'm not sure if its from the water or from the oil but I'm want to say the oil because it looks like this stuff dries up and leaves spots.

How can I get rid of them before anything else happens to really damage the blade and how can I change the way I'm preserving it? I tried to get them out with rubbing alcohol and a q-tip but that didn't work at all.

Let it air-dry for a while instead of coating it with oil immediately, you could lock in moisture under the oil. If you shave somewhat regularly I doubt that it's the oil drying up. I'm not even sure that oil can dry like that, certainly not in under a few months.
Some pictures might make things clearer.

+1 to peko; I do like lynn suggested in his video. Dry the razor, set it down with just a little of the blade showing (not the edge!), and let it dry while I dress, then I apply a little oil on the side of the blade, and pay attention here or you will slice and dice your fingers! I hold the razor flat with the SPINE facing me, take my middle finger and very gently smooth the oil on the blade, flip and repeat on other side, then put it away in its sheath or pouch or whatever you store it in. Also, are you keeping the razor in the bathroom? The constant moisture in the room can creep onto the blade and just sit( remember H20 + oil = no go). If they won't come out just gently buff the blade with FLITZ polish, (i get mine from the local ACE hardware), or Maas or mothers or any mag aluminum polish...just don't let it dry! Wax on Wax off Daniel san!

I would never dream to keep it in the bathroom but I do dry it with a piece of toilet paper then add oil five minutes later. I'll try to post pictures when I get home from work. Thanks for the advice though.

Hmmmm... what kinda razor ya got? My buddy has a Dovo best quality 6/8 that does this no matter what we've tried for it. Try drying with a clean soft hand towel instead of the toilet paper; just a thought , but yeah the pics will hopefully tell the tale.

It's a Dovo Black Ebony Bismarck 6/8...it might be moisture trapped under the oil which makes it splotch and dry out leaving dark streaks that are somewhat sticky the next day. I will definitely post pics later though, right now I'm on my phone.

Originally Posted by JohnnyCanuck

It's a Dovo Black Ebony Bismarck 6/8...it might be moisture trapped under the oil which makes it splotch and dry out leaving dark streaks that are somewhat sticky the next day. I will definitely post pics later though, right now I'm on my phone.

Is there a chance that the blade is touching the scales? I've just started with a Dovo that has the ebony scales. When I slide a cloth between the scales to pick up any moisture, it comes out blackened. Seems like some wood stain left over from manufacture and is less each time. The first time it was very black and had what seemed to be bits of sawdust. Not sure but oil might pick it up too (I've opted not to oil my stainless blade for now so I don't know). Anyway you might want to slide some paper or cloth through the scales to see how that does.

+1 to that, I am sure the razors are wiped down at the factory, but doubtful of complete scrubbing, so sawdust mixed with a bit of stain and a slightly off pivot could very well be the problem...That a way to use the ol' noggin.

That's totally it! The blade doesn't actually touch the scales but the first week I did run a towel through the scales and it came out black. I did this to get rid of all moisture. And very near the spine, where I assume the blade touches the scales a bit , there are prominent dark lines running horizontal to the spine. Again, I will provide pictures in a few hours.

Here are some terrible quality photos. I just realized taking a picture of a shiny steel blade is not as easy as it seems, and I have no idea why my phone camera took the photos with the horizontal flicker, as if I was taking a picture of a tv screen.





What you can't see are the tiny blemishes that are apparently visible only with the eye but the biggest darkest ones showed up a little bit parallel to the spine. I did look at the scales and they DO touch the blade when fully closed - is this bad? However, they touch them lower than where the dark lines are on the blade... about 1/8 inch away.

The other blemishes are a little lighter and are all over the blade, spread out as if the oil dried. This I believe is because how you guys mentioned there might have been moisture trapped on the blade when I coated it with oil and it dried out a bit, leaving streaks and splotches.