Thread: Marks on my Dovo Solingen

Hello all!

This is my first post on this forum, but it definitely will not be my last !

Right, so I am new to straight razor shaving. My mother gave me an approx £80 new Dovo Solingen for my birthday with a strop. The first time I used the razor, it seemed dull and tugged a lot, so I have been playing with honing it as people seem in consensus that razors are not bought shave ready. So far I have been pretty unsuccessful at honing and will be posting about that again in the near future!

BUT! The first time I shaved I noticed these spots appear on the blade close to the bevel just after having run the razor under water. I can't remove these by scratching or rubbing the blade and to my eye they look like oxidation of some sort. The patches are very dark gray.



What are these? And should they be turning up ?? I haven't been able to find any info online elsewhere about these spots.

I am taking the razor back to the store where I bought it tomorrow to have a chat with them (Taylor's of Bond Street on Jermyn Street in London). The attendants there just seemed not to know much about straight razor shaving and just wanted to sell stuff... Some advice would be much appreciated!

A

Looks like water marks. You may be able to remove with metal polish but the etching may be affected to get them off. I dry my blades with a towel, strop 5 laps on felt to dry, and 5 laps on leather.

Buy flitz metal polish. It will help get rid of them or at least make lighter. It will also protect your blade in the future.

welcome to SRP awkh88. Those spots seem to be water spots and some of them have turned to surface oxidation or rust. You will not be able to rub that out. You can use the flitz or mothers polish and see if that works. I like to use a mechanical pencil and try and scratch them out- most of the time I can get the oxidation to go away. Remember you have some high carbon steel and it must be dried after every use and kept dry in between uses. If you can use a drop or two of mineral oil or baby oil at that on the blade in between uses it will prevent that from happening. Stoney

Thank you so much for the advice and the warm welcome!

I will get hold of some of metal polish and apply some elbow grease.

Also, I think that my trouble with the blade not being sharp enough is to do with my stropping technique. I have been given some tips by Taylor's on Jermyn street in London. The shop manager was kind enough to spend about 20 mins with me teaching me. In about 5 mins he had my razor popping hairs all over the place. Can't wait to get back home and try to shave with it !

Looks like you also have rust in the middle of the edge. It will eventually chip. I guess you can wait for it's first honing but it may be soon.
Metal polish may help with the stains but may also dull your edge.
New razors can sometimes be stropped sharp but mostly the bevels are not as well set as possible which means thy can dull quicker.
Not clear from your post but sounds like your razor rusted immediately after running under water. That is unusual but not impossible. I would suggest wiping the blade rather than rinsing to be sure but also thoroughly drying & wiping after use even between the scales. Oil the razor post use too.

Looks familiar: http://straightrazorpalace.com/begin...-my-blade.html

This is why I like to put Renaissance Wax on my blades.

Originally Posted by onimaru55

I guess you can wait for it's first honing but it may be soon. Metal polish may help with the stains but may also dull your edge.

Yes, there is a patch on the bevel that has not vanished after the razor has been stropped.

I need to get a good metal polish that will do the trick. Could someone recommend a brand that I can lay my hands on in the UK easily? Brasso? I have tried to find the brands mentioned above but they seem to be US brands. Also, i guess polishing the logo is a no no, unless I want to get rid of it?

I might spend the next week or so practising on the strop to get better at that and then once I am comfortable with that I will polish the blade and then try to learn to hone. I have sharpened a lot of knives so I think that I have a good grasp of the theory. It will just be finding a method that works for me. Will the razor feel very sharp coming straight off the hone or will it get much sharper after being stropped? My understanding is the it should be exceedingly sharp coming off the hone but then the strop evens out the edge making it smoother like a knife iron would for knives?

You can try Simichrome. it's quality stuff made in Germany.