Thread: Oops... I dropped it!

If a gentle stropping on the canvas/linen side of a strop does not remove the spot, it's NOT a black spot from your black strop. Personally, when I see something like that on an edge when looking through my 40x cheapo loupe, I'll gently swipe across that edge with my clean thumb.... Hey, it's my thumb! I use the same motion as when stropping.... away from the edge.

I typically see those kinds of blackspots in older razors where there is pitting. If this is a brand new razor, it's not likely pitting, but rather an inclusion in the steel that has shown up. I would be shocked if it was a chip..... if it was a bur, it would be leaving obvious scratches in the surface of your strop.

Ultimately, if it doesn't bother you while shaving.... it's nothing to worry about, it will get removed the next time the razor is honed. I know it's considered "not done" in the world of straight shaving, but I shaved with a razor that had a few micro chips that did not bother me in the least, and I refused to waste the steel in the edge to remove them. I shaved with those microchips visible (there were 2 or 3 if I remember correctly) for nearly two years before they were removed completely in a honing session. I'd be the first to hone such things out if I could feel them during a shave, but if not... meh.

Consider yourself lucky, the last razor I accidentally knocked off the ledge into the bathtub lost it's entire edge... I spent hours honing that thing! I know some of you think it could have been worse, as in the blade breaking.... but nope, that would have saved me hours of honing, and I would have been all too happy!

It's easy to throw away a broken blade... a damaged blade on the other hand... well, gotta fix it... no matter how long it takes!

Edit: I should have included that *THIS* is why you need at least two razors, if one gets damaged for whatever reason, you always have your second one to keep you going while the damaged one gets fixed. You could also say "2 is 1 and 1 is none". ADAMHIKT


Regards

Christian