Thread: How could this be happening?

For starters, I dry my razor very well and do not close it. I live in Vegas...zero humidity. The razor is a Dovo and less than 6 months old. I've been having this problem for a while and so I decided to try and figure it out.

Last week I soaked the razor in CLR (Calcium Lime Rust remover). To my surprise, the razor turned dark gray all over. I then rubbed it with a silver polish and got it nice and shiny, except for really close to the bevel because I didn't want to dull it. It still had a few tiny light gray spots on it near the bevel but it looked pretty nice. I shaved with it today. When it started, the razor looked great. By the time I finished 20 minutes later, it looked like this!



It has some black spots, some gray spots and some red spots. Kinda like a brook trout. After I finish shaving, I always spray the razor with Scrubbing Bubbles and clean off all the soap scum. These stains (even though they formed in 20 minutes) will not be removed with anything less than abrasive polish. What could be causing this?

Man, I don't know... you've been cleaning the blade with a cleaner after every shave? Does that cleaner have bleach in it? I really don't know, but I'd venture a guess that this could be your problem. Again, just a guess. I've had great luck with just wiping the blade dry and making sure to get all of the moisture out of the scales. I don't think I'd use any kind of cleaner on the blade unless I was at my restoration bench, then it would probably just be mass or a shot of oil.

Probably all the weird chemicals your subjecting the nice razor to.

Ouch!!! You say this happened after the shave? Could be excessive Chlorine in your water (slightly acidic). But defiantly stay away from the Scrubbing Bubbles; it contains an acid that will tarnish the blade. You may need to clean with metal polish and possible a touch-up on the hone.

I don’t think you have to worry about soap scum on the blade after the shave, so long as you rinse the blade under hot running water and dry with TP, do not use the towel especially after you shower because the towel will be saturated with water (after all you used it to dry yourself) and will not dry the blade effectively… and don’t get into the habit of shaking the water off a razor after the rinse, you may ding it on the tap or some other unforgiving surface.

Wrap the TP around the spine enough to cover the blade and grasp the blade around the spine… thumb and middle finger, one on each side just behind the edge and carefully wipe the blade dry from heel to toe, do this a second time with another dry sheet of TP. I would not advise leaving the razor in the bathroom, leave it open on the bedroom dresser for an hour before storing in the box.

Oh ouch! Don't go putting CLR on a razor.

I've used that stuff before, and it is horribly caustic. It's safe on your porcelain sink, your synthetic tub, or your stainless/chome plated plumbing fixtures, but that it not good for the kind of high carbon steel in a razor. That's why it turned your razor dark gray. Do that too often and you will almost certainly destroy the blade.

I'd say stop using CLR, and stop using silver polish.

I'd get some maas, which tons of people around here use on their razors, polish it ONE TIME only, and then if you're super worried about rust, which you shouldn't be in vegas, go ahead and oil it lightly.


Also, close the razor. They open and close for a reason. It's not just for your safety, but the edge's safety as well. By closing your razor, you protect the edge from being bumped and scraped and chipped.

I agree about the CLR... that thing will ruin your blade.

However after the shave, sometimes moisture gets on the insides of the scales or in the pivot area, leaving it open on the dresser for say 1/2 hour or so will allow it to thoroughly "air dry" before replacing it in the box.

Of course if you have children or other curious humans around, you may want to "air dry" the razor out of easy reach.

Originally Posted by smythe

I agree about the CLR... that thing will ruin your blade.

However after the shave, sometimes moisture gets on the insides of the scales or in the pivot area, leaving it open on the dresser for say 1/2 hour or so will allow it to thoroughly "air dry" before replacing it in the box.

Of course if you have children or other curious humans around, you may want to "air dry" the razor out of easy reach.

Or run tissue paper between the scales.

If you want to be pedantic about drying your razor you might want to try what I sometimes do. Dry it by using a stropping motion on a towel and then hold it in front of a fan for a bit. Or you could try a hair dryer set to blow cool or ever so slightly warm air onto your razor. (I agree that a towel that you have used to dry yourself isn't the best thing to use to dry a razor, but when combined with a fan or hair dryer the problem is negligable).
I would also say stay away from the CLR. If I remember correctly the instructions for that stuff say to keep it away from your skin. You are putting it onto a razor and then putting the razor to your skin. That can't be good.

I agree about the towel. I do the same thing, and have no rust issues, and I live in Oregon.

im new to razors, but i know that certain chemicals, will have similair effects as running lighters up and down your metal... they can open the metal up, damage it on the cellular level, allowing oxygen into the metal, weakening it, causing pitting and weakness. i wouldnt use anything on something like a razor unless it was specificly intended to polish such metals..... not anything like CLR, the all purpose calciumn lime rust remover, youd probably be better off with WD-40,(not that i recomend that, but it is intended to drive away moisture))
id think that the only thing that could cause that kind of damage to such new metal would be constant weathering or moisture, which u say isnt the case, or chemical/abrasion problems