Thread: Messy razor help.

My 2 week old carbon steel razor is developing surface blemishes on the blade and lines radiating upwards and out from the edge. I thought I treated my razor very well, I rinse it in cold water after use and dry it thoroughly and then pretty much immerse it in camellia oil but as of tonight I have purchased some mineral/paraffin oil. I leave a coating of oil on it between each use so I am surprised to see these imperfections. I do not know if this is normal wear and tear and therefore expected or not, but the blade is certainly losing its mirror finish rapidly and even the tang is not looking at it’s best. Under a bright halogen globe at a certain angle the razor is looking a right mess.

Perhaps someone could tell me what these blemishes are caused from and how I could eliminate them and how can I protect the gold wash from disappearing if I am continually rubbing it to try and get rid of theses unwanted markings?

Thank you.

Your problem just might be the cold water rinse is not washing away all the gunk. It might look clean, but I would bet it isn"t. Try polishing it lightly with a gentle polish, and the next time you shave use hot water (steaming) to wash it off. Towell dry and then let stay open while you get dressed. At that point, you should lightly oil, not totally wet with oil. A light film is fine. I think this will stop the staining. Best Regards and Happy Shaving, wildhog

Thanks for your reply.

The reason I used cold water as I thought hot water and in particular steaming hot water would cause the razor to lose some hardening?

But that was only my theory.

What gentle polish are you referring to, what kind of polish do you recommend?

Thanks.

Here is a photo of my razor under a bright light so it really shows the detail of the staining.

I just used warm soapy water and a soft tooth brush and very hot water rinse but the markings still remain.

Originally Posted by planetocean

Thanks for your reply.

The reason I used cold water as I thought hot water and in particular steaming hot water would cause the razor to lose some hardening?

But that was only my theory.

Thanks.

you do not have water that hot as to damage the temper of the steel.
Also Camelia oils will work just fine for preservation of the blade, it is used a lot in Japan for coating carbon steel blades. I do think your problem is the storage of the blade.

What kind of razor do you have and what kind of condition was it in when received?

It was brand new Wacker 5/8 in sliver steel. Really not sure how I managed to get these stains with all the Camilla oil and caring for and so on.

So can they be polished carefully away?

Thanks.

If it's a good blade, is the towel you use to dry it clean? Might there be something on the towel, either from use, or from detergent, or fabric softener, that would be left on the blade after drying and therefore under the coating of oil you use for protection?

It's a pitty that a mirror blade would end up looking like that when you appear to be taking every precaution to preserve it.

Best of Luck,
Jim

it's hard to tell from those pictures what are the blemishes. if they're deposits from hard water should be pretty easy to get rid of. if they're oxidation (what i'd put my money on) that means you're leaving moisture on the blade. common mistake is to leave water trapped in between the scales.
air drying the razor before it's closed it essential, just wiping it on a towel isn't enough.

For the polish, I use Mothers but Maas and Turtle Polish (not wax) work fine also. I do use wax on the blade after it dries, but won"t use the wax but every month or so. The wax I use is Renaissance. This is for razors in use. Razors that aren"t being used, but stored, don"t need waxing very often. Just a light film of oil, I use mineral oil. Best, wildhog