I just got my Dovo Ebony from SRD and I love it so far. The razor has gold wash on the spine and on the stamp on the blade. I have the reasonable expectation that the gold will wear over time, and i'm ok with that. But I want to keep it looking good for as long as is reasonably possible.

I've thought about placing a piece of clear tape over the spine while honing/stropping to minimize wear that way. I've also read some about using Renaissance Wax to protect it. For those that have razors with gold spines:

  1. With daily use, roughly how long can I expect the wash on the spine to last?
  2. Will taping the spine before stropping significantly minimize wear, or is it more trouble than it's worth?
  3. What has worked best for you to keep the gold spines in good shape longer?