Water Spots on my new Dovo????

Hey everyone,

I'm a new member here (although not new to straight razor shaving, i've been using a disposable style straight razor where you put a single side straight edge inside the safety)....I just recently bought a Dovo Straight Razor, and i used it for the first time yesterday. Now there seems to be some water spots on the blade.

I'm pretty sure my procedure for using and cleaning the blade was fine, so I'm not sure why it happened. The only reason i can think of is that maybe i shave a bit slow so it developed the spots due to the time factor (and also i should probably wipe the blade on a tissue to remove the shaving cream instead of running it under water)

I was wondering what could i use to remove these spots (see attached pic)....i've tried some toothpaste but it didn't do much. I've read on the forum that MAAS works well, but i'm not sure if i should use it on my blade because my blade seems to have a matte finish to it. Any recommendations would be really helpful! Check out the pic!

http://imageshack.us/a/img72/2936/20121024180018.jpg

I used to get similar and slightly bigger water spots on my new Dovo too. I always cleaned and dried the blade well too. I guessed that maybe it was due to the SR blade being new and breaking in. I was able to remove most of it by rubbing a bit of baking soda on them with a cloth, but I could still see a faint of the spot. Eventually the spots went away after normal use and stropping.

sounds good, I'll give the baking soda a try and see what happens. do you think if I use MAAS polish it will ruin the finish (since the metal is more of a matte finish rather than polished). Also, what do you mean by SR?

SR = straight razor.

I have never used MAAS polish, but from what I've read about it, it seems to be a good product for most metals. Check out its many uses:

Maas polish uses

However, I would be worried about the polish wearing away some of the blade's etchings/engravings.

Agreed MAAS is good but will ruin any markings-paint, gold. I found that out the hard way. I have TI that I cleaned up after getting some watermarks and the markings faded heavily. However, I do not have any suggestions on how to remove water spots just the warning about MAAS. I hope you find something that works.

sounds good...I'm thinking of not trying products like MAAS or anything of the sort. I dont want to lose the marking on the razor. I guess ill try the baking soda with cloth, and if that doesnt work, ill just live with the spots and see if they fade away after some use.

If you use maas use it with a Q tip and go around the etching. I wouldn't chance rubbing it over the entire blade you might lose the etching.

Also 2 things. When you are done with the razor check to make sure there isn't any water inside the scales before you close it. Also don't lay it close to the sink try to keep it as far from the sink as possible.

^^^
Yeah definitely, i'd use a qtip to apply it....the only thing im not sure of though, is whether applying maas will change the finish of the razor to a shiny, mirror finish (like the spine of the razor in the pic), or will it leave it as the dull, satin finish after using it?

If the spots are Water spots it is usually Calcium & I wonder if vinegar would remove the spots? I might try it on an old blade first & test different strengths by watering down. You might use distilled water or get a water softener to help the problem. I did water testing on the boilers on my ship in the Navy & for 20 years in Hospital boiler rooms. I have a Robeson 1631 I will try it on. Hope this might help. Don't know how it will affect gold plate or paint but the
Robeson has neither.

Dave "Slawman" Huffman

Vinegar is a bad idea. Acid and carbon steel lead to discoloration. Old timers used to stick their pocket knife blades in a lemon or dip them in vinegar to blacken the blade. It was a crude form of back oxidation that helped prevent red rust.

Inside the scales is one place for water and soap to hide, after a shave. I always check and blow any excess water out.