Rusted unused Dovo

I rescued this poor razor today. Apparently the guy's girlfriend (now ex) bought it for him in Italy a few years ago and he never used it. It wasn't stored well, so it went to rust.

As you can hopefully see, most of the rust is on the spine and tang. There's not too much on the face of the blade, but there's some along the edge. I'm hoping I can hone past it. I paid $20 for this razor, so even if it goes in the garbage eventually or turns into a 5/8 from a 6/8, it will be a good contender for a restoration attempt.

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Attachment 291092

Could also turn it into a shorty as well, GL with the restore

Id start with working on the edge to see how much your going to need to take off to get to good steel where the rust is. Maybe its not deep and can clean up easy. Be sure to use a loupe and inspect the rust pitting as you work the edge on the stone so as to not take more than needed. Ive had a few that took away a lot of steel and some that cleaned up quickly. Good luck and keep us posted.

I think you'll be OK. I'd just rough clean the rust near the edge and, like Gasman suggested, see what kind of edge you get.

Bob

I often use a DE blade with tape on one edge to scrape of the surface rust before resorting to sanding. Then I go at it with MAAS or Autosol metal polish to see how much of what remains comes off easily. Automotive rubbing compound on a microfibre cloth can also remove the easier stuff. I have used toothpaste or a paste of baking sofa and water and a stiff toothbrush to get at the parts of the tang between the scales.

Whatever is left will require sanding. As stated above, start with the highest grit wet/dry you feel might work before resorting to the really abrasive stuff. Sometimes I find that a Scotch Brite pad can take off some of the rust before I move on to sandpaper.

I have used abrasive pads, brass brush and nylon brush with a Dremel, but you have to be careful not to let the spinning pad catch the edge - wear eye protection and be aware of the “safe zone” so you don't break the blade or send it flying. The Dremel spins very fast and it’s easy to make an error in positioning the blade.

I learned that there is no point setting a bevel and honing the edge until you get all the rust and corrosion off to your satisfaction. You’ll just have to go at the edge again when you are done.

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Originally Posted by Gasman

Id start with working on the edge to see how much your going to need to take off to get to good steel where the rust is. Maybe its not deep and can clean up easy. Be sure to use a loupe and inspect the rust pitting as you work the edge on the stone so as to not take more than needed. Ive had a few that took away a lot of steel and some that cleaned up quickly. Good luck and keep us posted.

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Thanks Gasman! This is definitely the route I will take. No sense in working to take off all that rust just to find out it can't take an edge!

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Originally Posted by DZEC

I often use a DE blade with tape on one edge to scrape of the surface rust before resorting to sanding. Then I go at it with MAAS or Autosol metal polish to see how much of what remains comes off easily. Automotive rubbing compound on a microfibre cloth can also remove the easier stuff. I have used toothpaste or a paste of baking sofa and water and a stiff toothbrush to get at the parts of the tang between the scales.

Whatever is left will require sanding. As stated above, start with the highest grit wet/dry you feel might work before resorting to the really abrasive stuff. Sometimes I find that a Scotch Brite pad can take off some of the rust before I move on to sandpaper.

I have used abrasive pads, brass brush and nylon brush with a Dremel, but you have to be careful not to let the spinning pad catch the edge - wear eye protection and be aware of the “safe zone” so you don't break the blade or send it flying. The Dremel spins very fast and it’s easy to make an error in positioning the blade.

I learned that there is no point setting a bevel and honing the edge until you get all the rust and corrosion off to your satisfaction. You’ll just have to go at the edge again when you are done.

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Thanks Dzec! I had never heard of that DE trick before, I'll definitely try it out. I'm not going to use a dremel (don't have one, and am way too paranoid about my hands and eyes to want one), it will all be elbow grease!

Good advice so far . For small rust spots a toothpick or wooden chopstick dipped in metal polish can be a a good starting point also.

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Originally Posted by onimaru55

Good advice so far . For small rust spots a toothpick or wooden chopstick dipped in metal polish can be a a good starting point also.

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Will add this tip to my knowledge base........Thanks!

A tip I picked up a couple of years back was moisten crumpled up tin/aluminum foil, it will help remove the rust due to a chemical reaction plus its softer than metal so it won't damage the blade. Be careful working around the edge so you don't get cut, we don't need another "Cut Of The Day" post!

Good call on no dremel tool. Little wheel slips off and the spinning shaft hits the blade edge and chips it. I love how we are all rust removal experts! Copper sheets, hard pencils, 000 steel wool, and more types of sandpaper than I ever knew existed. Good luck with what looks like a pretty good razor.

I haven't had a lot of time to work on this razor, just a little here and there. I've also been unable to find high grit wet dry sandpaper, which surprised me. So in the end, I took off a lot of the loose rust with 120 grit, then cleaned it up with 400 and 600, went to steel wool, then used some metal polish. You can't really see the detail in these photos, but there are scratch marks due to the low grit sandpaper, but it's not too bad overall. I'll have to order some high grit sandpaper online, I guess.

All in all, I'm super happy with how this turned out. There are still marks from corrosion, but mostly on the tang. The blade cleaned up quite nicely, and it was easy to hone out the chips due to rust on the edge. I hope to try and hone it up soon. I think this may have been the best $20 I've ever spent!

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Attachment 291976

I notice you are in Montreal. You can find high grit sandpaper in the automotive finish section at Canadian Tire. Some of the really high grit comes with a sponge backing making it easy to fit the contour of the grind. If Canadian Tire does not have the sand paper, try an auto parts supply.

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Originally Posted by DZEC

I notice you are in Montreal. You can find high grit sandpaper in the automotive finish section at Canadian Tire. Some of the really high grit comes with a sponge backing making it easy to fit the contour of the grind. If Canadian Tire does not have the sand paper, try an auto parts supply.

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I checked my local store but didn't find any, but I didn't think to look in the automotive section!

I had the time to hone this Dovo up a few weeks ago, but only finally was able to shave test it yesterday. I only took it up to 8k, but the shave was quite good, I'm very happy. It was very keen but a tiny bit harsh, which tells me I have a lot of room for improvement, but it wasn't harsh enough to have any more than just a hint of irritation. It was better than a lot of shave ready razors I've bought!

After a lot of practise with my 1k this spring and summer, I seem to be able to consistently get very keen edges (finally). It's definitely true what they say, most of the work is with the 1k. After the bevel is set, I go to a 3k and an 8k, and for now I'm ending there. Eventually I will add my coticule to the mix (and one day I'll buy a 12k), but at the moment I want to concentrate on this simple progression to ensure my honing is consistent.

I'm pleased that after a year of fits and starts, I seem to be getting the hang of this honing thing! Thanks to everybody, but especially RezDog, for all the advice!

Well, it took a few months to get around to it, but I finally took this razor to a finisher, a German water hone. Shave tested it tonight, and got a very keen and smooth shave. I'm very happy with it!