First Post! Beautiful Dubl Duck Goldedge. Questions about cleaning the gold wash....

First I'd like to introduce myself as this will be my first post here! I'm Dan from the central Kootenay's in BC Canada. Thank you for hosting such a wealth of knowledge here, it has certainly served me well over the last couple of weeks.

I initially wrote a decent paragraph that had all of the character of whit, intelligence and humor, but that somehow got deleted when I tried to post a picture so the following will have to do for now ;)

Among several awesome razors (in my opinion) that I picked recently, the Duck is the most "delicate". Basically I was hoping someone could provide information on how it would be best to clean the gold wash area of the tang without damaging the finish or the blue duck fill.

I manufacture custom knives and I am also a leather craftsman so I know my way around a little of this, but that finish is another story all together. I'll try for another pic insert here....Attachment 157616Attachment 157617Attachment 157618

Thanks!

Dan

Welome Dan. That duck is in amazing condition. Gold wash is ver delicate. I have a jewelry cleaning cloth that I use occasionally. It needs to be done with care because the gold wash is very delicate. There are a few guys from around the province here and quite a few from Canada in general. Enjoy the giant information cache here and ask what you can't find or need specific help with.

Welcome to SRP. With the gold plate on Gillette DEs windex was the de rigueur product to clean it without messing it up. With straight razors I personally leave it as is. I wipe it down with a silicone gun cloth every now and again. Metal polish, Maas, Flitz, Semichrome will take the gold wash off instantly so stay away from that.

Thank you for the quick replies guys. I don't actually have the razor in-hand, I will be picking it up tomorrow. If there is any rust starting on the gold wash should I just neutralize it somehow, instead of trying to get rid of it? I bought this razor with the purpose of putting it in the safe deposit box for a while, perhaps creating a family heirloom.

That brings me to another issue, should I store this simply with silicone gel packs or oil, or will it require periodic maintenance over the years?

Thanks again,

Dan

Oil is always best and never hurts to store razors with packs of gel silica as it absorbs humidity, correct me if im wrong.

Hey Dennis,

I completely agree, I was just wondering whether an oil, over an extended period of time may harm the gold wash on the tang.

Dan

The gel packs are always good. Ren wax or conservators wax are both good product. conservators wax comes from Lee Valley so it's easy to obtain. Another idea is VCI paper, which is an anti corrosion wrap. PM if you want a couple of sheets. I have to say I would have to shave with that a couple of times before I put it away.

'Congrats on a nice razor. I'm glad you asked about the goldwash - would have been a shame to accidentally erase it - which happens very quickly. If by cleaning, you mean getting other stuff off of the goldwash - as opposed to trying to remove rust or pits, Honda motorcycle spray cleaner and polish has yet to disturb goldwash on any blade I've tried it on - including costly Wackers, Ducks, etc. Goldwash is so fragile that a week's worth of stropping can remove a large portion. I'm not a fan of it for that reason. While I'm at it - you have nice taste in places to live - that's beautiful country up there. All Best with that lovely new blade.

Thank you all for continuing to contribute to my question!

Pinklather, this is a very beautiful area indeed. However, I went down to the Buttes last summer to collect some obsidian and other earthly pleasures and really loved the feel of the landscape out there and the people were very friendly as well. I actually got lost the first night I arrived and ended up camped out about 10 KM behind the butte I was actually looking for; ended up, I was on some ranchers property! I didn't know until the next morning when I stopped the truck to talk to an older gentleman and his wife who were driving toward me... It was his property and he was nice enough about it... He just laughed and said, "strange, I didn't even see your tracks coming in". Anyway, great place and lots of treasures!

Thank you for the advice about the Honda cleaner, I'll pick some up.

This particular razor is going to be for pure collectors interest, although I will probably have it honed and enjoy at least one shave ;)

I picked up several others for restoration work and daily shavers.... I ended up with some good ones (only early period manufacture/builds for each maker) by, Frederick Reynolds, Wade and Butcher, Joseph Elliot, T. Hessen, Torry, Wostenholm, Loeffler/Sykes and others.

Dan

Welcome to the forum!

You've already received lots of great info on how to maintain that beauty...enjoy it!

I store my razors in a cigar box inside silicone treated straight razor socks, other wise knows as long gun sleeves, cut down and sewn to the dimensions of a straight.

Here's a pic of the razor sock with description, it's from Mens Essentials, they're in Canada so that's good for overall supplies and stuff:

http://www.menessentials.ca/shaving/...or-sleeve.html

Attachment 157640

This is an effective anti-rust solution for a lifetime; it is not merely a barrier prohibiting entry of moisture, but rather a tool which continually draws moisture from the inside to the outside; think of it as creating a reduced-humidity 'fog' within and beyond the razor, and the more arid the environment in which the razor's stored the bigger the foggy area. Simply store the straight razor inside and leave in the open so that the moisture wicked away from the interior to the exterior can evaporate.

Made for decades by hand in the USA by various American firms for the firearms industry (known as "gun sleeves", "silicone cloths", etc. etc.), these particular oil-and-silicone-treated-cotton sleeves are from 100% USA materials/labor and make oiling steel within potentially irrelevant. The makers say to not oil the steel for any razor stored inside the sleeve, for this can seal moisture under a film of oil (they've also decreed that if one insists on using both sleeve and oil, use a product which allows evaporation-by name they recommended Ballistol).

Pinklather,

Could you post a link or a picture of that solvent so I can identify it 100%?

Thanks,

Dan

My mom used to tell me, "You can't have your cake, and eat it too." So it is with rust coming up under gold wash. I've got a few oldies that came to me with a bit of speckling coming up through the gold wash on the tang, or on the belly of the blade. I've had them for years and the stuff hasn't gotten any worse.

I hate rust as much as the next guy but no way to get rid of it without losing the gold. I do use a product called R.I.G. (rust inhibiting grease) dabbed onto the blade with a Q-tip and wiped off with my silicone gun cloth, both Birchwood-Casey products. The cloth becomes impregnated with the grease and it has been effective in preventing rust on my knives, razors and blue steel firearms for decades.