Thread: Black spots.

I've been working on this blade for a little while and found these many black spots on the blade. Is this pitting and how could I fix it.

Only way to find out if there is pitting is to remove the patina which will make them stand out alot more or if you have some sort of magnification you can see if the spots go deeper than the surrounding metal. Some metal polish and a rag will tell you alot before you start working with compounds or sandpaper. The only way to remove pitting is to keep removing layers of metal till the pitting is gone. I have found that sometimes I wish I would have just left the patina because it hid alot of stuff underneath. In the end it comes down to what you are wanting to do to the razor and how deep the pitting is. Do you want it mirrorish finish or just plain useable. Sometimes you have to find a middle ground so you can still make it shave ready, while being nice looking.

Well said. I am a fan of using polish with steel wool to get a really deep clean. It can reveal the pits for sure, but cleans out t he black rust, leaving it inactive. It may look better black than shiny and pitted but the pits are just the spots with the rust removed. Sometimes there has to be quite a bit of metal removed to get the pits out, remember that the pits are the low spot and the surrounding metal has to be removed to the pit to become level. It is a case by case story with me, until you remove the rust you can't tell how deep it runs.

I use the synthetic steel wool (3M green stuff) in 0000 grit with a mild polish to start and then drop down to 000 if necessary. After the 0000 you'll know if you have pitting or "spots".

My main problem now is that the pits are over the etching on the blade. Obviously I don't want to remove the etching and don't really want the pitting there. What can I do.

Don't use CLR.