As I type this, I am in the middle of a 12hr shift at work in the bakery. I get easy stuff on Saturdays ! Since I have some spare time, but not the ability to work on my ERN at its current stage while at work, I will explain & break down my process recently, and what's to come.

Not shown since the last pic: I hand sanded most of the razor to a satisfactory, but not overdone level... except the face. I barely touched that further with sandpaper.

I decided that I was not going to lose the etch! But I am also going to get rid of the corrosion!! More self education was had. It started here, of course, then spiraled outward, down a web-fu "rabbit hole" named Google.

First, I researched methods of etching. Two basic methods are prevalent: acid etching, and electrochemical. The saying goes "There is more than one way to skin a cat...". What I learned is that electrochemical etching has greatly reduced risks to person and property, compared to acid etching. BUT, the etch produced is very shallow. It still uses acid, but in weak (household vinegar, etc) concentrations, using electricity haphazardly drawn from a battery (usually) as a catalyst for the metal and mild acid to react with one another.

My Father: If it's worth doing once, it's worth doing right the first time.

With that phrase ringing in my head more loudly with every year that passes, I quickly chose an acid etch method. Which required more self education, because pre-made etching solutions are not available locally. It is also cheaper (per ounce) to simply make your own from two chemicals available retail just about anywhere in the world.

Less than $10 later, including sales tax, I have the two chemicals needed, with enough to make a gallon of solution. Another $10~ish for a fish tank air pump & about 12' of pvc air line. Another $5 for an HDPE (a type of plastic) bucket & lid from a big box hardware store to safely store the acid outside, where any errant fumes won't be able to harm my household OR metal objects in the vicinity!

In preparation for this endeavor, I lightly washed the blade with the green side of a scotchbrite sponge & dish soap. I then asked the wife for a few bottles of her nail polish that she doesn't use/like/ has gone bad. I used two colors of polish to completely cover the razor. I then spent somewhere between 8 and 20 hours carefully picking out the "Hollow Ground" etch in the polish (after giving it more than a day to dry) with improvised tools and a 5x jeweller's loupe. That week, I had a trainee that mostly knows the job .

Side effects of this include, but are not limited to, a neck ache, blury vision and or vision induced headache, and temporarily "cracking up" from painstakingly scratching away microscopic pieces of resist media (nail polish).