Thread: Preserving etching on this Razor

Hi, I was wondering if anyone has any experience with etching on Soviet straight razor. There seems to be a couple of rust stains right on the etching and am not sure if Maas or maybe high grit sandpaper would damage it? Any input would be much appreciated.

Some have had good sucess painting over the etching with clear fingernail polish and letting it dry then using something like Flitz to polish the blade and then use acetone to clean off the nail polish, although it's nice to have the etching you have to remember it's a tool that is used everyday depending on size of collection and it gets wet and dried so it honestly will wear off over the years anyway.

You can mask it with clear tape and then work around it. Clear simply because it is easier to put the tape on and then lightly trim it back.

You can also take the scales off and clean it in a vibrating tumbler. Although that won’t work if it is super light like a laser etch, for the tumbler to be at its best it needs to be more than just on the surface.

The other thing is just be very very careful, and combined with the first method it works fairly well. That blade does not need a lot, and may be fine as is.

If you want to keep the etch, I'd just leave it as is. Spritz it off with alcohol and hone it as you would normally, turning a blind eye to the stains.

+1 on the clear tape, I actually don't think a careful light hand polishing will hurt it unlike gold lettering or other gold designs which will come right off with polish

I'm with the tape it clan, but I like the satin finish scotch tape better than clear. It highlights the etch better for trimming around it.

Hmm, I didn't think of that. However there is a couple of spot directly on the etching. Is that just salvageable?

Originally Posted by Kirasy

Hmm, I didn't think of that. However there is a couple of spot directly on the etching. Is that just salvageable?

Carefully go over the area with a #2 pencil. I would recommend doing this prior to starting work on the rest.

I use a #10H pencil on the tough spots and then just hit it with either NeverDull or just a blob of Mothers.

Sorry for my ignorance but do you mean try to scape it off with a pencil? Or is it some sort of procedure?