OK, update here. Well.....er, ahhhh....DON'T use Oxalic acid on razors unless you want to oxidize and etch the daylights out of them.

Report:

I bought some powdered Oxalic at Ace Hardware because it's a few blocks from my work. I grabbed a descaled J.A. Henckels approx 6/8-7/8 old wedge #22 that had horn scales and mixed some of the powder with water. I was conservative in using a fairly small amount of powder, but I didn't get a scale out and was not scientific in my measurements.

I wore thick rubber gloves and dabbed a bit of the acid solution on a clean rag and started to rub at oxidation spots. It seemed to lighten the oxidation spots ever so slightly, or it could have been my imagination. The overall surface of the faces of the blade DID seem to become brighter, but I could have hocked a loogie or wiped some sweat on the rag and it would have done the same darn thing.

So.........I decided I would let the blade sit in the solution for less than five minutes whilst I went to brush my teeth prior to turning in. I was literally gone less than five minutes only to come back and find a very nicely uniformed dark gray oxidized blade. The only way that's coming off is sanding; which is not a big deal since that's really been my "Plan A" for this blade anyway.

Then, I proceeded to email Bill Ellis who I've corresponded with on prior occasions to ask him what if anything he has found to easily do away with deeper oxidation (not surface stuff that Maas/Flitz/erasers/Naval Jelly takes off). He said in all the years he's worked with steel he has NEVER found a magic bullet for easily taking off significant oxidation other than sanding. He's got a great sense of humor that I enjoy very much; after I told him what happened to my experimental blade the first thing he wrote back was: "But now you don't have the oxidation spots on the blade anymore, do you?"

So.....this did not work for me.

Chris L