Steel Wool for cleaning old blades?
Can anyone comment on using steel wool to clean old straight razor blades (spine, tang, side of blade)?
I have an old Wester Bros (German) 5/8 that belonged to my grandfather. I am not sure of its age. Given that he died (young) in 1917, I suspect it to be on the order of 90 years, plus or minus a few. The razor is in the original box.
The blade looks in surprisingly good condition IMHO (I have not tried to shave with it). There is some rust on the spine and the tang and what I think are rust spots on the sides of the blade although I am not sure whether it is rust or stain spots.
I am wondering if a fine grade of steel wool would be a good way to get the blade cleaned up?
The edge, BTW, does not appear to be pitted and there are no nicks visible at 60X magnification with a Radio Shack microscope. Given the age of this razor, I am surprised it is in as good a condition, overall, as it appears to be.
Comments and recommendations would be appreciated.