Blade 'mottling'

[weston]

Hey, guys - is there a proper name for the 'mottling' I find on this blade? It is early stage rust, plating wear, or just dirt (!)? It's pretty common with the blades I'm looking at, and I'd like to know how repairable it is. Is it something I could hand buff, or Dremel buff out? Or, does it require a re-plating? Or, it all depends, and there are a few other things to do in such a case?

Thanks - don't want to make my search for the blades I seek too difficult - especially if I can 'solve' the problem on my own.

Merci,

Weston

 

[bluesman 7]

That is a form of iron oxide referred to as devil's spit. IME it is very tenacious and can go very deep into the steel making it hard to get rid of completely. On the up side it seems to be very stable and does not spread if the razor is maintained. I would probably hit it with some metal polish and call what is left patina.

 

[weston]

Devil's spit kinda says it all ;-)

Thanks, Bluesman!!

 

[global_dev]

this stuff can be a real pain, the closer to the edge the more the issue, otherwise it's just cosmetic. If it's near the edge of a finely ground hollow it can muck up a bevel causing what appears to be chips or holes.

 

[Twelvefret]

How old is the razor. If like mine, they have survived far worse than I will ever inflict.

 

[Gamma]

Aside from very few examples, carbon steel straight razors aren't plated. To me, the oxidation on the razor above doesn't look too bad and I'd probably leave it alone; there's a good bit of spine wear and the toe has been ground 'up' - so it's not a museum piece but if the pitting isn't causing micropitting that razor will shave very well.
If I was determined to make the blade as shiny as possible, I'd consider moving though polishing techniques starting with the least invasive - metal polish on a rag and buffing by hand. That won't remove much, but it'll do 'something'. Most likely, hand sanding will remove more and if you combine sanding with an aggressive progression of greaseless compounds on a buffing wheel you can get more of it.
If you have a wedge grind razor, you can get the blade reprofiled with a slight hollow to take out everything. As noted, if the pitting is deep into the bevel, that pitting becomse more of an issue, the more hollow the grind, the bigger the issue. If it was my blade, first thing I'd do is hone the blade to see where the edge winds up. IMO, If what was a 5/8 turns into a 4/8, there isn't much point to giving it a 'mirror' polish.

 

[stone and strop]

Hey, guys - is there a proper name for the 'mottling' I find on this blade? It is early stage rust, plating wear, or just dirt (!)? It's pretty common with the blades I'm looking at, and I'd like to know how repairable it is. Is it something I could hand buff, or Dremel buff out? Or, does it require a re-plating? Or, it all depends, and there are a few other things to do in such a case?

Thanks - don't want to make my search for the blades I seek too difficult - especially if I can 'solve' the problem on my own.

Merci,

Weston

View attachment 966089

Patina.
As Bluesman 7 has said it is iron oxide or old oxidation. It looks stable and should not be a problem if you maintain it.
Removing it? Forget it. It can be quite deep and not at all worth the effort - you will ruin the razor.
Re-plating is not something for straight razors. Only the cheapest crappiest razors will be plated, even then you would have trouble finding one that was plated in the first place.
It is a fine razor that has been saved an early death. Enjoy what you have.