Heat Rainbow of Death?

[Aloxite]

I picked up a razor off of Ebay that looked pretty cool. Has a neat inscription: Veni Vidi Vici (I came, I saw, I conquered.) http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270650179406&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT When it showed up I noticed a heat rainbow on the blade. Looks like someone overheated it buffing it up. I went back to look at the original pictures and now I can see the rainbow on the original pictures. It's moments like this that remind me that not only am I human, but could quite likely be a moron.

Anyway, does a heat rainbow definitely mean that the temper is gone? If the temper is gone then there is no reason to hone it. Is there a reasonably priced way to heat treat the blade to restore the temper?

Oh, well. At least it was only $15. Not the most expensive lesson I've learned if it's toast.

 

[livingontheedge]

With the goldwash intact I would doubt it was over buffed, I suspect possibly it was caused by a reaction with a soap, I have seen this before on another forum and the member had a similarly stained blade that was caused by his soap. Also I have noticed fingerprints can produce similar discolorations on some metals. I say hone er up and see what happens.

 

[dakotaev]

I'd say give it a go on the hones and give up after you confirm it won't take an edge. You never know right?

 

[Aloxite]

Good point on the rainbows due to soap and oils. My '49 Plymouth likes to develop a rainbow on the finish due to the wax. I'm feeling a bit better now. Thanks.

 

[Telecaster52]

Looks to me like bluing or some other rustproofing, since it frames the etching rather nicely and the lines are straight.

Looking again, check the pic of the back of the blade, could just be shoddy lighting and reflections

 

[Arrow]

That might wash right off. I've had some like this and it came right off with mild soap and water. I think it's from the oils on human hands. Careful with that gold wash if you want to keep what's left. Anything abrasive in the least will take it right off...

 

[rambus007]

I think the razor looks good. It's seems to be in better condition than the one that I bought (see below). For $10 it might be a steal of a deal if it shaves. If not $10 isn't going to hurt too much. Maybe you can get a refund or partial refund. In my case I was able to get a $13 refund because I told the seller the temper was lost due to the overheating of the blade. I mentioned that I asked members of the wetshaving community their opinions (which I did). Most sellers are reasonable so it's worth asking.

I recently bought a W&B that came with a hard arkansas hone and a wooden box with a paddle strop. The blade also had similar colours but mine also had the unique feature of a rippled edge. In my case I polished it up with Blue Magic to try to get the colour out. It didn't come out so I hone it and you can see from the resulting photos that it was indeed a ruined razor. Your's might be fine but you won't know until you hone it up. Here's the link to my thread.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=175478

 

[superbleu]

It doesn't look like there are any buffing/polishing marks on it. I would guess it's ok. Hone it up and give it a try.
If the temper is blown it won't hold an edge and not good for much other than a letter opener, and no way to restore the temper, at least I don't think you can.

 

[rambus007]

It doesn't look like there are any buffing/polishing marks on it. I would guess it's ok. Hone it up and give it a try.
If the temper is blown it won't hold an edge and not good for much other than a letter opener, and no way to restore the temper, at least I don't think you can.

What's what I'll do perhaps! I'll dull the blade a bit more and then after cleaning it up I'll just use my razor as a letter opener. I guess if I ever screw up a set of scales while restoring I can put them to some good use for a letter opener. Thanks for the idea.

 

[life2short1971]

Does it look like an edge was just put on it with a belt sander?