That blue spot...

[earl of St Andrews]

I decided at last to junp off the fence at the start of the month into straight shaving with a Sanguine shavette. My face was a mess after the third shaving with some nice cuts (never forget you get 2 spikes on a shavette).
Nevertheless I ordered from Larry a proper straight and meanwhile I got a Dovo 6/8 Best Quality.

Have been shaving with it for a week and the diference is the same as between night and day no serious cut,only a few weepers and some stubble under the chin so just question of technique.

Now the question. I have been stropping on newspaper until I received my strop today,precisely today a dark bluish spot apeared on the back side of the blade near the edge.I have read somewhere that is normal and is the protection of carbon steel to dampness. Can it be removed?

In spite of that I am really enjoying the journey.Thanks for all your advice

 

[sffone]

I'm almost certain it can be removed with a little judicious polishing. It would be helpful if you could post a picture of the blade so that we could see exactly what you're dealing with.

 

[earl of St Andrews]

Here are some pics of it.It doesn´t look really deep, so what do you think

 

[sffone]

First, I don't think that it's normal for a blade to spot in such a way. I've got a number of straights that I've had for a long time, and the only time any of them have ever spotted like that is when a drop of water, aftershave, or other liquid gets on them and isn't dried off.

The spot will polish out, I am almost certain, but it will take a little effort. Start with a mild abrasive. If you use a Dremel tool, make sure that the rotation of the polishing disk is going away from the edge of the blade and not into the edge, otherwise the disk snag the blade and send it flying -- possibly doing some serious damage to the blade and to you.

If you're polishing by hand, be very, very mindful of the sharp edge and primarily work along the length of the blade with a soft cloth. If you don't have any polishing compound around, you can try using toothpaste (most of which contain a very mild abrasive), a dry household cleaning product (such as Comet), Lava hand soap, or an automotive polishing compound. Anything MILDLY abrasive will work with enough elbow grease.

You could always send the razor to someone to have it polished, or you could just leave your razor as is -- the spot is essentially a surface stain and will get no worse, providing you properly dry your razor after ever use. In fact, over time, the spot will fade somewhat with regular use of the razor.

Remember to thoroughly dry your razor after each use, and make sure that, in between shaves, it's stored such that water cannot be inadvertantly splashed on it. For example, don't have it in a rack that's located too close to the shower.

Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

 

[BillEllis]

A small dab of good metal polish on a cotton cloth backed by your index finger. Make sure the cutting edge and spine is resting on a flat surface when rubbing the stain out so you don't slice lunch meat off your finger.

 

[Seraphim]

Yup, metal polish on a Qtip for precision work like that. No big deal, just a water spot

 

[mdunn]

Yup, metal polish on a Qtip for precision work like that. No big deal, just a water spot

precisely!

No way I would go near this razor with a dremel.

 

[earl of St Andrews]

Thank you for your advice. Will try a little of toothpaste first and see what happens.

 

[earl of St Andrews]

I tried a little of toothpaste on a cotton bud and worked it with a cotton cloth.YES!! it has been removed In fact you will only know where the spot was turning the blade under a strong light,and knowing where to look for it.Thank you for the advice.