water marks after 3 uses ( Ralf Aust )

1morepasswill

1morepasswill

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1,168
Location
Glasgow
I recently bought a Ralf Aust 6/8 Snakewood straight and I have used it 3 times now. Now I have to say this is my first carbon steel razor, all my other straights are vintage stainless steel and I am aware how to dry ,strop and store straight razors to keep them from suffering any storage damage or watermarks etc.
After each shave I have dried thoroughly the blade , the scales and everywhere that can get wet on it. I then give it 20 strops on the scrub leather and then 30 strops on premium leather. After this I store it wrapped in the original wax paper it came in and in the box it came in. It is also not stored in a bathroom or anywhere else that could be judged to be humid etc.

I had my 3rd shave today and before the shave while giving it my usual 30x scrub then 60x premium leather stropping the blade was spotless but by the end of my shave there was nasty black marks all the way down the razor edge and a particularly bad stain at the heel. This will not come off by hand rubbing but I'm sure I'll get rid of it with a metal polish, however I feel for a brand new nearly £200 razor that has only been used three times and has been looked after properly between those shaves that I should not be having to refurbish the blade already and will I have to continue this, I certainly hope not.
I appreciate carbon steel is more difficult to keep clear and clean ( than stainless steel ) but a blade so young in its life, having so few uses whilst being cared for properly? Unfortunately the pics I have taken are to large to upload.
I have emailed the company I bought it from and I'm awaiting them getting back to me. Thanks.
Will
 
Hi Will. I'm not sure what you expect the manufacturer to do about this, or think they could have done to avoid this. It's a natural process, carbon steel will oxidise. Of course if it came from the factory with water staining that's a different matter.

If you want a razor that looks the same in ten years as it does the day you bought it stainless steel would be a better choice.
 
Fully agree with Mike's comment. If it's just the edge have you checked your strop isn't contaminated in some way and being picked up from that?

I have 40 or so blades - predominantly carbon steel and don't have a problem despite living in a hard water area and only using any one of them occasionally.
 
RedHorseman said:
Certain chemicals with stain a carbon steel blade, it may be something in your soap or preshave maybe?
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I've heard this, I used PAA Cavandish with it. Still I feel it should be hardier than that for the price though.
 
mikew said:
Hi Will. I'm not sure what you expect the manufacturer to do about this, or think they could have done to avoid this. It's a natural process, carbon steel will oxidise. Of course if it came from the factory with water staining that's a different matter.

If you want a razor that looks the same in ten years as it does the day you bought it stainless steel would be a better choice.
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Yeah I understand what you mean but I've only had the thing 2 weeks and used it 3 times so to be honest I don't think it's reasonable to expect this kind of tarnishing to be evident already with good care being paid to it between those shaves.
The thing is brand new so I expect them to take it back and refund me since when I bought it I don't remember anything in the description that said it would become tarnished and blackened upon its first few uses. It's not stainless steel but this sort of thing should not be happening in the time it took me to shave yesterday.
Yes the razor was made for a functional reason but the presentation and durability of the blade are also something that is implicit when a company like Ralf Aust is involved, sure there are far more expensive razors out there but I don't feel it is in an acceptable condition for what I have did with it so far.

UKRob said:
Fully agree with Mike's comment. If it's just the edge have you checked your strop isn't contaminated in some way and being picked up from that?

I have 40 or so blades - predominantly carbon steel and don't have a problem despite living in a hard water area and only using any one of them occasionally.
Click to expand...
The only strop I have used is the one I bought at the same time from the same company I bought the razor from and I did not apply anything to the strop. All I did was use the scrub leather and then the premium leather, that's all. The discolouration is along the edge on both sides and from the edge part of the toe travelling up the way to the shank with various marks dotted all over the blade itself.

Mike was saying that he doesn't know what I expect the company to do about it and that if I want a blade that is unchanged in 10 years then I should get stainless steel but the point is I have only used it 3 times and had the thing in my possession for only 2 weeks, so I don't feel it should be in this condition already particularly since I have taken all the steps I can take to ensure this kind of thing does not happen.
I don't think I'm being precious or unreasonable about this I just expect a certain standard of product for the money I paid for it and in my opinion this product has fallen short what I feel is reasonable to be expected from it.
Like you have said you have 40+ blades in a hard water area and haven't had this problem so surely that means the problem is with this particular blade and not one I should expect to fork out £200 for and accept that at the beginning of a shave it's fine then within 45 mins the blade is tarnished and not what it looked like before the shave which again was only it's 3rd outing.

RedHorseman said:
It depends on what is getting on it, tannin stains carbon steel badly and quickly, a lot of acids will stain steel on contact.
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Thanks I'll certainly keep that in mind. I had a look and the PAA ingredient list and it looks fairly clean, the only acid listed is Stearic Acid which I'm sure you'll agree is fairly difficult to avoid in shaving soap. It on the face of it has all natural butters and oils but they could have acid components to them. I'd be very surprised if this was the source of the problem but you never know. Thanks.
Will
 
Photos would help - if you use a hosting site you should be able to add them from there. I'd be interested in what Ralph Aust has to say about it - and whether it's a problem with the steel.

One thing to bear in mind is that storing in waxed paper and in a box is not ideal - if there is any moisture at all left when you put it away, it has nowghere to go. Far better to air dry for 24 hours. However, if I understand correctly, you are saying that the blade was clean when taken out of its wrapper but then develops marks during the shave that do not wipe off. I've never come across anything like that and agree with you that it's unlikely to be the soap.

Keep us informed.
 
UKRob said:
Photos would help - if you use a hosting site you should be able to add them from there. I'd be interested in what Ralph Aust has to say about it - and whether it's a problem with the steel.

One thing to bear in mind is that storing in waxed paper and in a box is not ideal - if there is any moisture at all left when you put it away, it has nowghere to go. Far better to air dry for 24 hours. However, if I understand correctly, you are saying that the blade was clean when taken out of its wrapper but then develops marks during the shave that do not wipe off. I've never come across anything like that and agree with you that it's unlikely to be the soap.

Keep us informed.
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Sorry I should have said I only store after allowing to sit out for 8 to 12 hours after drying and stropping. Yes that's correct this developed during the shave as it was fine during my stropping before the shave but appeared at the end when I was finished with the blade. I'll try and find a way to post pics. I have emailed the company I bought it from that was not Ralf Aust to see what they think. So I'll hang fire in speaking to RA until they get back to me.
 
Nishy said:
This sounds very strange, was the strop left with any surface stains?
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Its a paddle strop I'm using and there was nothing I could see on either surface I used before or after the stropping that would suggest any contamination. Thanks.
Will

http://s1167.photobucket.com/user/1morepasswill/library/
Hopefully this link will work and you guy's can see what I mean. There are blemishes on the other side of the blade at the razor edge as well as randomly at points as far up at the shank but this side of the blade was the easiest to get clear pics of.

UKRob said:
Photos would help - if you use a hosting site you should be able to add them from there. I'd be interested in what Ralph Aust has to say about it - and whether it's a problem with the steel.

One thing to bear in mind is that storing in waxed paper and in a box is not ideal - if there is any moisture at all left when you put it away, it has nowghere to go. Far better to air dry for 24 hours. However, if I understand correctly, you are saying that the blade was clean when taken out of its wrapper but then develops marks during the shave that do not wipe off. I've never come across anything like that and agree with you that it's unlikely to be the soap.

Keep us informed.
Click to expand...
Here you go Rob, hopefully this works.
http://s1167.photobucket.com/user/1morepasswill/library/
 
1morepasswill said:
Nishy said:
This sounds very strange, was the strop left with any surface stains?
Click to expand...
Its a paddle strop I'm using and there was nothing I could see on either surface I used before or after the stropping that would suggest any contamination. Thanks.
Will

http://s1167.photobucket.com/user/1morepasswill/library/
Hopefully this link will work and you guy's can see what I mean. There are blemishes on the other side of the blade at the razor edge as well as randomly at points as far up at the shank but this side of the blade was the easiest to get clear pics of.

UKRob said:
Photos would help - if you use a hosting site you should be able to add them from there. I'd be interested in what Ralph Aust has to say about it - and whether it's a problem with the steel.

One thing to bear in mind is that storing in waxed paper and in a box is not ideal - if there is any moisture at all left when you put it away, it has nowghere to go. Far better to air dry for 24 hours. However, if I understand correctly, you are saying that the blade was clean when taken out of its wrapper but then develops marks during the shave that do not wipe off. I've never come across anything like that and agree with you that it's unlikely to be the soap.

Keep us informed.
Click to expand...
Here you go Rob, hopefully this works.
http://s1167.photobucket.com/user/1morepasswill/library/
Click to expand...

Hi fella it wasn't so much a contaminated strop but perhaps cheap plating on the steel to hide those marks you now see, as I cant come up with any other explanation having read your procedures.
 
Nishy said:
1morepasswill said:
Nishy said:
This sounds very strange, was the strop left with any surface stains?
Click to expand...
Its a paddle strop I'm using and there was nothing I could see on either surface I used before or after the stropping that would suggest any contamination. Thanks.
Will

http://s1167.photobucket.com/user/1morepasswill/library/
Hopefully this link will work and you guy's can see what I mean. There are blemishes on the other side of the blade at the razor edge as well as randomly at points as far up at the shank but this side of the blade was the easiest to get clear pics of.

UKRob said:
Photos would help - if you use a hosting site you should be able to add them from there. I'd be interested in what Ralph Aust has to say about it - and whether it's a problem with the steel.

One thing to bear in mind is that storing in waxed paper and in a box is not ideal - if there is any moisture at all left when you put it away, it has nowghere to go. Far better to air dry for 24 hours. However, if I understand correctly, you are saying that the blade was clean when taken out of its wrapper but then develops marks during the shave that do not wipe off. I've never come across anything like that and agree with you that it's unlikely to be the soap.

Keep us informed.
Click to expand...
Here you go Rob, hopefully this works.
http://s1167.photobucket.com/user/1morepasswill/library/
Click to expand...

Hi fella it wasn't so much a contaminated strop but perhaps cheap plating on the steel to hide those marks you now see, as I cant come up with any other explanation having read your procedures.
Click to expand...


Thanks for your input anyway. I'm still waiting for the company who sold me it to get back to me so I'll see what they say. Cheers.
Will
 
My view would be similar to Michael's If the razor arrived from Ralf Aust without watermarks or a oxidised edge then it's obviously down to something you did could be a certain product you used or storage, I only have carbon steel blades and I never leave them out to dry after use I only ever get the edge and face of the blade wet then after use I then wipe them down with kitchen towel strop then put them away and I never had a razor with a oxidised edge or watermarks.
 
Nishy said:
Hi fella it wasn't so much a contaminated strop but perhaps cheap plating on the steel to hide those marks you now see, as I cant come up with any other explanation having read your procedures.
Click to expand...

What plating?

@ Jamie - Jamie, the OP appears to be doing everything right and has opther vintage blades with no issues. I've no idea what's causing this but if the marks are not there after stropping and before the shave starts but then appear during the shave - then something strange is going on and I would do exactly what he's done and contact the retailer. It may well be an issue with the steel.
 
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