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Have you treated your strop with anything?
water marks after 3 uses ( Ralf Aust )
- Thread starter 1morepasswill
- Start Date
This (in my opinion) is not a quality control issue for RA.
All of their carbon steel razors will use the same steel regardless of price so this could have just as easily happened to a £90 razor as a £200 one. The fact that they describe the steel as 'mild steel' is slightly worrying but no doubt just a translation error. In fact I suspect all of the razors coming from this part of the world are made from the same steel and are infact forged in the same factory, so to question the steel on this razor is like questioning all Solingen steel.
That's probably a hangable offence!
Oh and this razor definitely has no plating on the steel Nishy. Why on earth would they do that?
All of their carbon steel razors will use the same steel regardless of price so this could have just as easily happened to a £90 razor as a £200 one. The fact that they describe the steel as 'mild steel' is slightly worrying but no doubt just a translation error. In fact I suspect all of the razors coming from this part of the world are made from the same steel and are infact forged in the same factory, so to question the steel on this razor is like questioning all Solingen steel.
That's probably a hangable offence!
Oh and this razor definitely has no plating on the steel Nishy. Why on earth would they do that?
OP
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- 1,168
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- Thread Starter
- #20
No , the strop is a brand new modular paddle strop which arrived in the same box as the razor did. I have only used a scrub leather piece and a premium leather piece without using any oils or paste.RedHorseman said:
I have spoken with the vendor who sold me the razor and he like most people thinks it's because I've gotten moisture in the scales and it has caused this type of marring. I was advised to use a metal cleanser/polish to remove the marks which I have done and the black marring on the blade is now gone.
The big test will be at the end of my next shave when I DON'T get the scales wet again and I DON'T leave the blade in a condition were moisture can cause this to happen again. As I DON'T run water over the blade to clean it while shaving ( I actually run it across the palm of my other hand both ways ) and as a consequence neither the blade nor the scales get wet , just the edge and the face of the blade from whatever moisture is in the shaving lather. I mean come on guys I'm shaving , I have to have some sort of moisture involved!
I would be more than happy if after my next shave my blade remained pristine and it does what I bought it for. If it doesn't then all these arguments that I'm not treating the blade in a way that will avoid this kind of outcome and it's my fault will just be rubbish . I can do no more than I have already done to avoid this marring on the blade and I certainly don't think it's reasonable to expect me to clean with metal polish between every shave. Thanks for everybody's input and for anyone who is interested I'll keep you informed via the thread . Here is a pic of my razor now, just before I stored it with a coating of food grade mineral oil as I do with all my straight razors.
http://s1167.photobucket.com/user/1morepasswill/media/20150519_183618_zpsjbpd4vhg.jpg.html
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- Adelaide, Australia
Do you wipe the blade clean after your postshave stropping?
OP
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- 1,168
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- Glasgow
- Thread Starter
- #22
I dry the blade firstly with a towel, then I wipe the blade and the scales (inside and out ) with toilet tissue. After this I'll do 20 back and forth strokes with the scrub leather and finish off with 30 back and forth strokes on premium leather, then I'll add thin coat of food grade mineral oil before storage. So I'll be wiping the blade between all these stages if nothing else just to have it nice and shiny before oiling.mudcake said:
OP
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- 1,168
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- Thread Starter
- #24
That was never the point, If you took the time to read my very first post properly you'll see that I mentioned that I didn't doubt the tarnishing would come off with a bit of metal polish or cleaner my point was that I wasn't interested in cleaning it with metal polish every time I use the thing as everything I did leading up to the blade becoming tarnished was absolutely fine and should not have resulted in what had happened to the look of the edge.mikew said:
What I'll be doing with this blade from here on in won't be any different from what I've done with any blade I've used previously or what I have did with it up until now because as I have said, nothing I have done with it should have resulted in what happened and it hasn't happened before. The issue is and was , was there anything about this particular blade that was causing this to happen that I couldn't have known about in it's manufacture etc since I had never experienced this before and did everything reasonable to ensure this kind of tarnishing would be avoided as I had been up until this point with all my other blades.
I still have to use it again and hopefully this won't happen again. I suppose if I use it and don't get any water on the blade or scales and only wipe off with a towel and at the end of the shave this tarnish has reappeared then as far as you are concerned It will still be my fault.
You guys who are involved with blade manufacture and or maintenance always seem to prefer to believe it's user error and never anything else regardless of what people are telling you. I've had to re explain what the circumstances of this problem are throughout this thread because people have a pre existing diagnosis of what the problem is because it suits their ends.
So in answer to your post - The knife maker automatically assumes and makes his mind up straight away that user error has caused the problem and the individual blade is not at fault despite what he is being told? It's a miracle!
That was never the point, If you took the time to read my very first post properly you'll see that I mentioned that I didn't doubt the tarnishing would come off with a bit of metal polish or cleaner my point was that I wasn't interested in cleaning it with metal polish every time I use the thing as everything I did leading up to the blade becoming tarnished was absolutely fine and should not have resulted in what had happened to the look of the edge.mikew said:
What I'll be doing with this blade from here on in won't be any different from what I've done with any blade I've used previously or what I have did with it up until now because as I have said, nothing I have done with it should have resulted in what happened and it hasn't happened before. The issue is and was , was there anything about this particular blade that was causing this to happen that I couldn't have known about in it's manufacture etc since I had never experienced this before and did everything reasonable to ensure this kind of tarnishing would be avoided as I had been up until this point with all my other blades.
I still have to use it again and hopefully this won't happen again. I suppose if I use it and don't get any water on the blade or scales and only wipe off with a towel and at the end of the shave this tarnish has reappeared then as far as you are concerned It will still be my fault.
You guys who are involved with blade manufacture and or maintenance always seem to prefer to believe it's user error and never anything else regardless of what people are telling you. I've had to re explain what the circumstances of this problem are throughout this thread because people have a pre existing diagnosis of what the problem is because it suits their ends.
So in answer to your post - The knife maker automatically assumes and makes his mind up straight away that user error has caused the problem and the individual blade is not at fault despite what he is being told? It's a miracle!
1morepasswill said:
Crikey that's a lot more than I do!
TBH I don't really understand some of that comments on this thread.
Would nobody else honestly be bothered if, after every shave, marks appeared on a brand new razor (presumably) costing well north of £100 especially bearing in mind the post-shave routine that 1morepasswill follows?
There must be something wrong with me too then as I would be pissed off as well unless it had been specifically spelt out before purchase.
OP
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- Glasgow
- Thread Starter
- #26
Finally someone else who understands and has took the time to properly read my original post.Tall_Paul said:
Some people seem to think I should just be quite and be happy with my lot. All I was saying was that if this is how the blade is going to react to the way I look after it ( which I feel is perfectly adequate, and hasn't caused me these problems in the past ) and I'll have to clean it with polish every time I use it then I'm not happy with paying nearly £200 for it.
I would have been much happier to have paid £35 for a Gold Dollar and not have been too fussed if this happened. Some people just made their mind up straight away that it must be me that's the problem and barely considered the possibility that the blade was the problem and banged on about how I looked after it when I clearly outlined in my original post what my pre and post shave routine was. The fact that the blade was perfect at the beginning of the shave then developed black tarnish marks by the end of the shave seemed to have escaped some peoples attention.
'The knife maker automatically assumes and makes his mind up straight away that user error has caused the problem and the individual blade is not at fault despite what he is being told? It's a miracle!'
Well a minor miracle anyway
I wouldn't expect anyone to do more than give the blade a good wipe with tissue then strop and store in a dry environment. It's all I do. If having done that there was staining on the blade I wouldn't jump to conclusions about faulty steel though.
This topic is particularly relevant to me as I have a razor here now that I sold very recently (it cost a lot more than a Ralf Aust). After a few weeks of use the customer contacted me to say the blade was badly rusted and he sent me pictures to prove it and... It was bad! It was obvious that the razor had been put away wet and the customer never disputed this, he certainly wasn't blaming me or the steel. I will un-pin it and re-grind it and when it's done it will look like brand new again. This will be done at my cost.
Why am I writing about this? Because I understand that things like this will happen with carbon steel razors and the only way to avoid it is by using stainless steel. That's just life.... Or chemistry.
Well a minor miracle anyway
I wouldn't expect anyone to do more than give the blade a good wipe with tissue then strop and store in a dry environment. It's all I do. If having done that there was staining on the blade I wouldn't jump to conclusions about faulty steel though.
This topic is particularly relevant to me as I have a razor here now that I sold very recently (it cost a lot more than a Ralf Aust). After a few weeks of use the customer contacted me to say the blade was badly rusted and he sent me pictures to prove it and... It was bad! It was obvious that the razor had been put away wet and the customer never disputed this, he certainly wasn't blaming me or the steel. I will un-pin it and re-grind it and when it's done it will look like brand new again. This will be done at my cost.
Why am I writing about this? Because I understand that things like this will happen with carbon steel razors and the only way to avoid it is by using stainless steel. That's just life.... Or chemistry.
Nice of you to do that Mike, out of interest is it just me or do others find stainless steel to give a harsher shave than carbon steel?mikew said:'The knife maker automatically assumes and makes his mind up straight away that user error has caused the problem and the individual blade is not at fault despite what he is being told? It's a miracle!'
Well a minor miracle anyway
I wouldn't expect anyone to do more than give the blade a good wipe with tissue then strop and store in a dry environment. It's all I do. If having done that there was staining on the blade I wouldn't jump to conclusions about faulty steel though.
This topic is particularly relevant to me as I have a razor here now that I sold very recently (it cost a lot more than a Ralf Aust). After a few weeks of use the customer contacted me to say the blade was badly rusted and he sent me pictures to prove it and... It was bad! It was obvious that the razor had been put away wet and the customer never disputed this, he certainly wasn't blaming me or the steel. I will un-pin it and re-grind it and when it's done it will look like brand new again. This will be done at my cost.
Why am I writing about this? Because I understand that things like this will happen with carbon steel razors and the only way to avoid it is by using stainless steel. That's just life.... Or chemistry.
mikew said:
To be fair, Mike the case you have mentioned above is totally different as it's clearly user error (exceptional service from you though).
Based on what Will is saying it really doesn't sound like he is doing anything wrong at all.
To put it into context, I've used your razor about four times. After each use I've stropped it on a towel, dried it with toilet roll, then stropped it on linen and leather about ten times and left it to air dry for a day or so.
Apart from a bit of dried soap it is totally unmarked. Whatever steel you made mine from responds beautifully to the above.
OP
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- #30
I can see people having an issue with my problem if like Mike's customer I have not looked after the razor and yet I still expect to be compensated etc, but like Paul said I have done everything I can to make sure no damage should reasonably come to my new blade but it has.Tall_Paul said:
Like I said originally I only received it 2 weeks ago and Monday evening was only my 3rd shave with it. I just don't know how this has happened and the only other conclusion I can come to if as I know it is nothing I have done to cause this is that it's something with the piece of steel. I don't even have to find an explanation if I'm caring for it properly.
What else can I say and if there is no explanation for it then I feel as a customer who paid full price for a blade advertised without any imperfections then I should at least be able to ask the question ; what is causing this? and how can I reasonably resolve this and if I can't resolve this I should expect a replacement or my money back.
It's not about blaming a vendor or a manufacturer , it's about me being able to enjoy my razor and use it for the purpose it was bought for.
Yes there may well be lots of grey area's of conjecture depending on where you are looking at this from ( manufacturer, vendor etc ) but why should the customer who forked out the cash and has did nothing that could cause this be the one who takes a hit , whether the cause remains a mystery or not.
At the end of the day if you buy something and it can't perform the function it was purchased for or does not meet the standards it was advertised to then I am entitled to a refund or replacement. I'll be using it today so if by the end of the shave this happens again then I'm afraid I'll have to contact the seller to express my concerns.
I bought this razor to enjoy it not to worry about it every time I use it regardless if there are razors out there that cost 10 times what mine did. However by the same token if it is fine then great I can continue to enjoy it because my last shave with it was outstanding. If anyone is still interested I'll post after my shave.
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I have read this thread with interest and from what you have reported cleaning and drying the blade perhaps the problem is acid spotting as it sounds similar to acid spotting which I experienced with my carbon steel kitchen knife.
The first time I used my knife I was cutting up a banana and black spots appeared almost immediately. From speaking to the manufacturer the low acid levels in the banana would have caused this and it is a perfectly natural reaction with carbon steel. The knife manufacturer referred to this as patina and this had nothing to do with water or the drying regime to the knife.
With respect to shaving, most shaving soaps should be alkaline based – I am sure some of our soap maker enthusiasts will confirm/deny. I believe it is alkaline because this will allow the cortex of the hair to absorb water hence softening it and making it larger hence achieving a closer shave. I have been anal enough with my tropical fish PH tester to test TABAC soap which is coming in at just above 9 so the theory holds out. It would also suggest that soap could never cause this acid spotting.
Acids (below PH7) I also believe tend to close the cortex and make the hair smoother and shiny – hair conditioner is quite acidic for the above reasons. Again tested some of the wife's conditioner and it was below 6.
Onto my point, I also tested my alum block which was below 5 and my stypic pencil which to my surprise was really low below 3.
Your water supply could also be quite acidic. I live in Ireland and in the west coast in the peaty areas the water is seriously acidic, well below the national minimum limit of PH6. Again I would only know this through fish keeping.
So onto my point with respect to possible sources of contaminates, do you live in a low PH water area, use alum or styptic pencil in part of your regime.
Not tried it on my own straights to see but may be worth dismissing from the possible list of causes.
The first time I used my knife I was cutting up a banana and black spots appeared almost immediately. From speaking to the manufacturer the low acid levels in the banana would have caused this and it is a perfectly natural reaction with carbon steel. The knife manufacturer referred to this as patina and this had nothing to do with water or the drying regime to the knife.
With respect to shaving, most shaving soaps should be alkaline based – I am sure some of our soap maker enthusiasts will confirm/deny. I believe it is alkaline because this will allow the cortex of the hair to absorb water hence softening it and making it larger hence achieving a closer shave. I have been anal enough with my tropical fish PH tester to test TABAC soap which is coming in at just above 9 so the theory holds out. It would also suggest that soap could never cause this acid spotting.
Acids (below PH7) I also believe tend to close the cortex and make the hair smoother and shiny – hair conditioner is quite acidic for the above reasons. Again tested some of the wife's conditioner and it was below 6.
Onto my point, I also tested my alum block which was below 5 and my stypic pencil which to my surprise was really low below 3.
Your water supply could also be quite acidic. I live in Ireland and in the west coast in the peaty areas the water is seriously acidic, well below the national minimum limit of PH6. Again I would only know this through fish keeping.
So onto my point with respect to possible sources of contaminates, do you live in a low PH water area, use alum or styptic pencil in part of your regime.
Not tried it on my own straights to see but may be worth dismissing from the possible list of causes.
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I have been teetering on the edge of buying a straight for a while now. Glad I have been reading this as I really hadn't understood how much effort there is in keeping your razor in good condition.
I think I'll stick to my mongoose. Use...rinse...stick on shelf until next time!!!
;-) ;-) ;-)
I think I'll stick to my mongoose. Use...rinse...stick on shelf until next time!!!
;-) ;-) ;-)