(06-11-2022, 06:14 PM)Moriarty Wrote: (06-08-2022, 10:13 AM)Moriarty Wrote: I think copper looks the most beautiful - I love the colour more than bronze - and I enjoy the weight of copper. Obviously the patination or the maintenance needed to keep it new are considerations, but I quite like the colouring as copper patinates.
Here’s my Copper WR1. I absolutely love the gratients of colour as the light catches the curves and facets of the Darwin handle.
And here is the same Copper WR1 with a month of patina. The top cap especially has a good amount of purple and bronze in the mix now. I think it’s a different but equal beauty now - but a big change for one month.
Just thought I should update here about my copper WR1 and note a couple of things I have learned, in case it helps someone….
I let the razor patina a bit longer than above, and the handle was also starting to show a nice reddening. But now I’ve decided to clean it up and remove the patina and it was quick and easy. I’m no expert and my way may not be the best way, but I didn’t want to use anything aggressive that might scratch the surface, so what I did was use some ketchup diluted in water and just rubbing it on with my fingers removed all of the heavy patina right away. Then just a quick rub with a soft jeweller’s cloth removed any residual darkening, and the razor is again like new.
The other thing I learned was that the patination had been accelerated dramatically by me keeping the razor in a leather pouch (with a leather sleeve over the head too so the blade didn’t cut the pouch). The only exposed area (top of the handle) showed pretty much no colouring or oxidation at all, while the rest of the razor had coloured dramatically within a month. The top cap was in constant contact with the leather and that had coloured the most. So you can colour a copper razor fast in a leather pouch if you want, or leave it in the open and it will only patina very, very slowly.
Anyway, here is the same razor again after a quick application of diluted ketchup and then a brief rub with a jeweller’s cloth. I could detail the indentations and between the teeth of the comb better if I spent a little more time to make it factory perfect, but I didn’t bother….