Thread: Corrosion/Rust on Straight Razor

Picked up a all stainless steel straight razor from TAOS about a year ago (in hindsight would not have gotten an all stainless handle now that I think about it). Over time I noticed the end where I place it into the holder has some rust and wanted to see if there was anything I could do to repair/remove it.

Welcome to SRP. You might get lucky and only need some metal polish, semichrome, flitz, maas .... on a paper towel. Be advised that the stuff will also remove gold wash. If it is worse I might do a preliminary rub with 0000 steel wool with some oil on the metal to prevent scratches. Worse than that and you may have to resort to sandpaper and then buffing. Posting a photo would let some of the guys ..... not me ..... ..... who really know what they're talking about advise you.

Demo3019

If I remember good stainless does not rust. It is also not attracted to a magnet. I might be wrong and apologize if I am but this is what I was told many years ago. If I am correct your razor may not be all stainless.

Stainless will rust and corrode - just less quickly than carbon or other steels. Hopefully some of the other metal gurus will join in here, but as I understand it (and I certainly stand to be corrected) there are many different grades of stainless, each with their own degree of corrosion resistance. So I don't think it's quite a question of good vs bad steel, but rather a question of which particular grade was used to make the blade.

+1 to Jimmy's advice above.

Under the right conditions stainless will corrode. It's really rust resistant not proof. I oil coat my razors regardless of the steel they're made from.

Some grades of s/s will corrode fairly quickly _in the absence of oxygen_. For example, around the pin, especially if you leave any water between tang and scales.

The first thing I'd try is "Barkeeper's Friend", or straight oxalic acid (if you can find it). Make a paste, and put it on the rusty section. DO NOT RUB. Leave it on for a few minutes, and rinse it off.

To prevent corrosion, store the razor _dry_ and _oiled_.

. Charles

If memory serves S/S is made by adding chromium to your typical Iron+Carbon steel mixture. The chromium content of the particular steel as well as the carbon content and the way it was processed (among other things) all play into its corrosion resistance.

S/S will rust and will typically leave a very nasty stain once the rust is remove. As stated Barkeeper's Friend works well, but you might still have a beauty mark. Also, S/S can be magnetic depending on the process. If it is cold rolled, the density of the metal can make it react to a magnetic force.

Stainless is really just a term. Nickel Steel on one end of the spectrum and Chrome Steel on the other. Each gives differing qualities depending on the amount of each and the other trace minerals added. Some stainless is highly corrosion resistant and for all practical purposes is rust proof if not technically so.

See attached for a picture of the rust.