Thread: Rust on blade.

I'm just hoping that after 3 years the rust didn't go through the edge.

Doesn't look that bad. I've cleaned up worse in 15 minutes with a cordless dremel on the low setting, a 320 grit purple pad (they're not actually 320 grit but they eat away patina and rust pretty good), and a cotton buffing wheel with chrome ox paste. Shouldn't be too awful to clean up with a little sandpaper. I'd probably start somewhere between 600 grit and 2K, see what it takes to clean up some depending on what method you want to take and how polished you want it.

Honing past the rust at the edge is going to be the hard/time consuming part I would think. Might take a bit of time to get to good steel.

I think the air tight bag is the issue. The rice was a good idea but if it can't breath you will almost inevitably get condensation.

That's rough, you think that you are doing everything right and this is what happens. Oil is always a good idea for long term storage as others have said.

I truly hope that this is not too bad and that you can get it looking pristine again. I'm sure you will, some people get fantastic results from century old razors that haven't been stored properly.

Good luck with this.

Originally Posted by Ymir

No. The blade was wrapped in paper.

What type of paper did you use to wrap your blade?

Razors should only be wrapped in a treated paper that prevents moisture from absorbing into the paper. That includes wax paper, butchers wrap, or silicone treated paper.

Untreated papers will contain somewhere between 5-10% moisture content depending upon the type of paper and the relative humidity level to which the paper has exposed. That is why it is important to oil any blade that is to be stored. Some papers may also contain chemicals (salts or acids) that could prove corrosive to your blade. Most papers today are alkaline sized rather than acid-rosin sized, but some have electrolytes (salts) added so they will work with xerographic copiers and laser printers.