RUST PREVENTION/REMOVAL

Hello all,

My name is Tom; I'm a college student and new to straight razor shaving. I recently turned 21 in May and received a beautiful Solingen razor - with gold inlay, no less - as a gift from the family. It has become my prized possession. Sadly, rust and patina have already started accumulating on the blade and ridge. Oil and leather from stropping has also left some unwanted residue. After a little research, I started using linseed oil as a countermeasure after shaving, but am unsatisfied with the results. The oil soon dries and leaves a gummy residue of its own. (I have also read that sewing machine oil works wonders, but have not tried it.)

My two questions: 1) how does one remove rust and residue on a decorative blade? 2) How does one prevent the stuff from accumulating in the first place?

Many thanks!

Tom

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pushkin

Hello all,

My two questions: 1) how does one remove rust and residue on a decorative blade? 2) How does one prevent the stuff from accumulating in the first place?

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First, peruse the Workshop forum, they a lot of bandwidth on rust removal.

Here's a recent thread on rust prevention.

Rust prevention is simple: store the razor dry! If you like you can use some oil after shaving (I never do).

Try notto get the sales and pivot pin area wet when shaving. Dry them after use with a towel and lay them in a dry spot. Only put them back in the box after at least a couple of hours (you do not want to trap residual moisture in a box!) Any mineral oil can be used that does not have a low pH (as e.g. vaseline for use on the human skin). Camellia oil is very popular as well (story has it it was already used by samurai to treat their katanas.