Thread: Is it dangerous to still shave with this problem?

I made a huge mistake after shaving! I was in a rush a few weeks and left my razor out on my sink counter sitting in a puddle of water. When I came back home I noticed it had rust on it!!! heres a photo



I was told to use Maas on it but I haven't gotten a chance to get some and i've been afraid to shave with it cuz of the rust but its been like 3 weeks since ive used my str8 razor and i hate not using it. Can i still use it even tho its not polished off or is it dangerous?

Without getting into technical jargon etc: Yes is could be dangerous..
Clean it off first, pick up a pack of Wet-r-Dry (220-600) sandpaper at the hardware store and shine that puppy back up... You do understand that you are going to have to re-hone it too ,,, right???

I'm fairly new here and the picture is a little hard to judge how bad that rust is or if it's just patina but take a look at The Rustiques thread for comparison to what you have.
Sorry I don't know how to link directly to that thread but you can search it.
Also I have heard that baking soda is good for polishing razors And is easy to find and VERY cheap but double check that, As I said I'm new hear and wouldn't want to mislead you.

Hey Glen....220, really? I'm hoping that you made a grammatical error here, 220 seems WAY to course for just a couple spots, no? I'll take your word on it since your knowledge of razors far exceeds mine.

No yer right actually, but I can't tell how bad the rust is from the pic, that stuff on the spine could be deep,....
Plus most of those variety packs come in that range, so he has everything he needs, if it is real light then the 600 will be all he needs if he finds pits under there already, he has heavier stuff ... I should not have assumed that he knows to start with the highest grit necessary to get it done... The 600 should about match the polish on that one, BTW to the op is that a Gold Dollar or a Double Arrow??????

I read weeks not days... so I am assuming there may be pits under that already

Usually if the exposure to water is brief the rust is very thin and metal polish will take it off. If that doesn't work then you can use more serious stuff.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Without getting into technical jargon etc: Yes is could be dangerous..
Clean it off first, pick up a pack of Wet-r-Dry (220-600) sandpaper at the hardware store and shine that puppy back up... You do understand that you are going to have to re-hone it too ,,, right???

Glen,

Why would it be dangerous to shave with a razor that has 1-2 rust spots? Metallurgical or health reasons? I'm curious and would like to know.

Thanks in advance for your reply.

The cleaner the steel is the less that can hide on it, it is pretty much just that simple...

I try and stay away from the conversation, because so many people believe that patina and slight amounts of rust add to the allure of the razor. That is each person's choice, but by my choice, I don't put rusty sharp steel against my throat.... Keep in mind I ain't a bug-o-phobe either, but why even take a chance when you can clean them up so easy....

I self-deleted my first reply... tired from work and it ended up sounding harsh.
Seriously, I'd strop that baby up and shave, see how it acts. Later on, maybe rub the spots with a little toothpaste or baking soda, see if it cleans up enough without getting drastic.

Originally Posted by FreezeKitty

I made a huge mistake after shaving! I was in a rush a few weeks and left my razor out on my sink counter sitting in a puddle of water. When I came back home I noticed it had rust on it!!! heres a photo
....snip...
I was told to use Maas on it but I haven't gotten a chance to get some and i've been afraid to shave with it cuz of the rust but its been like 3 weeks since ive used my str8 razor and i hate not using it. Can i still use it even tho its not polished off or is it dangerous?

Since it is your razor and your sink counter the risks are minimized.

You do want to rub them out promptly so the pitting/ rust does
not progress further.

Start with as fine an abrasive that you can get that will
do the job. In many cases MAAS or other metal polish will
do the trick. If not step up to a fine wet dry paper at about
2000. 2000 grit Wet Dry paper from 3M at most auto stores
should get you down to bright metal in no time.

Since I have no power tools I start with 2K wet dry about two
postage stamps in size folded into a pinch pad. If 2K does
not get me to bright metal then I jump to a coarser grit.

I do this because if I start with 200 grit I am committed
to all the grit sizes from 200 down to 2000 and then polish.

If I had a line of power buffers I would just buff it out.

A small tube of MAAS or Happich Simichrome Polish
is a good, almost required investment. Right up there
with a small jar of mineral oil. Excepting gold wash,
half a drop on a pinch of tissue or cotton swab will
keep old steel in fine polish.