Thread: Ahhh! Rust, already??

Originally Posted by gull

My razor gets wet all the time. I really need to do something about that. Although, it's already rusted up near the pivot, so should I just not care? As long as the blade is rust free, I'm good right?

Sorry if I'm hijacking

Technically yes, as long as the actual edge is rust free the razor will shave. But a) rust spreads and b) rust around the pivot will eventually affect the pinning and the razor could start flopping around loosely. Plus it looks terrible.

A rusty car might drive, but you dont walk out onto the driveway and think "Yep, thats the car I want to drive."

What I'd do is unpin the razor and clean all the rust off, then repin and make sure I kept the blade dry.

Rust is not something you want on your razor.

Originally Posted by gull

My razor gets wet all the time. I really need to do something about that. Although, it's already rusted up near the pivot, so should I just not care? As long as the blade is rust free, I'm good right?

Sorry if I'm hijacking

I would strongly suggest that you begin putting a little oil on the pivot point. If you ignore the rust it will only worsen and, ultimately, you could end up with an enlarged pivot hole, which could impact any future attempt to re-scale the razor.

Originally Posted by sffone

I've never had a problem with rust, even though I keep my razors in a humid bathroom. However, while shaving I try to avoid getting the pivot area wet, and I dry the razor thoroughly when finished. Finally, I strop the razor about 50 strokes on a cotton or linen strop, which heats the blade a bit and helps the drying process. I then put it in my razor stand, pivot end up.

Up or down, what difference will it make? I put both my razors in a little home made stand, pivot end down.

Mick

Originally Posted by MickR

Up or down, what difference will it make? I put both my razors in a little home made stand, pivot end down.

Mick

I guess I should not have mentioned that part because the pivot being up or down has nothing to do with the drying process but only with how my razors best fit into my homemade stand.

The key here is keeping the end of the razor you grasp dry while you are using it. Getting the shank, tang, and pivot area wet means you are getting too much water on the razor and getting the water where it doesn't belong. Wet fingers on wet razors mean that you may be unable to control the razor as you should. If the pivot area is getting wet from rinsing the razor at the end of the shave, that is just being over zealous in rinsing and cleaning up. Keep what you hang onto and what you hang on with dry and maybe the problem will go away. Cleaning off the rust at the pivot is another story. Oiling now should prevent further rusting, but getting rid of the existing corrosion requires unpinning, cleaning with abrasives, and repinning.

good luck

Thank you for all of the advice. I greatly appreciate it. How would I go about unpinning / repinning? I don't have the first clue about how or the right way to do this.

Thanks,
-amt

You may be able to clean it with pipe cleaners or q tips, rather than taking it apart...
Worse case scenario, it doesn't work and you eventually have to take it apart...
When you put oil on the pivot pin, it will eventually "gunk up" all kinds of crap, hair, dust etc...cling to the oil and really get's messy, be careful...I'd recommend using canned air to dry it after you use it, rather than oiling it...Or even an alcohol mixture to dry up the water...As the other's said, Don't get it wet.....
Rich

If my razor pivot area does get wet ... as it will from time to time, I always give a quick blow from the hair dryer after a shave before the drop of Camellia Oil on the pivot. I also warm the blade a little, and that will help with evaporating dampness in areas you can't reach. Just be careful ... you don't need to super heat the blade, and don't need a lot of heat on the scales ... just a little. I've been doing this for quite a while with NO effect on my scales so far.

These are not inferior carbon steel, only inferior maintenance.

I have had two of my razors come up with black oxidation. I have since used Tuf-coat mixed with Mineral Oil on a micro-fibre cloth to wipe them, and the Tuf-coat applicator to hit the pivot.

Originally Posted by DrLongandStrong

I am surprised that $100+ straights are made with inferior metal pieces that are not of stainless steel. Manufacturer skimped out on materials in my opinion.

Originally Posted by zib

You may be able to clean it with pipe cleaners or q tips, rather than taking it apart...
Worse case scenario, it doesn't work and you eventually have to take it apart...

Dental floss also works surprisingly well for cleaning the pivot area.