Ahhh! Rust, already??

I have had my Boker King Cutter for only about 2 weeks. Still loving every shave and learning more and more; reading SRP every day.

I just noticed some rust inside the scales around the pivot. Absolutely nothing on the blade and not on the end of the scales, just the pivot. It wasn't super rusty, just a little bit and very light. It wiped right off with some toilet paper. I can still see some bright orange in between the scales and the pivot where I can't get to.

Any advice on hot to clean this short of taking the scales apart? No idea how to do that or put them back together. I have been reading about putting camelia oil or mineral oil on the blade and how it is important to keep the pivot dry. I just read about keeping the pivot dry this afternoon at work and was not concerned with this previously and sure enough tonight when I was shaving I noticed the orange on the pivot, go figure!

Anyways, I am gonna pick up some oil tomorrow and keep some on the pivot. How often should I put it on there? Everyday?... Once a week?...

Thanks,
-amt

I guess it depends, how often do you plan on getting it wet?

Seriously, keeping the pivot dry in the first place is the best way to protect it. Make sure that the hand holding the razor is always dry and don't allow any water to get in that area. Since oil that you put there will pretty much stay there, I would guess you could get by with just once a month.

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.

Quote:

---

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.

---

:gaah:
If you take a look at a few other razors, you will find that many of them are not made of stainless steel and yet still are not considered to be made with inferior metal.

Quote:

---

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.

---

In fact there are people who would not have a stainless and feel that the edge is inferior to a carbon steel razor.:D

Take Care,
Richard

+1 on keeping the razor dry, thats the best way to avoid rust. The only bit that should get wet is the actual blade itself. The shank and scales should stay dry.

Most razors are in fact made with carbon steel, stainless only being a recent addition. The steel is always of the highest quality to ensure the razor holds a good edge. The one thing good razor makers never skimp on is the steel. You might have a razor with gold wash and horn scales, but if the steel is bad it'll be a bad shaver.

Even stainless steel razors will tarnish if they are not kept in the right way, so dont think that you can do what you like with a stainless razor and get away with it..!

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 :o

When i started using a straight i had this trouble, think i was being a bit lazy with my cleaning, now i really give the whole razor a good rub over making sure its al dry, and things are getting better.

[QUOTE=amt;667963Anyways, I am gonna pick up some oil tomorrow and keep some on the pivot. How often should I put it on there? Everyday?... Once a week?...

[/QUOTE]

FWIW --

I put a drop of oil on the pivot after using the razor. Every time. I figure it's cheap insurance.

Charles

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.

Quote:

---

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 :o

---

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.

Quote:

---

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 :o

---

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.

Quote:

---

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

Quote:

---

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.:o

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.

Quote:

---

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.

---

Quote:

---

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.

Haven't been shaving long, but I used compressed air on the entire blade and the pivot area, wipe the blade with mineral oil, then put it back in the box it came in... which now has 3 silica gel packets (the kind you find in shoe boxes and stuff) stuck in the shorter end, arranged so that the tang still fits without hitting them. Haven't seen any corrosion or rust yet, and I've been checking twice a day, just to make sure so I can act quickly if it starts. Seems to be working well.

Oh, and I use an eye dropper for the pivot point itself.

I guess every man cave shave den needs an air compressor!

Quote:

---

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.

---

Spoken by a person who has no idea of the different qualities of steel. There is no one perfect steel for any given task. There is usually a choice that can be made, depending on what you as an individual, are looking for. Every steel has it's pro's and con's, you just need to find the one that suits your needs best.


Mick

P.S I second the dental floss suggestion by Utopian. I do the same thing.