Thread: Beginner in need of some rust removal advice.

Originally Posted by USNHM8404

not the hijackthis thread but I have a similar issue I just had my ti honed by Lynn about 2 weeks ago and it started to rust while I was shaving with it it's not horrible and I understand carbon steel rusts but while shaving with it that seems pretty absurd any ideas what may cause it to rust so fast any ideas are greatly appreciated I have more pics if needed

Rusting while shaving is pretty crazy. Go to your local pet store with a small cup of water and ask them to test it. They will be able to tell you if your water is particularly harsh, acidic, etc. which MAY be the reason you're experiencing this. I don't have a TI, but all of my blades (that I use) are Carbon and don't rust, especially not while I'm shaving.

*Disclaimer: this is not to say that carbon blades don't rust...even Stainless blades WILL rust given time. AND if you wanted to get really technical you might be able to say that every blade rusts as you shave given that moisture, salts, other chemicals, and oxygen are all present as you shave...a perfect recipe for corrosion.

I had one razor that started to rust during honing (but it was not normal honing, there was edge repair going on), but that is the fastest I've ever seen. But that stuff came right off with metal polish. I have found that fast rust is not deep rust (it doesn't have time to move past the very surface), so it comes off really easily. Also, that was red, not black. Black near the edge is much more likely "lather burn" - the basic soap causes black tarnish. This happens if there is some leftover lather left on the razor (hence usually from the edge up) or if lather gets into and is not removed from the scales.

But if that did happen during a single shave (wasn't there before you started and was after), I think some coating on the blade (tuf glide or ren wax are the first two that come to my mind) would be imperative.

Because I use a stereomicrope to aid my honing, I many times have seen rust forming on the bevel during honing. This is why it is critical to strop immediately after honing.

Originally Posted by Utopian

Because I use a stereomicrope to aid my honing, I many times have seen rust forming on the bevel during honing. This is why it is critical to strop immediately after honing.

+1

recall that a leather strop has some strop dressing
on it. A complex mix of oils, waxes and stuff
go into strop dressing and combine with the
minor abrasive action to keep minor rust at
bay on the edge.