Thread: Shiney, new blade becoming just new

Heya,

I've owned a brand new MUHLE-Pinsel straight for about a week now and have done next to nothing with it, save for the odd attempt at stropping on an old belt (until the strop arrives) and a couple of failed hanging hair tests. I also rinsed the blade exactly once, dried it well and put it aside on my washroom shelf. This morning I looked at it this morning and there was a fair amount of rust on the tang, where it meets the scales, as well as a dot of rust on the side of the blade. All of it wiped off easily enough, but under the spot on the blade, there remained a black dot that I imagine is what the more learned refer to as pitting. Am I wrong to think that a new, essentially unused razor shouldn't be doing this?

Let me just say here that this isn't a slag of the MUHLE-Pinsel quality. My experiences with their brushes and soaps have been top-notch.

Thanks...

Washroom shelf -- there's your answer. Carbon steel blades should be kept in a DRY location. The steam from the shower will make your blade rust up.

Or keep them in a wooden cigar box like I do. For some raeson it works really well.