Thread: Edge corrosion?

I have a razor (carbon steel blade) which has been
giving me good shaves for years, but which suddenly
"went bad": pulling, tugging, wouldn't cut, etc. So I
gave it a few laps on a Swaty and had a look at the edge
with a magnifying glass.

There appear to be several very tiny pits near...but not
on...the edge.

I tried to shave with it again, and the edge worked fine,
but only for about 1/4 of the shave...then it went south
again.

So I touched it up again, etc. Same thing happened.
I'm suspecting that those tiny pits are a sign of edge
corrosion, and that the blade just won't hold an edge
anymore.

My questions are: do the pits indicate a "deeper"
problem? Does the apparent corrosion extend beyond
what is visible?

And how far back would I have to hone the edge to
cure this problem? How far back is the "good steel"
likely to be?

Sorry, I can't send any pictures, but I sure would
appreciate some help here.

Thanks,
Paul

Originally Posted by PaulKidd

I have a razor (carbon steel blade) which has been
giving me good shaves for years, but which suddenly
"went bad": pulling, tugging, wouldn't cut, etc. So I
gave it a few laps on a Swaty and had a look at the edge
with a magnifying glass.

There appear to be several very tiny pits near...but not
on...the edge.

I tried to shave with it again, and the edge worked fine,
but only for about 1/4 of the shave...then it went south
again.

So I touched it up again, etc. Same thing happened.
I'm suspecting that those tiny pits are a sign of edge
corrosion, and that the blade just won't hold an edge
anymore.

My questions are: do the pits indicate a "deeper"
problem? Does the apparent corrosion extend beyond
what is visible?

And how far back would I have to hone the edge to
cure this problem? How far back is the "good steel"
likely to be?

Sorry, I can't send any pictures, but I sure would
appreciate some help here.

Thanks,
Paul

The pits probably get closer to the edge than you think, and your edge may be crumbling. You will need to get through all of the pits down to clean steel or you'll probably keep having issues. Here is a link, I hope it helps some.

*shameless I know )* Honing: Troubleshooting Guide - Straight Razor Place Wiki click on the picture with pits and it will go full size.

You can think of those pits as small bubbles in the steel. When they are deep in the bevel and are buried, they don't affect the edge. As honing reaches them, that bubble is open to the edge and results in a small chip in the edge. That chip can grow along the edge and it certainly can lead to an uncomfortable shave.

As already stated, all you can do is hone through the bad region. Keep going with setting a new bevel until you reach good steel.

A jeweler's loupe may be helpful with your edge, or bevel. Hopefully, you can hone out the problem as previously mentioned. Break out your 1k, or bevel setter, reset the bevel, and finish the edge. Check periodically with the loupe, and see how the bevel looks, make sure it's clean...You may want to use tape if your going to be doing some extensive work..but that's up to you...

And after you get the edge sorted out keep that blade oiled after use. Your climate may well be a contributing factor necessitating extra care with carbon steel.

I'm getting nowhere with this one. I have neither the
equipment nor the experience to deal with this.

Whatever I'm doing is not solving the problem, so this
razor is going to Glen for evaluation and (hopefully)
repair.

Thanks for all the advise! This one is my old faithful,
so I don't want to destroy it for lack of...you name it.

Malo aupito,
Paul

Hey Paul,Hope you get this poor blade back to health soon eh? It'll be okay I'm sure. How's life on Tonga ?? Good luck m'friend.

Originally Posted by Nightblade

Hey Paul,Hope you get this poor blade back to health soon eh? It'll be okay I'm sure. How's life on Tonga ?? Good luck m'friend.

+1


Mick

Thanks for that, friends. I don't have a full set of razor
hones. What I have is mostly for sharpening knives and
fish hooks.

Fortunately, I got another razor a week or so ago...and
a nice one too...so at least I won't have to revert to
rubbish razors for my morning shave!

Mick, BTW....my new razor (Friodur Inox 7/8) has been
getting the roo treatment, exclusively, since I got it.
No worries whatsoever, mate!

Paul

Glad to hear that Paul. You should get some hones too, since you've chosen to live miles away from the rest of us. I thought you would have been totally self sufficient in that regard by now...


Mick