Thread: severe rust after 3 days

Just looking at the rust pattern makes me fairly certain that some aerosol chemical got on it. Would be very interested in seeing a photo of the other side. One thing I am certain of is that this was not caused by oiling or not oiling the blade, or by water on the blade or cell rot - none of those would cause a rust pattern like that. On the other hand, commercial grade bathroom cleaners are caustic as hell and will do exactly this type of damage to carbon steel in a heartbeat. I will be happy to clean it up for you and rehone it free of charge if you would like. At any rate, I don't believe that there is anything intrinsically wrong or defective with your razor and wish you the best of luck in getting it sorted.

Originally Posted by sqzbxr

Just looking at the rust pattern makes me fairly certain that some aerosol chemical got on it. Would be very interested in seeing a photo of the other side. One thing I am certain of is that this was not caused by oiling or not oiling the blade, or by water on the blade or cell rot - none of those would cause a rust pattern like that. On the other hand, commercial grade bathroom cleaners are caustic as hell and will do exactly this type of damage to carbon steel in a heartbeat. I will be happy to clean it up for you and rehone it free of charge if you would like. At any rate, I don't believe that there is anything intrinsically wrong or defective with your razor and wish you the best of luck in getting it sorted.

A wet spine in leather for three days could do that,,, I don't see who would enter his room & remove his razor from the pouch & apply a chemical,,,,

& if chemical got to the razor in the case by accident,,,, lets see the leather case,,,,

sqzbxr, I wanted to say thanks for this kind offer. I think Im gonna try to restore it myself, though. Id like to learn how its done. Also I currently live in Bolivia (although I am American) and it would be some time before I could get it to you anyway. But many thanks for the offer to help!

Originally Posted by sqzbxr

Just looking at the rust pattern makes me fairly certain that some aerosol chemical got on it. Would be very interested in seeing a photo of the other side. One thing I am certain of is that this was not caused by oiling or not oiling the blade, or by water on the blade or cell rot - none of those would cause a rust pattern like that. On the other hand, commercial grade bathroom cleaners are caustic as hell and will do exactly this type of damage to carbon steel in a heartbeat. I will be happy to clean it up for you and rehone it free of charge if you would like. At any rate, I don't believe that there is anything intrinsically wrong or defective with your razor and wish you the best of luck in getting it sorted.

fixable for sure. I'm a newbie, and have purchased about 15 vintage razors to date. almost every one of them looked worse than this, and I shave with all of them. This can certainly be salvaged.

My recommendation would be to ditch the leather case as well. Get yourself a cigar box that has the plastic cigar holders in them. They make perfect slots to rest your straight razors. Any water left on your razor will evaporate and eliminate rusting like this. I've had no issues so far...
I always shave after my shower. After shaving, I use a terry cloth towel to wipe any water off the blade. Set it on my dresser to air dry while I get ready. 10 min later I put it away in the cigar box. By then most all of the water has evaporated. Also, I never dip my scales in water. I don't want any water droplets getting between the scales that could rust my blade. So perhaps this is where your issue lies. If your are dipping your scales in water, and not drying between your scales after each shave, the water in the scales will rust your blade.

MYSTERY SOLVED!!!!
I've had a stuffed up sinus the last couple of weeks. This morning, as I was using my sinus wash bottle, I thought of a comment someone made that that salt was the only thing he could think of that could cause damage this severe this quickly. Sinus wash is a saline solution! Here is what I am certain must have happened:
I shaved, cleaned and oiled the razor and put it away in its case
I used the sinus wash and got some solution on the counter when rinsing the wash bottle
Maid came in later moving stuff around to clean and go the leather case wet with the sinus wash saline solution.
My blade spent the next three days sitting in a leather case wet on one side with salt water.
It was dry and rusted by the time I pulled it out ... the oil had not been enough to protect it from the salt water.

Indeed the leather case does show signs of having been wet on one side. The blade was rusted more on one side, and the grain on the inside of the case explains the rust pattern in general.

So there is really no one or nothing here to blame but me. I have learned a very valuable lesson ... no more leather cases and will now be very careful about the proximity of saline solutions and other chemicals.

Many thanks for all the help here. I screwed up, but at least I know enough now to not repeat the same rookie mistake in the future.

Jeeeez man that is crazy for 3 days! I would think two things and the latter being the most likely. 1st- Did not get fully wiped off of water before oiling; or 2- the oil or whatever you used to coat the blade created the reaction < most likely in my book.

I use mainly Ballistol for my blades. I do use camellia oil from SRD and mainly to do a drop in the hinge area of the razor.

I get water spots sometimes but they are easily fixed with Flitz metal polish and a Q-tip.

That is early or appears to be and can be fixed which is the great news!

Only thing I can think of is you may have been encapsulating the water with the oil? Also, the oil you used may be to blame.
Carbon steel rusts, cheap or expensive. I live in a very humid climate and apply TufGlide to my razors once, then wipe it off.
I do not reapply and have had no rust issues for years.

I dipped a q-tip in a new clean bottle of mineral oil and slathered the blade and pin with it ... then wiped off excess with clean dry tissue.

Originally Posted by sharptonn

Only thing I can think of is you may have been encapsulating the water with the oil? Also, the oil you used may be to blame.
Carbon steel rusts, cheap or expensive. I live in a very humid climate and apply TufGlide to my razors once, then wipe it off.
I do not reapply and have had no rust issues for years.

Welcome aboard,,,,,,,,
Sorry to hear about your problem,,,, get us some good photos of it tonight & we will get you pointed in the right direction & answer some of your specific questions after we see it.

I had three customers come to me to hone their Theirs Issard. All three were new to straights and had a similar problem. I removed any light rust and water spots with 2500 grit wet dry sand paper. Polished with mothers. Honed and left it on the bathroom counter for five days. No rust. I can only guess that you are not getting the razor fully dry. I also recommend not storing in the leather case. Better to have air circulation.