Thread: POTATO TEST

Originally Posted by gssixgun

I am interested in see this one out as it is that black staining on blades that is tuff.... Rust scrapes right off, and pitting requires grinding, period....

Now that black staining!!!! if that potato takes that off, I will be impressed...

You must have been posting at the same time as I was, Glen. We share the same sentiments.

I know Bill Ellis would also be very interested in a magic oxidation remover. I talked with him last year and he said in all the years he's been making and working with blades, he's never found anything other than sanding to wipe away the black staining/oxidation.

Chris L

Originally Posted by ChrisL

I'm all for experimenting, that's most of the fun, IMO. I'll be interested to see how this turns out.

I must say I'm not skeptical that it will loosen rust. I am skeptical that it will result with some rubbing of a semi-abrasive pad, for example, in removing oxidation. Rust is a pain, but it's pretty easy to remove as we know using any number of methods. OXIDATION, OTOH, the bane of all razors that strain to be brilliant, is IME virtually impossible if not impossible to remove without actually sanding it out.

Thanks for doing this experiment.

Chris L

Rust is oxidation.

Black stains, splashes of devil's blood, spit or sick; whatever you want to call it. I'm not referring to rust. I, like Glen am referring to the black staining that doesn't come off a razor unless you sand it off.

Chris L

Me? I'm just here for the potato pictures.

I just think they are so interesting!

Vinegar is a solution made from the fermentation of ethanol (CH3CH2OH), which in turn was previously fermented from sugar. The fermentation of ethanol results in the production of acetic acid (CH3COOH). There are many different types of vinegar, each starting from a different original sugar source (e.g., rice, wine, malt, etc.). The amount of acetic acid in vinegar can vary, typically between 4 to 6% for table vinegar, but up to three times higher (18%) for pickling vinegar.

Rust which is oxidation tends to expand the steel it is rusting. Try the following. Take two pieces of steel of identical thickness. Dip one piece of steel into a salt solution and allow it to rust. Once it is good and rusted, measure each piece with a micrometer. You will find that the rusted piece is now thicker than the piece that was not rusted. Rust expands steel --- at least until you remove some or all of the rust.

I also believe that sanding or otherwise machining the steel is the only way to remove rust and the pitting it causes. I protect my machinist's tools, guns, razors and other items from rust and corrosion by using dessicant packs, TuffGlide, Remington Gun Oil and Camelia oil. Once rust begins, the fun stops. Learn to hate rust.

It is very much like auto body work. You must sand it down to bare metal with progressive grits before you can paint it. Then you can buff the razor with various grits of rouge to polish the freshly sanded blade. You are literally resurfacing the steel. There ain't no other way, dude..........
JERRY

You can certainly remove rust chemically, and there are many products made for this in the car restoration world: Bilt-Hamber Laboratories - Corrosion Removal - Deox-C is a good one.

The pitting it leaves behind is another matter, and the only way to get rid of that is to sand or grind!

After the test.

IMO there is a distinction between what I consider to be RUST (that orange flaky powdery stuff we know as.............RUST) and the black staining that is apparent to anyone who owns vintage razors or new razors like TIs that seem to be prone to black staining.

Personally, I'm not all that interested in breakthrough methods of removing RUST because I think rust is easy to remove as it is, even by manual methods. It's kind of like talking about different ways to remove fresh peanut butter off of a butter knife. Wipe it off, rub it off, wash it off. It comes of easily and when it's gone it's gone.

Now, the the black staining we can call it something other than that, and I wish we would since I don't like that term because I think there should be something more succinct and descriptive, but if oxidation is too broad for others, let's call is something easy and recognizable.

The black staining........is far and away more difficult to remove and therefore is for me personally much more of a concern. It won't come off unless you physically take it off. It's nasty evil stuff. Let's see if these experiments completely and effortlessly remove black stains.

Chris L

Potatoes, salt, and vinegar...
That immediately got me thinking of proper English fish and chips.

Sham, are you going to use potato water, like in the video? Also, are you doing it for one week or two?

Hopefully you're doing this outdoors, as it's going to smell.

Originally Posted by ChrisL

IMO there is a distinction between what I consider to be RUST (that orange flaky powdery stuff we know as.............RUST) and the black staining that is apparent to anyone who owns vintage razors or new razors like TIs that seem to be prone to black staining.

Personally, I'm not all that interested in breakthrough methods of removing RUST because I think rust is easy to remove as it is, even by manual methods. It's kind of like talking about different ways to remove fresh peanut butter off of a butter knife. Wipe it off, rub it off, wash it off. It comes of easily and when it's gone it's gone.

Now, the the black staining we can call it something other than that, and I wish we would since I don't like that term because I think there should be something more succinct and descriptive, but if oxidation is too broad for others, let's call is something easy and recognizable.

The black staining........is far and away more difficult to remove and therefore is for me personally much more of a concern. It won't come off unless you physically take it off. It's nasty evil stuff. Let's see if these experiments completely and effortlessly remove black stains.

Chris L

Chris I am with you here...

I like the term Devil's Tar myself maybe it really is caused from the combination of the saop, skin gunk etc:

But yes +1 with ya, rust is easy, pitting is obvious, but that black tar crap is a pain.... Gooooooooooo Sham !!!!!!!!!!!!!!