Thread: Stainless Steel or Carbon Steel

I know Carbon Steel straight razors are more common than Stainless Steel straight razors because they're easier to sharpen. I was wondering though, how much harder is it to sharpen a Stainless Steel razor? Also, if I get a Stainless Steel straight, do I need to oil it as often? I heard oiling a Carbon Steel razor once after each use is best. Would I need to oil it that often with Stainless Steel?

Thanks!

Some stainless razors seem more difficult to hone than others for me, but the same is true of carbon razors. I'm not sure at all that ease of honing is the reason there are more carbon blades. More than likely stainless just came along toward the end of the popularity of the straight razor.
As far as oiling, it depends upon local humidity. I don't think guys in Wyoming have as much to worry about as someone in southern Mississippi. Also, how often the razor is used is a consideration. I don't oil any of my razors that are in rotation.

I really don't think that stainless blades take much more work than their carbon cousins. I've had several Friodur's, & they all honed up like a dream. Sometimes they seem to like a few more laps over the finisher, but it's certainly nothing to be intimidated by.
Stainless razors are just that. They stain less, but can still suffer in an adverse environment. I've never had a problem with mine & there's not a mark on my most used Friodur, despite being forgotten in a humid bathroom overnight! I never oil any, carbon or stainless, but I'm in England. I guess it depends on your location, as Hawkeye5 suggests.

I never oil my stainless steel. Just dry it off well and let it air dry. My carbon OTOH I do oil. At first I didn't oil them, I was using some older carbon blades that weren't real shiny anyway. Then I purchased a couple new razors. I wiped them off well with a Kleenex and left them open to air dry. I noticed a few days later some brown spots beginning to appear. A quick flitz polish took care of that, and now I oil.

I suspect you could forgo the oil and see what happens. It's easy enough to shine the blades back up if you see spots forming. If you see spots, oil, if you don't, you won't have to.

My experience with stainless steel razors is that they hone about the same as any razor. The grind (wedge, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and full hollow) and the width of the bevel (which is correlated to the grind and the honing history of the razor) makes for much bigger differences in honing than the type of steel. Stainless steel is supposed to be more abrasion resistant than many carbon steel alloys, but at the same time it can't be hardened to the same levels as most carbon steel razors. The former might be compensating the latter. Either way, I never had a need for special hones or procedures when honing stainless blades as opposed to regular carbon steel ones.

I oil my stainless steel blades, just like I oil the rest of them. Stainless steel does corrode, albeit far less than non stainless steel. Still, the extremely thin apex of the very edge does not need much micro-corrosion to loose definition. I'm in the habit of oiling my razors after the shave anyway, so I don't really bother with making an exception for the stainless ones.

Best regards,
Bart.

I have a pretty big rotation so I oil mine all the time. If I only had a couple I probably wouldn't but I live in New Mexico so humidity isn't a problem. If I was in Florida I probably would though.

I usually find most stainless requires a few more trips on the hone but not really that many. I've honed some carbon steel razors that took alot more time than stainless models.

Originally Posted by frustratedSRuser

I know Carbon Steel straight razors are more common than Stainless Steel straight razors because they're easier to sharpen. I was wondering though, how much harder is it to sharpen a Stainless Steel razor? Also, if I get a Stainless Steel straight, do I need to oil it as often? I heard oiling a Carbon Steel razor once after each use is best. Would I need to oil it that often with Stainless Steel?

Thanks!

Hi there FSUser!

I've got three razors one full hollow and a half hollow from carbon steel and a half hollow stainless. The edge maintenance reqs of the stainless are on par with its carbon steel brother. The main difference is the cutting edge is a bit more durable and less susceptible to jostling and of course water. Aside from that, the stainless seems to hold a basic level of sharpness, like what you might get before you move to a polishing stone, longer but the peak sharpness declines a tad faster. So it seems to do better with regular touch ups.

Lastly, I've lived in a wide variety of climates: from the mangrove forests of south east asia to the concrete jungle of New York and my stainless is just that, all with out any extra TLC.

Cheers!

Don't forget that what we refer to as stainless steel is actually high carbon stain resistant steel. As far as I can acertain all modern "stainless" razors are cryo hardened 440C which is an excellent knife/razor steel.

I do nothing different when honing a stainless razor than when honing a carbon steel razor. Some carbon steel razors are a good bit harder than stainless ones - it all depends on the hardening/tempering process and how hard they have chosen to leave them.

I've yet to hone as all I've been doing is stropping but here's what Lynn had to say about that:


The only real variation to the pyramid that I do is toward the end of the process on stainless razors or the newer harder feeling type steel razors. The variation starts at the 3 stroke level.

3 Strokes on 4K
5 Strokes on 8K
1 Stroke on 4K
5 Strokes on 8K
1 Stroke on 4K
7 Strokes on 8K

I find that these razors do better with more polishing strokes.
The pretty much sums up the pyramid method that I use. With a little practice, this is a very consistent and repeatable process and once learned can really lay the foundation for experimenting with various other honing techniques.

Pyramid Honing - Straight Razor Place Forums

Here's everything at Wiki

My stainless steel razors hone just as easy, last longer, and shave better than my carbon steel razors, although carbon steel feels smoother on the skin. Is there any non-custom razor better than a Friodur?

It's ironic, because stainless steel razors are made out of 440C which in theory is the worst steel possible for razors due to large grain size. 13C26 "razor steel" would be better, it is much more fine-grained than 440C and can reach hardnesses up to 63 hrc. The Friodur at 57 hrc already outlasts the carbon razors between hones.

Bottom line, the reason why I prefer stainless is not because they are lower maintaince or because they last longer between stropping/honing, but because they shave better.