Thread: HELP! Should my razor be rusting this fast?

Originally Posted by Silver2

If you use the alcohol and oil dip, make sure it is 91% alcohol.

That is not necessary. Lower concentrations will still work just fine.

I have some oxidization on one of my blades, grey color, not rust. I don't know how it got there, I'm very diligent when cleaning my straights. This one even gets regular applications of oil. I have heard that very fine steel wool will work to remove this, but that sounds sketchy to me. Is metal polish a better idea? Let me know your thoughts on this.

Originally Posted by Firefighter2

I have some oxidization on one of my blades, grey color, not rust. I don't know how it got there, I'm very diligent when cleaning my straights. This one even gets regular applications of oil. I have heard that very fine steel wool will work to remove this, but that sounds sketchy to me. Is metal polish a better idea? Let me know your thoughts on this.

In my opinion, it would be much safer to start with a metal polish like Maas, Flitz, or Simichrome.

Originally Posted by Utopian

In my opinion, it would be much safer to start with a metal polish like Maas, Flitz, or Simichrome.

I have two questions. Is any of the aforementioned better than the other? And, do they have an expiration date? I have a tube of Flitz that has to be be 15 years old.

Thanks

Originally Posted by Mvcrash

I have two questions. Is any of the aforementioned better than the other? And, do they have an expiration date? I have a tube of Flitz that has to be be 15 years old.

Thanks

I've only used Maas and Flitz. The Flitz was 15-20 years ago and not on razors. I would guess that they all work the same way and nearly equally well.
Here comes another guess--if the stuff in the Flitz tube is still moist, then it is probably fine. If in doubt, try a little on your worst razor and see what happens. I highly doubt that it would transform into anything destructive.

Originally Posted by KennyPowers

Thanks everyone!

I stored the razor in it's case, but not a humid area. It was outside of the bathroom, on my desk.

The inside of the plastic (non-breathing) case was the "humid area". Just a little water, left between the scales, would evaporate, and give a nice damp atmosphere inside the case.

Rust is a bitch. I'm using an anti-corrosion oil ("Corrosion Block") now, on blades and pins, and hoping it works OK. I'll know in a year. There was recently a _long_ discussion of anti-rust compounds here. Search the Forums for "CLP" .

After reading your story, I might drill some ventilation holes in my plastic cases.

Charles

Originally Posted by Firefighter2

I have some oxidization on one of my blades, grey color, not rust. I don't know how it got there, I'm very diligent when cleaning my straights. This one even gets regular applications of oil. I have heard that very fine steel wool will work to remove this, but that sounds sketchy to me. Is metal polish a better idea? Let me know your thoughts on this.

IMHO --

If you use steel wool, you'll leave tiny scratches on the blade. And they'll trap water, and rust.

Preserve as much of the original, mirror-polished blade finish as you can. Flitz is much gentler than steel wool. It will remove most (or all) of the gray "patina", but leave the blade polished.

Charles

I also dip my blades in alcohol. No mineral oil though, I may give it a try. Perhaps a drop or two in the alcohol jar.

No kids in the house, so I leave my razors open over night for drying.

I've only had a problem with one razor. It has been treated and stored exactly the same as the others, but has a tendency to rust near the spine., at least it looks like rust. After I cleaned it up using MAAS the second time I've used oil on it.

As this razor gets exactly the same treatment as my other razors, and it has started to rust in the same place twice, I begin to think there is something about that portion of the blade. If I hadn't had it happen, I would have a difficult time believing this could happen, but I now know it can.

Originally Posted by Glenn24

Well, no...

Hopefully there would be nothing left, or only a negligible amount after wiping.

I'm willing to sacrifice my gorgeous hollywood face for the SRP community to try it. I hope I'm right !!

Ok, I tried WD40. Easy to apply, it's easy to sray the pivot, it seems to protect very well (no corrosion signs after letting the razor sit in a humid bathroom for a few days). But is STINKS. It seems to stick to the metal, it leaves a small film behind when you wipe it off. Which makes me beleive that you'd put WD40 on your strop when you're ready to shave....

So for long term storage, i'd say it could be an interesting product to use. But for a razor you'd use regularly, I'd say forget about it.

BUT, it could be interesting to use in the pivot if ever you spash some water there by accident, you know you'll be removing every little microscopic drop that's there because of the water displacement properties of WD40.

Originally Posted by Hawkeye5

.. .

I've only had a problem with one razor. It has been treated and stored exactly the same as the others, but has a tendency to rust near the spine., at least it looks like rust. After I cleaned it up using MAAS the second time I've used oil on it.

As this razor gets exactly the same treatment as my other razors, and it has started to rust in the same place twice, I begin to think there is something about that portion of the blade. If I hadn't had it happen, I would have a difficult time believing this could happen, but I now know it can.

I suspect a carbon inclusion could have that effect. You'd think that steel is a homogeneous material, but it isn't. The manufacturers try to keep the grains tiny, but nothing's perfect.

Oil should fix the problem.

Charles