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

Hi! My name is Zach, I've been a long time reader, but never posted. After reading about all of the posts about starting to shave with a straight, I started a few months ago. A friend of mine is a barber, and he told me to use a real cheap one with disposable blades in it. I actually, did NOT enjoy using that!
ANYWAYS, my girlfriend bought me this for my birthday.
American Made 2" Strop & Dovo 6/8 "Bismarck" Engravable Bone Razor Heirloom Set

It's the Dovo 6/8 Bismarck straight razor. Obviously I was really excited!
After my first shave, I made sure to dry the razor off, let it sit. About an hour later, I put it in the case it came in. I didn't actually open it for about a week after that. It already had rust on both sides of the blade.

So I have a couple of questions.
I talked to a guy I know, and he said that doesn't sound right, and it could of been imperfections in the steel, before I ever got it.

Or, did I just mess up somewhere?

Is that guy right? Should I talk to Classic Shaving and see? Or, did I just mess up!?
If so, how do I get that rust off? it's not TOO bad, but I hate it!

Thanks!! Just let me know anything you guys can!

The guy is wrong. I'm sorry to say that you messed up. Dovos are high carbon steel and they can rust if not properly protected. No matter how dry you thought it was, there is always a thin coating of water left on the blade. Then you trapped it in the case the razor came in. That thing is close enough to air tight that you created a moisture chamber.

It is much better to leave the razor out in the air to make sure it is completely dry. If you bathroom has high humidity, store the razor outside of it. If you are worried about corrosion, there are lots of oiling/protection options that you can find with a quick search of this site. I do something unusual and dip my blades in isopropyl alcohol containing 0.5% mineral oil. The alcohol dries the blade completely as it evaporates and the oil residue protects the blade.

As far as cleaning up your blade, photos will help you get the best advice. Unfortunately that razor has gold wash so that complicates rust removal. you can use a Q-tip with Maas, Flitz, or a similar metal polish to try to spot remove the rust.

WARNING: Be careful with the metal polish. It will remove the gold wash very quickly.

Originally Posted by Utopian

I do something unusual and dip my blades in isopropyl alcohol containing 0.5% mineral oil. The alcohol dries the blade completely as it evaporates and the oil residue protects the blade.

I'm intrigued, is that something you mix up yourself? Do you dip then wipe, or just let it air dry? Any effects of the alchohol on etching or scale materials? Thanks.

Originally Posted by chay2K

I'm intrigued, is that something you mix up yourself? Do you dip then wipe, or just let it air dry? Any effects of the alchohol on etching or scale materials? Thanks.

Yes, I've been making/using this myself for about 8 years. It's approximately one part mineral oil to two hundred parts alcohol. It takes several days for the oil to dissolve and if you put too much in it won't all dissolve, but that's not a problem--you just shake it like oil and vinegar dressing.

I dip and wipe to remove soap residue, then I dip again and let it air dry with the razor open. Evaporation only takes a couple minutes. I have never seen any ill effect on any etching or metallic part. I don't dip the scales so this does not protect the pivot area. I rely upon not getting that area wet in the first place. I suspect most scale materials would be unaffected but I've never been in the mood to experiment with finding out which they are.

Originally Posted by Utopian

Yes, I've been making/using this myself for about 8 years. It's approximately one part mineral oil to two hundred parts alcohol. It takes several days for the oil to dissolve and if you put too much in it won't all dissolve, but that's not a problem--you just shake it like oil and vinegar dressing.

I dip and wipe to remove soap residue, then I dip again and let it air dry with the razor open. Evaporation only takes a couple minutes. I have never seen any ill effect on any etching or metallic part. I don't dip the scales so this does not protect the pivot area. I rely upon not getting that area wet in the first place. I suspect most scale materials would be unaffected but I've never been in the mood to experiment with finding out which they are.

Cool, I'm gonna give this a whirl. Much thanks for the info.

Kenny, do you have a photo of your razor? My first thought is that you had water and/or lather in the scales, which, when you closed the razor, then got on the blade.

Also, the question about where you store your razor is an important one - if you left it in a humid place, like the bathroom, that could do it too.

Extra protection, like Utopian's method, is never a bad idea, but if you are careful in caring for your razors, it's shouldn't be necessary.

Originally Posted by Utopian

Yes, I've been making/using this myself for about 8 years. It's approximately one part mineral oil to two hundred parts alcohol. It takes several days for the oil to dissolve and if you put too much in it won't all dissolve, but that's not a problem--you just shake it like oil and vinegar dressing.

I dip and wipe to remove soap residue, then I dip again and let it air dry with the razor open. Evaporation only takes a couple minutes. I have never seen any ill effect on any etching or metallic part. I don't dip the scales so this does not protect the pivot area. I rely upon not getting that area wet in the first place. I suspect most scale materials would be unaffected but I've never been in the mood to experiment with finding out which they are.

I was wondering about dipping my razors into alcohol since it is hygroscopic. I never thought to dissolve oil into the alcohol. Makes me wonder about which oil would be best.
Good stuff!!

Does anyone use WD40 ?? The stuff displaces moisture (FYI, WD40 stands for Water Displacement, 40th attempt), it was initially develloped in the 50's as a rust prevention agent for the aerospace industry.

I can't see why it couldn't work to get rid of the microscopic water particles left on a razor after shaving, the initial intent of WD40 WAS to do just that (well, for aircraft, not razors...)

I think i'll give it a try.

Originally Posted by Utopian

Yes, I've been making/using this myself for about 8 years. It's approximately one part mineral oil to two hundred parts alcohol. It takes several days for the oil to dissolve and if you put too much in it won't all dissolve, but that's not a problem--you just shake it like oil and vinegar dressing.

I dip and wipe to remove soap residue, then I dip again and let it air dry with the razor open. Evaporation only takes a couple minutes. I have never seen any ill effect on any etching or metallic part. I don't dip the scales so this does not protect the pivot area. I rely upon not getting that area wet in the first place. I suspect most scale materials would be unaffected but I've never been in the mood to experiment with finding out which they are.

Do you leave the razor open when air drying? I tried camellia oil and it is seaming like the oil is beading and the 70% alcohol is taking a long time to dry. Is my alcohol too old? Is camellia oil that bad for this application?

Thank you,
--Shoki

Originally Posted by Utopian

I do something unusual and dip my blades in isopropyl alcohol containing 0.5% mineral oil. The alcohol dries the blade completely as it evaporates and the oil residue protects the blade.

Some exchange w/ Utopian, to clarify some of the process for making the mineral oil/alch solution. 'Not knowing any better, took home a bottle of plain isopropyl from the supermarket, added plain mineral oil from the health/beauty products section of the same store (labeled as lubricant/laxitive ?) .005 x 32 oz of alch = .16 oz mineral oil to add. Since the thread spoke of anything less than 91% alch/oil should work, I added 1 tablespoon (which is about 1/2oz). 4 days of shaking the jar, I still had the salad dressing look, with oil globules floating. Some was no doubt in solution, but not all. The lovely bride uses denatured alcohol for an alcohol lamp because Isopropyl is usually only 70% alch. The rest is water. Denatured is mostly alch w/ some poisons added to keep folks from trying to drink it or convert to booze. They don't list the percentages, but it's supposedly a much higher concentration of alcohol.

'Took some home tonight from the home improvement section - about $12-13/gal, and a tablespoon with some agitation left zero globules. 'Not being one that knows when to quit, I added a 2nd tablespoon of oil and agitated. Still no globules. That would be 3 & 1/8% oil. I'll quit here.

One big benefit to Utopians method is that he doesn't have to wipe oil from the blade before stropping or use. That's a time saver. I hope the extra tablespoon of oil doesn't change that, or I'll remix with a single tablespoon & call it good.

UPdate:
Now this gets good. I was seeing no globules with the denatured. That's 'cause they were on the bottom, unlike the isopropyl - which were on the top. 'Nice physics experiment. oil floats on water, but alcohol, clearly floats on oil. At least any overage of oil will not get in the way, and as Utopian said - worth case - shake like vinegar and oil salad dressing. This will be interesting to see how this differs in coating the blade from the Isopropyl. Either way, I'd rather not use a solution that's 30% water.