Thread: How did my blade rust?

We live in areas with comparable humidity or lack thereof (I lived in the Provo/Orem area for 7 years) and I can tell you I treat my razors with shockingly callous disregard compared to many folks here and I don't have a spot of rust on any of my 60+ blades. I don't mess with any alcohol or oil. I just dry well which includes running a strip of micro-fiber cloth between the scales and blowing out inside the scales and the pivot area with a can of compressed air like you use on your computer. If you miss a drop of water inside the scales it is pretty much the same thing as putting the razor away wet.

Actually alcohol is slightly corrosive it has enough oxygen in it to oxidize steel. I use it as a solvent on my engraving bench. I keep it in Menda dispenser bottles. These Menda bottles are nickel plated steel and I have to replace them about every three years because the alcohol rust them out over time.

Is it possible that some alcohol was on the inner side of the scales and you missed it?

Also the carbonic acid and salt excreted by your pores in your fingers is also corrosive and can cause rust. This varies from person to person and can be affected by diet as well. If you finger printed the steel in that area and then sealed that carbolic acid/salt in with the mineral oil, holding it against the steel that could also do it.

I once got in trouble as a kid in my dad's shop. The evening before he had finished a knife for a customer. He called me into the shop and ask,"Did you touch this?" Of course he already knew I had because my fingerprint was perfectly tarnished into the metal.

There are a lot of possibilities as to the cause of rust on a razor and many many variables. Have you tried any of the silicone base rust preventatives like a lot of folks use on guns? It forms a great barrier coat and can be wipe off before you use the razor.

Ray

Sorta wierd,my user blades,I just rinse with hot water,dry them off with a towel,leave them open for a day or two,they never rust,and I do not own a SS blade.

Hi all I have a small cotton rag with a light socking of gun oil and keep it in a small plastic bag to keep it from drying out, after I have finish with my razor ie rinsed and dried I put it in the airing cupboard then later give the razor a wipe over with the oiled rag.

i bought my first razor over a year ago now and its only within the last two months and with a bit of neglect from me not cleaning between the scales its started to rust, but im now looking at it as a restoration project that will give me some insight into how you repin a razor.

When I rinse my razor while shaving I always make sure the tip is pointed in the sink so I don't get water running towards the scales. After, I dry the blade carefully with a towel and give it about twenty laps on the strop. Then I close it up and put it on the stand in my linen closet. Have yet to have a rust problem.

Even fairly "pure" Alcohol often has a decent amount of water in solution to start with and can pick up water readily; just a guess, after evaporation there could be some water left on the blade surface.

The bottom line is,rinse them off,dry them off,than let them airdry before closing them,make some drying stands of sorts,mine set around for days (no Kids),no issues at all.

Originally Posted by ScienceGuy

Even fairly "pure" Alcohol often has a decent amount of water in solution to start with and can pick up water readily; just a guess, after evaporation there could be some water left on the blade surface.

You can't just dip in alcohol and call it a day. The sequence should be: alcohol dip, dry, air dry and then oil. I skip the daily alcohol dip, and I don't have a spot of rust on any of my razors. Although here in the prairies the air is so dry it could suck the moisture out of sand....

I did an experiment for school (8th grade) with iron nails in differnet liquids. The jars sat for 6 weeks. I thought the tap water, which is our well water run through a Culligan water softener and a cholination set up, would rust the iron nail more than the isopropyl alcohol, but I was wrong.

Why would the alcohol create more rust than tap water?

Answer
Water is what I would describe as a stable compound in terms of its physical properties. Over a pretty wide temperature range (0-100C) there really isn't a lot going on and it stays almost exclusiviely in the liquid phase. Isopropyl alcohol on the other hand is a lot less stable. Even at temperature in the range of the liquid phase, you have quite a bit of evaporation, as I'm sure you could smell. Both compound contain oxygen, so both will cause the nails to rust (oxidize). But due to increased kinetic energy in the alcohol (what is causing this evaporation to happen), chemical reactions are going to happen at an increased rate. Therefore, the alcohol will increase the rate of oxidation, leading to more rust.