How did my blade rust?

So I had a new Dovo that I was using for a few months. After every shave, I would dry it off with a towel, and cover with mineral oil. Eventually, I would apply alcohol before then dry off, then apply the mineral oil. I found that when I did that once, a few days later I saw a huge brown streak on the razor like someone had smeared chocolate/rust colored stuff, but I couldn't get it to come off so I got rid of the razor and am now getting a new one. What happened and how can I prevent it from happening again?

Don't get any water in the handles.

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Originally Posted by Lynn

Don't get any water in the handles.

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I always try to dry out every nook and cranny. Was it the alcohol? excess mineral oil?

Alcohol and mineral oil will not encourage rust at all. I would be willing to bet that you didn't let your razor dry thoroughly before storage. Many of us will let our razors air dry for the day before oiling and storing. Personally, I mostly shave at night so in my case I tissue dry and strop my razor after use and let it air dry overnight; in the morning I apply mineral oil and then put it away for storage.

Hopefully this helps.

Do not get the blade wet, wipe the soap and whiskers off on a washcloth or towel.

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.

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Originally Posted by nun2sharp

Do not get the blade wet, wipe the soap and whiskers off on a washcloth or towel.

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So never rinse off the blade with water?

I just started three months ago but within the first week of having my dovo I had some water spots on it.

I have since stopped rinsing the blade, and I try my best to limit its exposure to water. I shave after I get out of the shower with either a towel around my waist or in my bath robe, so I always dry my hands off completely before I pick up my razor. Prevents rust and makes things a little safer with a more secure grip. I also keep a washcloth to wipe the blade on, just lightly enough to take the bulk of the lather off but avoid the edge. I also always put my razor down on a dry area of the washcloth to make sure I dont bump the blade on something less forgiving like my countertop or faucet!

Generally I give my blades a good wipe down with mineral oil and I try to rub it in pretty well with my fingers all over. Mineral oil is actually a good polishing agent so it keeps my blades nice and clean!

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. :rock:

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Originally Posted by Westminster

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. :rock:

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I also use an oiled cloth after I dry my razor. But after the oil I run a dry piece over the blade to remove excess.

As for your rust spot, there is no need to get a new razor if you do not want to. My first razor was a Dovo as well, and after about a month of use I noticed some discoloration where I place my fingers (I wasn't drying the razor properly nor wiping off my finger prints). I treated it by applying a thin layer of oil and using super fine 0000 steel wool. The discoloration has not returned because I now keep better care of my blades. If you are like myself and are bothered by the tiny scratches that steel wool leaves, then you can always polish down the blade.

If you are afraid you may damage the blade there is always the option of sending it off to be treated by a professional. Just don't box it up and hide it away. Rust will take over the blade if you don't keep an eye on it.

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Originally Posted by EucrisBoy

So I had a new Dovo that I was using for a few months. After every shave, I would dry it off with a towel, and cover with mineral oil. Eventually, I would apply alcohol before then dry off, then apply the mineral oil. I found that when I did that once, a few days later I saw a huge brown streak on the razor like someone had smeared chocolate/rust colored stuff, but I couldn't get it to come off so I got rid of the razor and am now getting a new one. What happened and how can I prevent it from happening again?

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"got rid of the razor"? What the ...

I live in foggy damp salt laden San Francisco, and all I do is wipe off with
mineral oil, including the inside of the scales, and have never had any rust,
even on my TI's which are known to be rust prone. I think your not wiping
the inside of the scales good enough.

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Originally Posted by EucrisBoy

So I had a new Dovo that I was using for a few months. After every shave, I would dry it off with a towel, and cover with mineral oil. Eventually, I would apply alcohol before then dry off, then apply the mineral oil. I found that when I did that once, a few days later I saw a huge brown streak on the razor like someone had smeared chocolate/rust colored stuff, but I couldn't get it to come off so I got rid of the razor and am now getting a new one. What happened and how can I prevent it from happening again?

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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.
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b3...e/mostands.jpg

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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.

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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....

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Originally Posted by EucrisBoy

So never rinse off the blade with water?

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Nope, not ever.

Simply wipe the soap and whiskers off on a dry cloth.

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Originally Posted by nun2sharp

Nope, not ever.

Simply wipe the soap and whiskers off on a dry cloth.

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Just a thought but,may be enough animal fat content in tallow soaps to act as a rust enhibitor,Interesting.

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Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Just a thought but,may be enough animal fat content in tallow soaps to act as a rust enhibitor,Interesting.

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There may be some truth to that, but my point is that if the blade does not get wet you dont have to worry so much. Keep it away from the faucet and you will also avoid the dings that inevitably happen.

Watch out for alcohol.
Alcohol will remove oil and expose the
steel to oxygen.

When the shave is done, rinse in hot
water and wipe with clean tissue or
a clean towel. Watch out for water
that gets caught between the scales.
If there is any use a fold of tissue to
get it out from between.

Many old razors have a bad spot
of corrosion where the razor touches
the scales near the toe. This is because
water gets caught there and over time
corrosion develops.

Lightly oil with special attention
to the pivot.

Alcohol pulls water out of the air,
it cleans oil from steel and other than
the disinfectant component has
little value and needs to be wiped
off before oil is applied. Adding oil
before the alcohol is 100% gone might
trap alcohol and moisture under the
oil.

I am a big fan of letting a light patina develop.
I will wipe and dry my blades with common
tissue after shaving. I will use a water displacement
spray and then light oil after honing and before
storage. Should the patina get too thick I use
MAAS or Simichrome to brighten up my steel
should it get too dull.

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Originally Posted by EucrisBoy

Eventually, I would apply alcohol before then dry off, then apply the mineral oil. I found that when I did that once, a few days later I saw a huge brown streak on the razor like someone had smeared chocolate/rust colored stuff, but I couldn't get it to come off so I got rid of the razor and am now getting a new one. What happened and how can I prevent it from happening again?

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As has been mentioned alcohol contains & attracts water. A bottle of 90% alcohol contains approx. 10% water. That razor was simply not as dry as you thought.
Also, some carbon steels rust quicker than others. Limiting water contact during the shave as Nun2 suggested may also help.

Can I have your next rusty razor??

Reread what Ray said. Both fingerprints and alcohol are corrosive. Mineral oil is not, but may trap water next to the steel.

Jeff

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Originally Posted by TURNMASTER

Can I have your next rusty razor??

Reread what Ray said. Both fingerprints and alcohol are corrosive. Mineral oil is not, but may trap water next to the steel.

Jeff

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Thanks Jeff,

Some oils are water displacing. That is what the WD in WD-40 stands for. These oils will get between the water and the steel displacing the water. Most simple oils like mineral oil or 3in1 float on top of water and water base liquids trapping them against the steel. That's why it is so important to make sure the steel is completely dry before you oil it. If it is not dry and you oil it whatever moisture is there will be trapped.

Most WD oils I know if are pretty funky compounds and need a solvent to completely remove them. There probably not the kind of stuff you would want to use on a razor.

JMHO,

Ray

I thought I was being careful but had a water stain start on one of my razors between the scales and shank at the pivot. Fortunately, it polished off with a green 3M pad and Flitz. Since that experience, I have been very careful to never let water get onto the razor pivot and shank area and to keep the lather off my fingers holding the razor.

I rinse lather off my blades using hot running water with the blade point always facing downward followed by wiping off water drops and any residue with a towel. When done shaving, I hold the blade under the hot water longer to get it heated and then wipe dry. I carefully inspect the area between the scales and pivot for any possible water drops before leaving the bathroom.

Immediately after leaving the bathroom, I strop my edge on leather about 20 - 30 times and wipe the blade and scales, including between the scales, with a cloth oily with camellia oil. I also keep my pivot oiled with camellia oil. Mineral oil should work fine. I also periodically wax my blades and scales using Renaissance Wax.

So far, no further rust or spotting issues.

Before shaving, I wipe the oily blade with a dry cloth and strop on latigo another 30 passes.

Keeping water out of the pivot and between the scales, and keeping the blade and pivot covered with a protective anti rust coating are the critical factors. Having an effective means of drying the pivot area is important but keeping water out of this area is best. Just like with fine knives and firearms, always wipe off finger prints after handling your razors as skin salts and oils promote rusting.

I store my razors in my bedroom between uses to keep them safe from moist air condensation and children.

Highly rated rust preventative gun oils could give added protection from rust.

HTH

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.

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Originally Posted by xMackx

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?


....

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Thanks for the experiment!

An additional conclusion is that the alcohol cleans the lubrication that
is necessary to pull the steel wire and form the nails.

If you handle a lot of nails you will feel the grease (at least I have).

I have sanded razors with water, alcohol and WD-40.
The alcohol rusts the fastest, the water next and WD-40
keeps the steel bright for a week.

In the case of alcohol I have seen rust form in 10 min.
It is thin and rubs off with MAAS or even oiled tissue.
I never let it stay rusty overnight.

Why alcohol... I wanted the disinfectant property
on a very old nasty crusty blade. I also sanded with
bleach on this crustified blade... talk about rust... OH my.

Well i've started lightly spraying the pivots of the razor's with WD 40 after use now (IN addition to drying and stropping etc)...Hopefully that helps :)

I get water all over my blades. But my tap water comes out at 150 degrees, so, I after I wipe the blade down, I run the water on it until the blade is toasty, and then give it a quick dry on the towels. The heat from the blade drives off the rest of the moisture. Of course, to be sure, I also leave them out in the open possition to dry overnight. (My 7 day rotation consists of 8 blades. One in every slot, and one out drying)
If I dont want to leave an open blade (vising kids of some such) I simply reach for the hair dryer. Low heat, high speed, blow blow blow!

Is light good for preventing rust? Let's say I keep my razors in a display case with glass, will that help to prevent corosion?

Light shouldn't make much difference as it's not normally a photochemical reaction. To the extreme, a quick search brought up this: Photo-Corrosion of Different Metals during Long-Term Exposure to Ultraviolet Light. So you have your answer if you keep your blades under flowing water and blast them with UV :p

On a more serious note, light can harm other materials like some scales over time.

I'm far from an expert, but I always dry my razor with my wifes hair dryer. I can see the water, if any, blow out from the pivot and the heat dries the whole blade nicely.

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Originally Posted by neverbirdie

I'm far from an expert, but I always dry my razor with my wifes hair dryer. I can see the water, if any, blow out from the pivot and the heat dries the whole blade nicely.

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I have thought of doing that, but because I don't have a rust problem, I haven't gotten
around to it. It probably would save time on oiling it, though I would still oil it.

I live in foggy damp salt laden San Francisco, and all I do is wipe off with
mineral oil, including the inside of the scales, and have never had any rust,
even on my TI's which are known to be rust prone. I think your not wiping
the inside of the scales good enough.

Has been said before,is really no reason to get the scales wet at all,or the tang from the blade back for that matter unless you shave in the shower.if getting them wet is the norm for you,make some sort of a stand so that you can leave the blade open to dry out.I really do not understand why this is happining to you.

I must be one of the luckiest guys here. I run my blades on the water. I put them under the faucet and when I'm done I wipe them down with a towel, give them a good stropping and put them away either in the box or in a toothbrush stand on the bathroom counter, and I have never, never had a problem with rust and when my wife takes a shower, it gets steamy in their. When I do put one in for long storage. I give it a light coat of three in one oil. So far no problems.