Rust on a week old razor????

So last week I purchased a 6/8 Dovo Best quality carbon steel razor from SRD, Super fast shipping and came honed within an inch of it's life (great shaver, very happy with it)

But after the 2nd day, I noticed that it took some force to open/close, I just figured maybe the pin was tight and I'd look at it later,

Well tonight I was taking a look, and noticed that the razor is really rusted by the pivot pin inside the scales... how in heck did it rust that fast and how can I fix it? (am I stuck unpinning it to clean?)


My post shave routine is to dry the razor on a towel, leave it open and take the razor OUT of the bathroom while I do my post, After that I run a towel through the scales to get any water out from inside, make sure it's dry completely then strop 20 on canvas and 20 on leather.

Works fine for my other 2 razors, but this one rusted fast...

I love this razor but I'm leary to shave with it now because I saw rust on the shank... Hope I can fix it :(

Thanks

mcgyver74,

Some fine polish such as MAAS, Flitz etc will remove the surface rust. The shank and its surrounds are the areas touched most by the hand - shaving, stropping etc. Give these a good wipe over after your shave.

You could consider using some sort of preservative for your blade; Baby oil (mineral oil) is most cost effective.

I use Sentry Solutions TufGlide on all my razors (a dry film preservative), and this has worked very well for me.

WRT the pivot area, take some flat strip dental floss, and use mineral oil or a small amount of polish and use this to clean off the rust.

You might consider working a drop of oil into the pivot itself; the Dovo Best scales have a raised boss inside at the pivot which should have prevented any moisture from getting too far inside.

After the shave, rinse the blade in very hot water before drying; leave open for ca 1 hour - this should then allow most of the surface water to evaporate.

The Dovo Best is a fine workhorse of a razor; my Best 5/8 half-hollow is a most favourite shaver :)

Good luck !

Have fun !

Best regards

Russ

cool, I'll start looking for some MAAS today,

I am however concerned cause if there is rust there, how do I know there isn't on the edge...guess I need to get a loup and look

I love this razor, it shaves VERY nice, just sad that it's rusting this fast when my others aren't

just a quick FYI, you should be able to find MAAS at your neighborhood Ace Hardware store. It's normally stocked near the polishes and cleaners and its about $5.

Thanks.

Just need to figure out how to check the blade edge, last thing I want is to accidentally nick myself with a rusty blade :(

Don't get any water in the scales or pivot pin. Only rinse or wipe the blade when shaving. No matter how hard people try to dry a razor after getting water in the scales, it is so difficult to get it all and will usually result in some staining or early rust.

It's always a good practice after shaving, to let the razor stay out and open for at least an hour or more if you can to ensure drying. If you can't leave it out that long some canned air can be used to blow out any moisture. Also don't keep your razors in a humid environment like a bathroom or basement.

A drop of oil on the pivot pin can be good insurance against rust. Being a wet-shaving device, sooner or later water is likely to get in the scales or on the pivot regardless of how careful one tries to be. And personally, I get water on the blade every darn time I shave. ;)

Thanks everyone,

I am going to try maas with some dental floss to see if I can get rid of the rust or if I am going to have to unpin it (I hope not)

Still, I am stunned at the speed it rusted (2 days at most) Need to pick up mass and Oil tonight :(

Or you can move to Arizona, pretty hard to rust your razors here. Unless you keep them by the shower....never do that....just saying.

Sadly thanks to the collapse of the real estate market I'm stuck in NYC for the next bazillion years :(

It could be worse you could be stuck in NYC...wait, you said you are in NYC....embarrassing

Could be worse, I could be in Florida :)

I agree that if you can avoid getting water anywhere except the blade when shaving, that is your best bet. However if you are like me that is almost impossible - I get water and lather everywhere, I don't know why. Anyway, I've always had good success with the pivot pins and rust by squirting a tiny bit of WD40 in there.

James.

Funny thing is, I tried a little WD40 and the razor freed up and pivots easily now..... MAybe I should treat all my razors like that :)

Hi McGyver,

I was similarly shocked to see rust on my costly Wackers within hours. It really is that hard to completely dry them. The oil on the pivot seems a good idea. To clean the area, I'll spray a little Honda spray cleaner and polish (from the motorcycle shop). Wipe what I can w/ a cloth wrapped over a popcycle stick or q-tip.

If you get this on the blade face, one of Robert William's trick is to use the erasor of a pencil to rub the blade w/ Maas. 'Works pretty well.

The tip about the dental floss sounds great!

I've seen this problem pop up a few times with new Dovos, mine included. They rust pretty easy around the pin if stored with any water near there. My problem was I put it back in it's case too soon after shaving.

I try not to get my razor wet at all. I wipe the blade on a paper towel as I'm going then at the end of the shave dunk the blade and tang/pivot pin area in 91% alcohol, dry and do a final strop and I've got no rust issues happening. Unfortunately for me I live in Florida, with humidity everywhere.

I never thought of using the Honda line polish (I think I have a can of it somewhere, if not I know I have a can of plexus.... wonder if that would work) at the very least it would polish the scales real purdy.

I took some floss to it and got some of the rust out, I will try to keep hitting them with WD40 to keep the pivots from rusting again, but from now on I'm going to leave them open to try out after shaving (yes I will dry as much as I can before hand :) ) and hit them with WD every day, hopefully this is a thing of the past.


But what I find really weird, is that it is ONLY happening with my new Dovo, my Theirs Issard 5/8 and my Goldenrod 4/8 all have been stored in the bathroom with no signs of rust, I only had the Dovo for a few days when it started to tighten up (rust) could Dovo be using inferior metals in their lower end line razors? I've been eyeing their Prima Klang for a while now but if Dovo uses lesser metals I'd think again....

+1 on the tuf-glide. I have put a drop or two of mineral oil (not for babies (scented)) in the pivot before working on an eBetray special. Steel wool + polish work, good clean, quick thorough dry (like paper towel scraps) and tuf-glide. I've kept off tuf-glide before honing but thinking of putting it on before taking them to the hones and seeing if there's a difference. (I like drying them when I flip over to microscope analysis mode.)

Hey, mcgruber74, I hope you're not going to get all weird over gray water spots forming on your shiny pretty brand-new razor. I've developed a nice little story of lather water formations from a few months of 30-40 minute shaving sessions. Doesn't bother me a bit. Tarnish is its history. You get to start new with it.

LOL nope the water spots don't bother me in the least, neither does Tarnish, I am not looking at these as collectors items, I am looking at them as daily shavers. Tarnish is ok, I do draw the line at Rust tho :)

wow great thread just had a little freak out earlier with of course a Dovo Best Quality 6/8 half hallow. My First razor that I have barely had over a month plus I live in Florida....(sigh). I had this image in my head of sending my razor to be honed by Lynn only for him to see it and shake his head at my neglect.