Let my straight razor get rust spots...anything i can do?

Hey guys new to the forum so i don't know if this is covered in a sticky or what but im a bit frantic. I must have been groggy yesterday morning and forgot to dry off my carbon steel straight razor. I just woke up to see that its covered in little rust spots were water droplets must have been! I'm totally mortified right now, I was so into my first straight razor and one mistake has turned it into a hideous piece of metal. do you guys know anything about whether i can get the spots out or if the razor is still functional? thanks.

Aslong as the pits aren't on the edge, it should still be perfectly functional.
if there are, it might have to be rehoned if it compromised the cutting edge, and will still be a great razor afterwards :)

as for the cosmetic pitting, you have 3 options.
first one is to try buffing it and see if it looks acceptable to you, second would be to sand them out and then polishing it, third would be to live with them.
avoid powertools, you can and will do far more damage with those than one might think.

if you decide to sand it, have a look at this page:
Hand sanding a blade - Straight Razor Place Wiki

it WILL need to be rehoned after you sand or polish the blade.

I'd try Mother's polish or MAAS before I take to sandpaper and harsher methods. I can't imagine rust from water being so aggressive as to pit the blade in a day or two, so I reckon that this is probably just a superficial stain that won't affect the functionality of the razor.

I have one that developed some red spots and I cleaned it with water and tissue paper. It has black spots where the rust was, but you can't feel it with your finger, and it shaves fine. That's just fine with me and I think it gives it character.

If you feel it's bad enough and don't want to undertake the work yourself, there's a whole bunch of guys here that for very little money will take care of it and hone it for you. Check the vendor's forum under services for a friendly guy near you.

Good luck,



Marcos

I agree that some patina from use adds character, I mean, in the big scheme of things. .... It's a shaving razor! I have a nice collection myself and I don't really go to crazy lengths to protect my blades. I use them, hone them, and laugh at my friends and family while they add another mortgage to their home, buying commercial, environmental monstrosities!

Just a drop of Flitz or Maas on a soft cloth and it will be fine! It was just overnight so it's not like the rust had any time to penetrate.
Relax, clean it or if it's too horrendous to have in your den, send it to me!!! :rofl2:

Da1andOnlyPharo -- You want t take the LEAST aggressive approach possible so start with a little mil polish like Maas and just try cleaning it up. After it's only been spotted 24 hours you should be fine. Stay away from the edge or you will be sending it to be honed, in which case the honer can clean it up for you.

Are you sure they are rust spots and not just water spots with mineral residue? Actually rust is easier to get off. I like to use some Simichrome to get the stuff off.