Thread: The "benefits" of using rust remover

I know the use of harsh chemicals on razors is generally seen as a high risk/low reward scenario at best. I have looked through the forum a bit and found some mixed opinions on what works and what doesn't. I will be getting a Wade and Butcher razor in the mail in the next few days and it has some etching that I would like to preserve. That got me searching through the forum for solutions, and of course I came upon the topic of rust removers.

Before I put down any of my thoughts, I would like to make it known that I would love discussion as well as criticism. I don't pretend to be an expert despite my whopping 100 posts (how humble, I know). I was debating whether or not I should bring this up at all, but I think this quote sums my thoughts up pretty well:

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Guys don't ever just take our word on this stuff try different things yourselves, no telling what you might stumble upon that works....

So, here it goes. I found this post the other night http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...mong-rust.html and it looked like the rust remover gave pretty good results. A friend of mine gave me his grandfather's razor to restore and saying it looks a bit rough is an understatement.




The pictures don't do the razor justice, but it looks like the razor is made of rust. Given that this razor belonged to my friend's (now passed) grandfather, I didn't want to remove the character of the blade if at all possible. I got a prescription bottle and filled it with some rust remover and let the blade soak for a while. I had to flip the blade to cover it all and change the solution a time or two. After some time had passed, I applied some Mothers with some #000 steel wool. The result is below.





Mind you the razor does not look brand new. It does not have a mirror or even a satin finish, though it looks considerably different. The stamp can actually be read now with no difficulty. I don't plan on sanding the blade down due to the extensive pitting as well as the pretty small blade size. Though I can't say for sure that it will hold an edge, the blade doesn't look damaged beyond belief.

From what I read, a lot of people tend to shy away from rust removers due to acid. I used a calcium/lime/rust remover from Zep and I couldn't tell if it was acid based. Given all of the warnings on the bottle though, it is certainly caustic. A forum member mentioned Evapo-Rust from harbor freight to remove rust. The description states that it isn't acidic and I imagine that could make it safer for metals.

I certainly don't think that a chemical based rust remover is the end all problem solver for razor restoration. I personally don't think it should be thrown out entirely though as part of the restoration process as an option.


I am by no means a chemist and am pretty ignorant when it comes to metallurgy and reactions. All of my opinions are based on physical observations, so I could be missing a lot on the molecular level. Again, I really hope to see some opinions and thoughts from senior members as well as people that are familiar with restorations. Thank you all for your time.

Cheers,
Jonah