Thread: stablizing oxidation

Let me apologize in advance for a very green grasshopper kind of question.

If you've got a hollow-ground razor with some scattered black squiggles of oxidation, how do you 'neutralize' or 'stabilize' the oxidation (i.e. stop it from getting worse) without removing all the pitting? In the archive Bill Ellis (aka urleebird) seems to have answered this many times, but when he left SRP he went and changed all his posts to a goodluck-and-goodbye type of message, wiping out a lot of great information.

Oxidation is a progressive thing. Unless you put the razor in a O free environment you can't stop it. You can coat the blade with oil or a protectant but left exposed it will continue. The best bet is get the rust off first with some metal polish like Simichrome or Maas and if that isn't enough cape Cod Polishing Cloths and if that isn't enough its either hand sanding or a dremmel.

I see. I guess the problem I'm having is that when I read old posts like this one from Urleebird –

Originally Posted by urleebird

* Tarnish is discoloration that can be easily removed with a cleaning paste like Maas or Flitz
* Surface Rust is oxidation of the steel that can be removed with less aggressive sandpapers and does not encroach very far into the steel.
* Pitting is when oxidation has penetrated into the steel at depths that require more aggressive abrasives. It can be speckled or all in one spot. Sometimes, very large spots.

Pitting requires extensive work with a variety of abrasives to eliminate it entirely.

Pitting will cause no further harm to the blade if the active oxidation has been removed and has been neutralized. The full depth of the pitting does not have to be removed to be effective. So, you can have pitting, as long as it has been stabilized...

– I understand the distinction between active rust and pitting, but I don't where little black squiggles fit in. I have a couple of ebay full hollows in pretty good shape but with scattered black squiggles, the sort of thing that shows up as corrosion when it gets to the edge. Are you saying that these are this very minute getting worse, and will keep doing so til I sand them out?

I've got quite a few razors that I bought with the black squiggles you mention. I just used some metal polish (autosol) and all seems well so far. On the ones that I couldn't be bothered doing too much work on, I've embraced the oxidation and simply blued them (after cleaning them up first, of course).

James.

Originally Posted by dylandog

Are you saying that these are this very minute getting worse, and will keep doing so til I sand them out?

I'd say yes. This SOUNDS like what Bill described as "when oxidation has penetrated into the steel at depths that require more aggressive abrasives. It can be speckled or all in one spot. Sometimes, very large spots." Without pictures it's hard to tell. If you tried metal polish and nothing happened, then it probably is pitting (underneath the black oxidized steel). If you sand spots like this, sometimes it will open up large or small spots of pitting. You will know when they are cleared out when you keep sanding until they are just "empty pits".

What's worked for me, is to scrape away the rust as best as you can, to get down to the metal underneath. It will be dark under the rust. Then I soak the blade in Naval Jelly for 5-10 min to get down into the pitted areas. Then I polish up the blade with Maas, coat with renaissance wax. Good to go!

Works for me

C utz

Do you use a dremel to get the rust away Chris?

Hey Cutz, this naval jelly sounds pretty promising. I suppose you have to watch out it doesn't come into contact with the scales?

Jimbo, does blueing put a halt to further oxidation?

OK so the cat's out of the bag, y'all can see I'm just being lazy. Basically, I have never minded pitting, patina, or whatever on a razor, if a razor looks its age that's fine with me. But I do want it stabilized, not sitting there corroding in my drawer.

I've used a similar process with a rusted blade (worked quite well). In the gun section of your local department store get a bottle of rust remover (usually by the blueing solution). It's pretty much a thinned down version of Naval Jelly. Mix up some solution in a container, dip the blade in for a little bit (watch it fizz!!!) then rinse rapidly with cool water, as it heats up during the process. Repeat until you get little or no fizz (caused by the iron oxide reacting to the solution).
I've also heard of people using electrolytic processes much like reverse electroplating, (the rust leaves the razor through solution to a sacrificial piece of metal) but I've not done that so far.
John P.

Yep, I use the same stuff that John mentioned. I bought it when I bought the blueing chemical.

James.