1907 rusty steel with no pitting??

Hi there,

With regards to my previous post: http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...tml#post219556

Well I finally got this set from the friend that was selling them - I bought the whole set, only 6 razors actually so one is somewhere all on it's own...Anyway the thing is, after getting them and looking at how to get the "rust" problem sorted out, I thought I'd try scratching the rust to see how bad the pitting was on these.... and to my astonishment - no pitting whatsoever, almost as if the steel is impenetrable.. the gunky rust patches scraped off very smoothly with my leatherman blade leaving no scratches and only darkened 'stained' spots on the blades...but the steel is like NOS, no hone wear and no pitting at all. Can anyone tell me how this can be, might these be made from some kind of superior steel? they sure feel hefty and have a real smooothness to the full hollow grind. The ivory scales are all pretty messed up - at the wedge end, the ivory looks like it got wet and literally 'curled' awar from the wedge.. So I'm gonna rescale these 6/8 beauties with some nice dark wenge I've got.

Just wanted to tell you guys about this, because honestly I've never seen rust like this leave a perfectly smooth surface beneath it - if anyone can maybe point out why this might be, please let me know..

Also, whats the best way to get rid of these 'dark stains'...? Pretty much look like water spots, its crazy..

Thanks again

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jasper Kade

Also, whats the best way to get rid of these 'dark stains'...? Pretty much look like water spots, its crazy..

Thanks again

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It seems there are different species of "water spots" or oxidation spots. Some report that some versions of those animals come out with anything from lemon juice to tin foil. The splashes or splotches of staining on blades that are most troublesome, the significant oxidation spots I've found are either to be lived with or sanded out. I have pursued but have yet been successful at finding the cure-all for an easy wipe on/wipe off application for the real stubborn oxidation spots. Bill Ellis also told me that in all the years he's worked with steel, he's never found an easy fix for removing those tough oxidation spots.

Chris L

The formation of rust damages steel (oxygen, water), but rust itself doesn't do any damage; it's the byproduct of the chemical reaction and actually protects the steel in that spot. From what I've seen, pitting happens when rust is removed, leaving behind the waterstain discoloration, which really is thousands of very small pits that aren't very deep. Sometimes waterstains are so shallow, they can be removed with some polish like Maas, but most of the time they have to be sanded out.

The key note here: water spots are pits, but they are very tiny and there are a gazillion of them.

Imagine how concrete corrodes during water/ice cycles. Water gets in a small crack, turns to ice which expands, makes the crack bigger, melts. Then water gets in the somewhat larger crack, turns to ice, expands the crack further, repeat, etc.

Steel is the same way. The rust makes tiny tiny tiny pits. If you remove the rust, it gives water molecules a place with tons of nooks, crannies, and essentially more surface area to attack. It's harder and harder for water to evaporate from the pits, so its left behind, rusting further and making the pitting bigger and bigger.

Thanks for the input Chris, I'll probably give them a light restoration sand, since it really looks like thats all they need. I'm really impressed with the quality of this steel though - unlike any of my other razors... you really don't appreciate the different 'grades' of steel I guess until you experience it. Some parts of the razor look like mirror polished stainless steel... I'm really pleased with them :)

Thanks Marosell, really great explanation of the pitting process there.. thanks. These spots will come out nicely with a light sand and a polish. I had a solingen razor that when I got it had rust spots that were half as bad looking as these, yet when sanded away showed deeep pits - basically holes in the razor, that were really unexpected when you looked at it - thats why I'm just so blown away by how unaffected these razors are, so I imagine it really must have a lot to do with the quality of the steel - more information on Steels would really be interesting - I mean, is there like a more 'superior' Sheffield steel than others??

Thanks again guys.

If you remove rust and find huge pits, that means that those spots we're repeatedly cleaned off and re-rusted, then cleaned off, then re-rusted. First waterstained, then minor pits, then bigger pits. I don't think it's an issue of quality, I think you were just lucky that you were able to catch this one before it was used very much.

Most likely, it was only used a couple times, and there was one droplet of moisture on it in that one spot and then it was put away in a dry place for a very long time before you got it.