P.H. and Your Stainless Razor

I have been thinking about writing on this subject for some time. So no one thinks I am throwing this off the top of my head I have included as many sources as possible. I hope you all find this (and the research) useful. Please excuse my long windedness.

As a musician pretty much all of my life I have come to play or come in contact with many instruments; in this case it is the metal stringed ones to which I refer—electric guitar comes foremost to mind. Guitarists are in a constant war with upholding the brilliant sound of a new set of strings and several factors are at odds with maintaining this. I won't discuss them all, but the biggest factor, the one that can take down your strings in one day is moisture. Already one should see where this is heading. As with a razor moisture can come through humidity in the air (though unlike a razor, guitars are not usually submerged directly in water), but also from direct contact with our fingers and hands. This is where the problem lies. The chemical makeup of skin is (an many of you no doubt understand) alkaline, a mixture (or balance) of mainly water, oils, and acids. We're just big walking batteries, or swimming pools, and we each have a P.H. that fluctuates. I really became most aware of this in regards to strings and razors about four years ago when a fellow musician was telling me how he can go through a set of strings in a couple days and that he had asked his doctor about it. He was tested, and the doctor informed him that he had a very high alkaline content. I offered an old luthier and guitar repairman's trick—to try using lemon oil on the strings and fret board directly after each use. Problem solved. I have since noted several other cases of the same.

When I started using a straight I was immediately concerned with keeping those fingerprints off my blades, along with any rust. Recently I decided to do some research to better understand the connection between our P.H. and staining & rust in metals. I learned that there is a particularly bad chemistry between acids and stainless steel. Thought you would like to know.

So, this is why I always oil my straights directly after drying them following each use. I oil them by putting a little baby oil on my forefinger and thumb and sliding it along the blade. At the blade itself I slide my finger from spine to blade edge. I only coat with a thin film. I never let my finger stop on the metal—this would leave a fingerprint, in the valleys left between the fingerprint lines is the first part that will dry out, leaving a fingerprint stain. Of course I make sure to wash my hands before doing all this because that will remove any acids on your skin's surface. This will probably be unnecessary if you just came out of the shower and had prepped your face with shaving soaps: yet still, if anyone is struggling with quickly staining blades, a high P.H. may be the culprit, and washing could help the problem. I'll not get into metals that are more prone to staining by their own makeups.

This information pertains mainly to Stainless as I learned that there is particular chemical reaction, but as you will see, high carbons are susceptible as well.

So here are some links I found in my research. Some of the information is general, or scientific, and some directed toward guitar:

Acid Corrosion of Steel - Industrial & Engineering Chemistry (ACS Publications)
Stainless steels - Google Books
Guitar Strings Care | Guitar String Maintenance | Guitar Strings
Guitar Strings Last Longer With Proper Care
Understanding Your Skin: pH level and the Acid Mantle
Skin Biology
The Hendrix Group - TFAQ - Citric Acid corrosion of mild steel piping
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strings_(music)
http://www.yinyangskinscience.com/20...m-skin-health/

Great write-up.
Very interesting read, thank you!!

Blood and all other physiological fluids are dilute salt solutions (Sodium/Potassium chloride), so we are big sacks of salt water... literally, the salt concentration of sea water is just a little bit more that the concentrations in our bodies.

Sodium is the major cation outside of our cells and Potassium is the major cation inside of our cells. Chloride is the major anion in our body. When either potassium or sodium is combined with chloride, you get a salt.

Chlorides are the most detrimental corrosive-aiding ion to metals, next are oxides. The chlorides don't do the damage directly to the metal. Chloride is an extremely active and soluble ion, and it is absolutely obliged to bond with any oxygen it can get it's grubby little valence shell close to. So essentially the chlorides pick clean those passive oxide layers that form at the surface of the steel, making room for more oxides to join in the fun.

None of this happens without moisture. Keep your razor clean, dry (or oiled like you said) and away from humidity.

True 2Knives, there are no doubt a number of contributing factors to rust, thank you for point out another; I thought it would be beneficial to get into and single out details on the P.H. side—without writing a dissertation. So we are also like an ocean or other body of salt water. As with the battery illustration, we are circuits. As with all electric (electrolyte) bodies, we react to metals, and reverse.

Thanks for the interesting post. Just to throw something related into the mix, I am and have been a pro tattoo artist for the past twenty years. I've soldered many groups of tattooing needles together and then onto stainless steel needle bars.

Some guys use carbon steel needles and some stainless. I use both depending on the purpose of the needle. I buy needles in packs of 1,000 and if they are hi carbon I handle them with tweezers to avoid skin contact and subsequent rust.

If they are stainless I can touch them and do dip into the pack with bare fingers to pull some out for soldering. I've never had a problem with rust from handling stainless needles. OTOH, I have worked with guys who will cause rust if they touch stainless needles. My boss also has no problem touching the stainless without causing corrosion. So apparently there is a difference in the acid level in each individual.

One of those other mysterious processes with stainless involves an acid bath. It's called passivating and restores the SS resistance to oxidation.

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Originally Posted by Mike Blue

One of those other mysterious processes with stainless involves an acid bath. It's called passivating and restores the SS resistance to oxidation.

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Got me to thinking...... when I was an ironworker I got the monthly magazine the union put out and they were erecting the New River Gorge Bridge in West VA. I recall reading that they used a steel alloy for that bridge that didn't need paint. The steel oxidized to form a corrosion resistance on it's surface. Apples and oranges maybe but thought I would mention it.

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Originally Posted by Mike Blue

One of those other mysterious processes with stainless involves an acid bath. It's called passivating and restores the SS resistance to oxidation.

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I guess it's one of those [takes fire to put out a fire] things; like, to get red wine out of fabric pour white wine on it, or to get acidic cat urine out of something use vinegar; or "for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction"—something like that.

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Originally Posted by Mike Blue

One of those other mysterious processes with stainless involves an acid bath. It's called passivating and restores the SS resistance to oxidation.

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Yeah, in stainless steels, the chrome in the make-up forms with oxygen... makes chromium oxide just on the surface of the metal (same stuff used for strops... kind of). It's a ceramic by definition. Pretty inert to stuff, but, chlorides eat through it like butter.

They're probably just coating it with chromium oxide electrolytically or mechanically somehow.

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Got me to thinking......I recall reading that they used a steel alloy for that bridge that didn't need paint. The steel oxidized to form a corrosion resistance on it's surface.

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Ah, the infamous CORTEN steel. It's been used in a lot of stuff. There was a tall building in Des Moines, IA that was covered in this stuff, eventually becoming known as the Ruan Rust Tower. (Yes, DSM does have buildings taller than two stories). After a few years the rusting didn't stop on the lower floors and they had to replace the outside for the first three floors. Apparently had something to do with the salting of the roads during the winter. As long as the CORTEN is not exposed to additional chemicals it works as advertised.