Newbie w/Rust Spots.. help!

Hi all,

New to the forum and to straight razors and had a question. I just got a nice Dovo razor and after two days of use I found a small around of rust on the hinge. I DID keep it in my bathroom the first day I used it which I found out was a big no no. Cleaned it w/soap, dried it, and oiled it w/Mineral Oil next shave and let it air dry in another room. Now, I noticed a few tiny rust "spots" on the top of the blade itself near the spine. Hoping not to trash my first straight razor but clueless on how to prevent/remove this rust. Any help greatly appreciated, thanks!

-Mike

Is this a new razor? I use all vintage razors and never had this problem.When im done shaving I wipe the razor dry and then pass warm air with a blow dryer to evaporate excess moisture.If Im know a razor is going to sit awhile I usually wipe a thin coat of oil.

Carbon razors are prone to do this. I would completely air-dry it in the opened position after each use. Then a light coat of some kind of shavers oil would inhibit oxidation. Some of the other shaver vets here prolly have specific recommendations. This is a common issue w/ carbon-based steels, if I remember correctly

Your right, in my opinion keeping a razor in the bathroom is a BIG no no. Another big no no is getting water near the pivot pin when rinsing the blade. Water will get down between the scales and blade and it doesnt dry quickly. This could explain the rust at the pivot you mention.
I would try the least aggressive option first with the rust and that would be rubbing a little metal polish on it and seeing if that will remove it.
Be careful though if your blade has any gold wash or similar on the blade metal polish is likely to remove it.
If you could post a picture that would help us assess the damage
Hope that helps
Grant

Thanks for the quick responses guys. I rinsed it this morning, wiped it really dry, then hit it with some mineral oil and so far so good. I let it air dry in the bedroom as opposed to the bathroom. I will post pics tomorrow if I get a chance. Does anybody think barbicide is a good way to prevent rust? I remember my barber always keeping his razors in the jar when I was a kid.

Advise given to me by Robert Williams two years ago, use toilet paper to dry razor and polish with it. I followed his instruction and all my carbon steel razors are spotless and shiny.

I'm on the toilet paper bandwagon as well. Very "absorbent". I would stay away from the barbicide. It's more for sterilization purposes than anything else, which is what you need if you're having 5 faces and 10 necks a day.

Anyway. The above posts are filled with good advice. I shave, and while I have a hot towel wrapped around my face I dry my razor completely with toilet paper, and then hit the strop for ten laps. That helps remove moisture next to the edge as well. Then I leave it in the open position while I'm at work, and put it away at nite.

I live in a very dry climate, so unless I'm in July or August, my humidity is not high enough to warrant Cammelia oil.

Good luck. No one likes rust spots....they're just no fun.

Maxi.

I am nearly positive that barbicide CAUSED rust on a w&b I had in my possession..

I don't use it anymore!!

I found that running the blade under hot water to heat it before wiping dry works well.

Quote:

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Does anybody think barbicide is a good way to prevent rust?

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There is a new "anti-rust" Barbicide formulation. I'd trust that, not the original Barbicide.

I'm putting a thin coat of oil on the blade. In my experience, high-carbon steel rusts if you look at it sideways.

Charles

Anti-rust barbicide could be something worth exploring. I looked around the forum and found a guy with my exact same problem AND the same model of Dovo. The picture he posted nearly matched my issues here, a few "spots" of light brown, it was mostly attributed to hard water stains in his case (I wish I remembered the forum link!). He said he used CLR on it and it cleared it up.

Since I've been drying it thoroughly and storing it in the bedroom rather than the bathroom, there's been no new rust or stains.

Here are 2 pictures of the razor (best I could do) ... you can see the "spots"

http://straightrazorpalace.com/membe...t-img00035.jpg

http://straightrazorpalace.com/membe...t-img00033.jpg

As it doesn't look like active rust, I think either a little bit of metal polish or a polishing cloth with embeded polish will take those away in due course. As someone who is new to this you will just have to gain confidence in handling the razor so that you can confidently wipe it down with a facial tissue or peice of toilet paper (even close to the edge). Also you need to make sure that there is no water on the inside of the scales. Poke the corner of a facial tissue in between, when the razor is open, and pull it through to catch any small drops of water. Blowing only may still leave water.

FYI, I live in Japan and it is very humid here, as it is in places in the USA too, but I have never had any rust or water spots (like what I see on your razor) after drying the razor this way. I also never use oil.

Good luck.

Dissolve 1 tablespoon mineral oil in 1 qt denatured alchohol. After post shave strop, dip the blade & set out to air dry. Alch. evaporates, leaves a coating of oil so thin there's no need to wipe - just strop & shave. The blade may have a cloudy appearance, if high luster shine is present, but that's just the oil doing it's job.

Almost every time we see this problem, the cause is a new guy rinsing the scales or getting them wet in the process of shaving or rinsing the blade. This is the Big No-No. You should just rinse the blade when shaving and be careful not to get water anywhere else. Then dry the blade and leave it open to fully dry before you put it up or coat it with oil.

Most times the staining will come off easily, but if the staining is where there is etching or gold wash, they will also come off.

Have fun,

Lynn

You may find it easiest to control the water splashing by using a rag or damp sponge to wipe the blade with after each pass on your face. I have a round sponge that is 6x2 and it works very well.When I am done I run the blade only under hot water to warm it and wipe it dry. It seems to dry better that way.

Thanks for all the tips guys, I'm following the advice and it's MUCH better now, no new spots, no rust, etc.