Preventing/ Cleaning Pitting

First off, I'm new to all things straight razor. Today I noticed on my blade (which is vintage, not new) that there are a few very tiny pits of rust. The blade itself is in excellent shape and shines like a mirror. Still, when you look really closely you can see several little specks where rust is developing. I always keep it dry and don't store it in a wet environment (like a bathroom for example). This may be a relatively minor thing to worry about, but I want to learn how to clean rust from the blade and also how to prevent it from coming back. After all, a well made razor should last for hundreds of years if well cared for. Is there something that can safely clean and preserve the blade to keep it looking beautiful? What do you guys use to clean your blades?

I'm thinking if it's developing rust then you're not getting it completely dry :( I dry mine with a towel and store them in the bathroom and have yet to have a problem. Other guys put a light coat of oil on the blade before putting them away too. You may be able to remove it with a simple polish...I use Mothers Mag and Aluminum and a rag. Maybe some pics would help further.

You might be getting a little water from inside the scales after shaving and rinsing the blade off. I have gotten into the habit of taking a paper towel and sliding it between the scales to remove as much water as possible. Then I put a little oil on the razor to prevent rust.

It is much easier to _prevent_ rust, than to _remove_ rust.

After using the razor, and drying it off:

. . . Strop it 10 laps on leather to ensure the edge is dry;

. . . check the inside of the scales for water;

. . . put a light coat of oil on the blade with a piece of tissue -- one drop is more than enough for the whole blade.

Occasionally, put a drop of oil (or less) on the pivot pin.

_Which_ oil you use doesn't seem to matter -- "mineral oil", "baby oil", gun oil, WD-40, Mobil 1 all work for people on this site.

Charles

Don't put wd40 on your blades as the solvent could damage your scales.Camellia oil from SRD is the best stuff to oil your blades with.;)

Hi there,
I too am a newbie to straights, and I have a similar issue with one of the old razors I bought to practise stropping and honing with.
From the information I have come across in the restoration wiki, it looks like you can use high grit wet&dry sandpaper to sand off the rust spots. I believe 1500 or 2000 grit paper should leave a mirror polish on the blade, but perhaps the big guns here can confirm this.

FYI, my planned maintenance strategy will be to apply a small amount of Tuff-glide to the pivot at regular intervals and Camillia oil to the blade after thoroughly drying the razor after every shave. I chose the Camillia oil for the bulk of the blade because it is natural and edible, so I don't mind if some gets on my skin, and I chose the tuff-glide for the pivot because it's long lasting and penetrating with water displacing properties.

I am keen to know if the experts approve of my ideas ?

Regards,
Ian.

Never used Tuff-glide but.....anything that is petroleum based or has solvent in it should be avoided as it can damage your scales.Camellia Oil is used and sold by SRD.Lynn and Don are two of the top Honemasters in the straight world and Of course Lynn is the founder of SRP.He sells the stuff for a reason.As for sanding your blades....ask the pro honers on this site before going off inexperienced and taking a chance of wrecking your good blades.READ THE WIKI ! And most important of all Welcome to SRP and have fun as Lynn always says.:):)

Thanks for the sound advice Nightblade. I am even wary of taking sandpaper to my old test razor !

FWIW, it was through one of Lynn's posts that I found out about Camillia oil and it sounds like such a fantastic product that I had to order a bottle from SRD. Of courde, I had to throw in a new razor too, just to make the postage worthwhile. I guess I should say I RAD to throw in an new razor !!
I'm waiting for it to arrive as we speak.

I would most certainly like to know using Tuff-glide can damage the scales.
Apologies to the OP if I am hijacking your thread, but I was just about to post a similar question when I saw your post.

Ian.

I would answer the Tuff-glide question again this way.Straight shaving is a primative yet elegant thing.Grand dad didn't have it and he didn't need it.Keep it primitive and simple and you won't go wrong.The Japanese used Camellia oil on their swords and it didn't let them down.You can make this as high tech and complicated or simple as you wish,but I would opt for low tech simple and IMHO highly effective. :):)

By itself, 2000 grit wet/dry will still leave scratch marks on the blade. When I have had to sand small bit of rust off, and it happened last summer during really humid weather, I did 2000 dry, 2000 lubed with WD40. Then....Maas or Mother's to buff out the tiny leftover scratches.

+1 on the drying advice between the scales too. I leave all my razors in the bathroom, and only need to use the Camellia oil for about 2 weeks during the summer months. Other than that, as long as I take the extra 30 seconds in the morning to ensure the blade, tang, and scales are completely dry......no problems whatsoever.

Different climates do different things though.....my advice may not work in rainy Vancouver.

Good luck,
Maxi

I'm not sure if I will be able to find Maas or Mother's, so I may need to make do with what's available locally. Are these mildly abrasive metal polishes ? Are they the only polishes that work with high carbon steel or will any similar metal polish work ?

I think oiling the blade is important whether or not you live in a humid area. If all those people who used straights in the old days oiled their blades, then all vintage razors would be nice and shiny :-)
Think of it as a PIF to future generations of straight users !

I clean and/or remove rust with some Ballistol on a soft cloth. If that doesn't work, I use it on a slightly abrasive Scotch-Brite pad. If that doesn't work, I use Ballistol and some very fine emery/crocus cloth. After that the grits keep getting bigger.

I also use Ballistol to clean and protect (guns too) since it will emulsify with water. Since I have a lot of it, why not? That isn't important if you get your razors completely dry. Camellia or mineral oil will also work on a dry blade. Many other oils will work ok, too.

The way I dry off and store my razor after each shave is similar to previous posts. I dry the blade off on a towel, then take some tissue paper and dry in between the scales, give around the pivot a blow of air to (read this somewhere don't know if it works but it reassures me that its dry), this is followed by about 10-15 laps on my strop, then store in my room. I prefer storing my razor in my room one because my bathroom can get quite humid because it's quite small.

I can't find Maas locally either....I ordered mine right from Ebay. You may be able to get it lower than retail price as well.

Just a thought.

Any auto parts store or even Walmart should have Mother's. Look in the section where the waxes are located.