Rust on blade
- Thread starter John_Doe
- Start date
Probably the easiest way to remove the surface rust is with a metal polish like Mothers or Autosol. There will still be a dark mark where it was, but that will just be cosmetic.
If you want to erase all traces of it you would have to do a full sanding progression and rehone, which would be too much trouble for me.
If you want to erase all traces of it you would have to do a full sanding progression and rehone, which would be too much trouble for me.
It seems your bevel/edge also have some rust, unless it's just a reflection or dirt/dust. 2nd pic, towards the heel.
That will need to go to the hones if it's indeed rust.
That will need to go to the hones if it's indeed rust.
- Thread starter
- #4
Yeah if you have rust on the edge it's better to just take care of it, hone it till you hit clean steel.
Can I ask how the razor was stored?
Yes you need to stop it before it gets out of hand as that won't take much to remove, as for the edge that looks minor and would be removed when honing but I would sand it out then repolish the blade that way the active rust has been removed and it's all good again.
As the last thing you want is it spreading on that beautiful razor.....
As the last thing you want is it spreading on that beautiful razor.....
- Thread starter
- #8
rbscebu
Girls call me Makaluod
Mineral oil (renewed about every 3 months) is good for SR's that are stored edge down. If the blade is stored flat, something like petroleum jelly is much more effective.
Personally I protect my SR's with Renaissance wax.
Personally I protect my SR's with Renaissance wax.
Mineral oil can have the issue of beading and pooling over time which eventually leaves some areas unprotected. Renaissance wax is an option that you may want to consider. It doesn’t move around and lasts a long time. It is even resistant to shaving soap and water. It’s totally clear and polished up nicely. You can tell that it’s there by how the water beads up on the blade.
VCI paper is another good option for medium term storage. Storing a razor in its coffin with VCI paper should keep it in good condition for at least a year. I picked up a NOS Filly that was wrapped in the stuff for probably 20 years and it was immaculate.
I have taken to storing my razors in a humidity controlled environment. Plastic scales razors live in an air tight Tupperware with colour indicating, silica gel, desicacant beads. This keeps the humidity very low. The beads start to change from orange to green at 30% RH. They are pretty cheap and can be reused by drying them in an oven.
Natural scales live in a Tupperware with 49% RH Boveda humidity packs. This is a better humidity for natural wood, ivory, shell and horn. All are kept in a drawer with stable temperature and no light.
Other members with large collections have gone with a more high tech option and use a camera dry box for storage. These are electrically powered and reduce the humidity to a preset level. They aren’t all that expensive but do need power and take up a bit of space.
There are lots of options from simple to more elaborate. In high humidity environments it’s best to take some precautions. Ralf Aust and Henkels make some pretty decent stainless steel razors too. They just require slightly more frequent touch ups to keep them shaving sharp.
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Yeah, the simple solutions are usually the best, and a sealed, controlled environment is about as simple as it gets.
- Thread starter
- #12
When storing expensive hardened D2 steel dies, we used to use a thick coating of heavy grease. Greases contain anti-rusting additives.
I have opened such dies after 20+ years of storage without corrosion damage.
Heavy grease is a good way to store your straight razors if youre not planning to use them for several months, but if it's to be stored for a short term, I wouldn't advise it because its a real pain to clean off.
Ballistol can be considered too.
I have opened such dies after 20+ years of storage without corrosion damage.
Heavy grease is a good way to store your straight razors if youre not planning to use them for several months, but if it's to be stored for a short term, I wouldn't advise it because its a real pain to clean off.
Ballistol can be considered too.
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That bin is pretty dry but metal and plastic shouldn’t mind that.
For natural scales you’ve got the 49% RH bin. Boveda makes two way humidity packs at all sorts of levels for different applications. They are very accurate too. These are designed for acoustic guitars but are also the museum recommended RH for ivory, horn and shell.
These are very easy to use and you know when they are done because they dry up and go hard. I don’t really trust the VCI not to yellow ivory in the long term so these are a good solution.
Nice. Where I live isn't too humid, but I just keep the silica packs in the containers that have artificial scales, and dont put them in in the containers with natural scales. With the lids sealed the micro climate is fairly consistent, so no problems thus far.
Anyone know what would be an ideal RH range for storing SRs?
rbscebu
Girls call me Makaluod
Anything under about 50% will protect the steel. What you have to be more careful about is the scale material, particularly natural materials. Different scale materials can deteriorate over time if stored in a too high or too low RH.
I spend time in Houston and live with similar conditions. and routinely traveled to the Florida coast for work back in the day. I keep my razors in razor sized silicone impregnated gun sleeve cottons. I never had issues with this setup except for the ivory scaled (they're in a small pelican case with desiccant packs). they live in a small humidor and a metal pencil case in the bedroom, not the bathroom.
I'd say making sure they're really dry when you put them up is the biggest issue, and best you can do for them if you're using them regularly. Ren Wax or even vaseline would be better than oil for long term storage.
I'm actually in Houston today, and here's my travelers in their sleeves. I don't know where you can pick these up these days.
I'd say making sure they're really dry when you put them up is the biggest issue, and best you can do for them if you're using them regularly. Ren Wax or even vaseline would be better than oil for long term storage.
I'm actually in Houston today, and here's my travelers in their sleeves. I don't know where you can pick these up these days.
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