Rusting

[Toucan]

Question; why are people so wary when it comes to drying the straight razor to prevent rusting - compared to drying regular DE razors? Are straight razors more prone to rust damage?

When I used DEs, I would leave them in my cabinet after only giving them a shake and no rust gathered - I wouldn't make sure to towel dry all the nooks where water could seep in. On the other hand, I had to resort to using Camelia oil to prevent rust on some straight razors that I've got, living in Orlando's humid environment.

I ask this because I'll be getting the Feather DX, and am curious where this will fall with respect to maintenance - is a simple flick a fine post-shave maintenance measure, or should I towel-dry the opening mechanism area and the blades, and possibly apply oil?

Also, would it be unwise to leave the blade in the DX after I'm done, or should I constantly take it out and put it back in?

 

[Thomas Martin]

Important is to leave them open until completely dry. If some humity is trapped between the scales you'll get spots on your blade in no time. Happened more than once to me. Also, it is good practise to put a drop of oil at the hinge. Since I have around then razors in rotation I'll also put a thin coat of oil on the blade. This is probably unnecessary but better save than sorry. Again. Most important to never close a razor until completely dry.

 

[oakeshott]

The primary reason for the difference is that most straights are high carbon steel with no alloying with chrome or moly to prevent rusting. They rust readily under the right conditions. Sometimes too readily. DE razors, oth, are primarily pot metal (modern ones) or brass coated with chrome, silver, gold etc. These metals are far less prone to oxidation or, rather, it takes far, far longer for the process to occur. Modern DE blades are mostly stainless, but even when not are disposable and so care is simply not critical.

Make sense?

 

[eaterofdog]

Rust is insidious on carbon steel straights. All my daily shavers are stainless now. I can just give them a casual wipe and toss em into my nightstand drawer when I'm done.

 

[Lmarkow]

Adds a bit of suspense to the morning routine, opening up that razor for the first time since you put it away.

 

[Toucan]

The primary reason for the difference is that most straights are high carbon steel with no alloying with chrome or moly to prevent rusting. They rust readily under the right conditions. Sometimes too readily. DE razors, oth, are primarily pot metal (modern ones) or brass coated with chrome, silver, gold etc. These metals are far less prone to oxidation or, rather, it takes far, far longer for the process to occur. Modern DE blades are mostly stainless, but even when not are disposable and so care is simply not critical.

Make sense?

So how should I go about caring for the Feather DX? It's stainless steel, can I treat it as I would a DE?

 

[smalltank]

Like any steel that touches water...wipe the razor dry and pat the blade dry...

 

[u2u]

So how should I go about caring for the Feather DX? It's stainless steel, can I treat it as I would a DE?

It is a high quality stainless steel so you could probably just dry the exterior and put it away till the next day. The only probable rust would be on the blade which you will change out soon enough. That is how I treat my DEs with no problem.

I normally use straights and many of mine are rust prone so I thoroughly clean and oil all of them after use, even the stainless ones that don't need it.

On my Feather AC DX I disassemble it, dry it and the blade, reassemble the razor and store it with no blade (it is a non folder). Such a simple smooth working design that it takes only a few seconds. Probably no need at all but a good housekeeping habit.

What ever choice you make your razor will probably be just fine.

 

[dpmtherrien]

I just take mine and rinse it under hot water when I'm done shaving. At times I'll give it a quick wipe on a towel, but I don't do anything special to prevent rust, and I've never had any on my DX.

 

[Loner16]

The primary reason for the difference is that most straights are high carbon steel with no alloying with chrome or moly to prevent rusting. They rust readily under the right conditions. Sometimes too readily. DE razors, oth, are primarily pot metal (modern ones) or brass coated with chrome, silver, gold etc. These metals are far less prone to oxidation or, rather, it takes far, far longer for the process to occur. Modern DE blades are mostly stainless, but even when not are disposable and so care is simply not critical.

Make sense?

Steel by definition is an alloy. I'm sure the steels used for straight razors are all alloyed with different components to achieve desirable qualities. Some steels could possibly even be proprietary. Even so called "stainless" steels, which was a trade name like Coke or Pepsi, can be affected by oxidation in severe environments, but again, the severity is dependent upon the specific alloy.

Don't take the chance .. seal all steel blades from oxygen after shaving, or store with the rust preventative paper .. Better safe than sorry!

 

[Kentos]

The blade can discolor if left in the holder wet. If you use it everyday you likely won't have problems, but if you put it away wet and leave it for days it *might* just rust up a bit on you.

For what it's worth I take mine apart after every shave and do a quick dry off on a towel.