Treet blades - Rust issues.

[JasonJT]

Hi all.

I noticed that the Treet Durasharp blade I used in my last shave has shown signs of rust as per a similar thread I posted back in June. I’ve never had this issue with any other blade. It’s nothing to do with water contamination as my equipment is always dry before putting it away.
Won’t be using Treet blades again.

Jason.

 

[Eric_75]

Interesting. I've used Dura Sharp many times but have never had one rust on me.

 

[HoosierTrooper]

Hi all.

I noticed that the Treet Durasharp blade I used in my last shave has shown signs of rust as per a similar thread I posted back in June. I’ve never had this issue with any other blade. It’s nothing to do with water contamination as my equipment is always dry before putting it away.
Won’t be using Treet blades again.

Jason.

Ok.

 

[NorthernSoul]

The Dura Sharp is a carbon steel blade with a coating. Carbon steel can hold a nice edge, but you have to be a bit more careful than with stainless steel. Carbon steel can rust in wet or moist conditions. Just dry the blade off and store it somewhere safe, where it can stay dry.

Remember, Treet also makes stainless steel blades such as the 7 Days if you want stainless.

 

[luvmysuper]

Exposed wet carbon steel can start to develop rust within minutes.

 

[Kyle89]

Wasn't around when the first stainless DE blades came out but I'd imagine it was a pretty big deal for some people.

With that, I've never had a carbon steel treet blade rust on me after taking good care of it but I would take it out of the razor, dry it, and put it back in right before the next shave. If doing so it still develops rust, it was because there was still moisture on it or the environment was humid (like in a bathroom).

Carbon steel rusts quicker than stainless, plain and simple.

 

[Rhody]

I’ve used dura sharp for several months and not keeping track of which treet blades are carbon or not very recently I had rust with the dura sharp. I inadvertently left the razor apparently on a downward angle and there was some residual water around that puddled near the head. Messy wet rust. I was able to quickly clean it up and bin the blade. I usually unscrew the head blow out water and carefully leave it on one end to drain. Knowingly using a carbon blade I usually try to disassemble and take the blade out. I got my last stash of black beauties at such a ridiculous price I momentarily thought of just binning the blade after one use to permanently end the risk of rust but in the end I’m too much of a random penny pincher to actually do that. The rust situation with dura sharp,a very decent blade, has scored on my memory the risk of even a coated carbon blade so I won’t be leaving it loaded again.

 

[BigJ]

Exposed wet carbon steel can start to develop rust within minutes.

+1! Yes indeed!

As with carbon steel knives; they can be wicked sharp but you need to be careful to avoid rust.

 

[RayClem]

Since 1962, the majority of razor blades have been produced from coated stainless steel. The steel used is not corrosion proof, but it has sufficient resistance to corrosion that is will not "stain" in normal usage. That is why it is called stainless rather than stainproof or rustproof. You likely own kitchen utensils made of 308 stainless (aka 18-8) that can be put in a dishwasher and come out without any discoloration. While 308 has a fairly high level of corrosion resistance, the steel does not take or hold an edge useful for shaving.

If you purchase high quality chefs knives, they are made from steels similar to that used for razor blades. They can be hardened to a level where they take and hold a good edge. When I sharpen my kitchen knives, I try to make them sharp enough to whittle arm hair. That is far less than my standard for honing straight razors.

Treet does make some stainless steel blades, even some with platinum coatings. However, they are one of the few companies to still make razor blades out of carbon steel. Carbon steel can be used to make wonderful knives, straight razors and razor blades as long as the blades are thoroughly cleaned and dried after use. Most of my straight razors are made from carbon steel. However, if not protected from exposure to salts and moisture, they will deteriorate quickly.

If you want to use carbon steel blades, you might want to store your blades in a sealed Zip-lock bag and store them in a cool, dry place. You can use silica gel packets as an extra precaution. If you wish to use the carbon steel blade for more than a single shave, after each shave, remove the blade from your razor, rinse the blade and dry it thoroughly. Dipping the blade in 91% isopropyl alcohol will help remove any residual moisture from the blade. Do not use the more common 70% isopropyl alcohol as it contains too much water. If that sounds like a lot of trouble to avoid rust on a carbon steel blade, restrict your blade purchases to stainless steel. There is a reason that stainless steel blades quickly grabbed market share from carbon steel.

 

[Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker]

If carbon blades are so easily susceptible to rusting, then I wouldn't even bother with them.

These blades are king in my shave den, usually work awesome in most of my razors, and hey look, their stainless too, can't beat that!

And worry not folks, even though I use stainless blades, I still take the razor apart after use, place everything on a towel, and allow to dry. This is my SOP!

There are so many blade choices, life's too short to let one blade brand ruin your wet shaving life, if it were me, I'd switch to stainless and call it a day.

 

[Possum092]

Buy quality stainless blades and the problem disappears. I don’t have the time or inclination to remove and pat dry blades every day to save an extra two cents a blade.

 

[Lane101]

Hi all.

I noticed that the Treet Durasharp blade I used in my last shave has shown signs of rust as per a similar thread I posted back in June. I’ve never had this issue with any other blade. It’s nothing to do with water contamination as my equipment is always dry before putting it away.
Won’t be using Treet blades again.

Jason.

Hi Jason, Believe these are carbon steel blades. Once the coating is worn off they can rust rapidly even if just exposed to air.

 

[JasonJT]

Hi Jason, Believe these are carbon steel blades. Once the coating is worn off they can rust rapidly even if just exposed to air.

If that’s the case, it seems like too much aggravation using Treet blades. I’ve never had any issues with other blades rusting. I shouldnt have to ’baby wipe’ a Treet blade every time I use it.

Jason.

 

[slimshavy]

I’ve been shaving exclusively carbon-steel blades since June, mainly Treets, and haven’t had one rust. For much of the time I’ve dried and stored the blades as described in this thread. Over the summer, however, I was in a super humid, non air-conditioned house and just dried the blades and left them out.

I still have all my used blades and none of those has rusted either, despite being in a tin in the bathroom cabinet with no desiccant or seal.

Maybe I’ll experiment with water, and see how soon rust appears in different situations.

 

[Lane101]

If that’s the case, it seems like too much aggravation using Treet blades. I’ve never had any issues with other blades rusting. I shouldnt have to ’baby wipe’ a Treet blade every time I use it.

Jason.

Hi Jason, Thread from @slimshavy where he's deep dived into evaluating the whole range of Treet carbon steel blades. Didn't read everything though with a method of drying each blade after shaving he was realizing roughly 2-4 shaves per blade initially though often the last shave was less than ideal. Plenty of detail here for you to decide how to proceed with your Treet blade inventory.

Carbon Forest of Treets: A deep dive into carbon steel double-edge blades

Join me as I shave through and compare a forest of Treets and carbon steel allies! Goal: To compare carbon steel blades produced by Treet to each other, to other carbon steel blades, and, occasionally, to stainless steel blades in terms of subjective shave quality (sharpness, smoothness...

www.badgerandblade.com

 

[Quaznoid]

So don’t use them

 

[Rhody]

So don’t use them

Ya right so we have nothing to complain about?

 

[Knuckleballer]

I can definitely live with the rust, because out of every brand I have tried they give me the best shaves. That goes for every type of Treet blade I’ve tried and I prefer the Durasharps in the blue pack they seem to be slightly sharper but I figure I may as well try them all because I’ve been satisfied with every Treet blade I have tried.

When I do see rust with the carbon steel Treets it is not until after 2 shaves, and not near the cutting edge, no big deal for me. The New Steel Treets seem more prone to rust for me but they work well enough that I can live with it. I always melt down and mold my shaving soap into the shave mug, take the blade from the razor after use and shake it off, and stick a side tab into the shaving soap, my hope is that the blade air dries better fully exposed than leaving in a razor or laying on a surface. But I do this with all my blades.

I’ll take a blade that gives me a very nice shave but is prone to rust yet maintains a nice edge for 4-7 shaves, and get 100 of them for about $8 over a more expensive more highly touted blade that doesn’t rust but doesn’t give me the same caliber shaves. For whatever reason, they’re the only blade that I can get away with just 2 passes and skip the ATG 3rd pass. If I do that 3rd pass it nearly looks like I don’t even grow facial hair when I’m finished, which isn’t easy to do. Work well for me in a medium mild razor, work well for me in aggressive razors with lots of blade feel.

Often times I am able to get a closer shave by shaving every other day rather than daily, my beard is fairly coarse and fairly dense but with a Treet blade I am able to get just as close with daily shaving. This works best for me because after 24 hours my face feels like sandpaper and I have an easily noticeable shadow so I prefer daily shaving. Other blades have worked well for me which is why I don’t stick with just one brand I enjoy trying others and using other favorites but I can still remember the first time I used a Treet blade, felt like wiping the beard from my face. Very little audible feedback when I use them even atg which = no tugging and the irritation that can result from that. Sorry for the rant I just can’t say enough good things about the blades. I do know that carbon steel is more prone to rust but it works well with my beard. If you’re not getting good shaves from them and rust is an issue, the good thing about traditional shaving is the large number of options in the blade dept.

 

[slimshavy]

When I do see rust with the carbon steel Treets it is not until after 2 shaves, and not near the cutting edge, no big deal for me. The New Steel Treets seem more prone to rust for me but they work well enough that I can live with it.

Really? Wow! I've never used their stainless steel blades, but I thought that the whole point of them was that they're less susceptible to rust.

Also, just guessing here, but it seems to me that sticking a blade in a soap puck might allow the moisture from the soap to wick up along the edge of the blade as the soap dries between shaves.

 

[Knuckleballer]

Really? Wow! I've never used their stainless steel blades, but I thought that the whole point of them was that they're less susceptible to rust.

Also, just guessing here, but it seems to me that sticking a blade in a soap puck might allow the moisture from the soap to wick up along the edge of the blade as the soap dries between shaves.

Yeah as for sticking it in the soap that may very well be, but I figure that it’s still better than leaving it laying flat against a surface. Used to just leave the blade in the razor after rinsing and I find that the blades get less rust when I just stick the tab into the soap. I also alternate using soap and cream in the tube so the soap isn’t always damp. If they rust they rust I tend to just use a fresh blade after 4-5 uses most of the time.