Rusting

Is it possible (through normal use) for a solid stainless steel razor to rust? If so, any particular things to avoid? Thanks

I've heard of 303 stainless having issues before. When I heard that several years ago, I just started taking my stainless razors apart after every shave and removing the blade to let them dry completely. Haven't seen an issue.

I don't see SS rusting unless you try really hard. Just wipe it dry when you're done and never store it with a blade in it.

If you leave the blade, even 316L is getting rust, too.
Like other say, you can remove the blade and dry the razor, none of them will get rust.
If you have a rust, you can easily remove it with Flitz.

Thanks for all your great responses. 

Follow up question - and hear me out on this question. I usually shave with a razor for 3 shaves before moving to a new razor and blade. After this 3rd shave I disassemble the razor and let it air dry over night. I have heard some folks say that the wear on the threads from assembling / disassembling the razor 3 times may outweigh the risk of rusting.

What do you think? Just trying to get my routine down to maximize the life of the hardware. 

Thanks again.

Thanks for all your great responses. 

Follow up question - and hear me out on this question. I usually shave with a razor for 3 shaves before moving to a new razor and blade. After this 3rd shave I disassemble the razor and let it air dry over night. I have heard some folks say that the wear on the threads from assembling / disassembling the razor 3 times may outweigh the risk of rusting.

What do you think? Just trying to get my routine down to maximize the life of the hardware. 

Thanks again.

Rust typically occurs in the blade first and is then transferred to the steel. This generally is in the form of light staining called tea staining. At this stage, you can almost always just wipe it off the razor and move on. If it's a bit sticky, white vinegar and a quick scrub most often takes the rest away. To really get deep corrosion, true rusting, you have to let that wet, rusty blade, sit in the razor for quite a while and never take it apart. If you're using one razor and changing blades every three shaves you'll be able to notice any tea staining and wipe it off with plenty of time to spare. Just make sure you look. The only concern is when guys have a dozen razors and store them with the wet blade for an extended time before it comes back up in the rotation. For long breaks, take the blade out and let the parts dry. Between shaves, I recommend just loosening the razor a turn or two. This lets the blade fully dry, allows the protective oxide layer of stainless to do its job by being exposed to oxygen, and, most importantly, allows me to still be lazy and avoid taking the whole thing apart.

Regarding the threads issue, I guess technically the fewer times you thread the handle on the longer the threads will last. I think in the real world that delta basically goes to zero with normal use. So unless you sit on the couch threading and unthreading your razor like a fidget toy, I would not worry about this.

Thanks for all your great responses. 

Follow up question - and hear me out on this question. I usually shave with a razor for 3 shaves before moving to a new razor and blade. After this 3rd shave I disassemble the razor and let it air dry over night. I have heard some folks say that the wear on the threads from assembling / disassembling the razor 3 times may outweigh the risk of rusting.

What do you think? Just trying to get my routine down to maximize the life of the hardware. 

Thanks again.

Rust typically occurs in the blade first and is then transferred to the steel. This generally is in the form of light staining called tea staining. At this stage, you can almost always just wipe it off the razor and move on. If it's a bit sticky, white vinegar and a quick scrub most often takes the rest away. To really get deep corrosion, true rusting, you have to let that wet, rusty blade, sit in the razor for quite a while and never take it apart. If you're using one razor and changing blades every three shaves you'll be able to notice any tea staining and wipe it off with plenty of time to spare. Just make sure you look. The only concern is when guys have a dozen razors and store them with the wet blade for an extended time before it comes back up in the rotation. For long breaks, take the blade out and let the parts dry. Between shaves, I recommend just loosening the razor a turn or two. This lets the blade fully dry, allows the protective oxide layer of stainless to do its job by being exposed to oxygen, and, most importantly, allows me to still be lazy and avoid taking the whole thing apart.

Regarding the threads issue, I guess technically the fewer times you thread the handle on the longer the threads will last. I think in the real world that delta basically goes to zero with normal use. So unless you sit on the couch threading and unthreading your razor like a fidget toy, I would not worry about this.

Great stuff Shane. Thanks for the info. 

One more question for you Blackland Razors Shane. More out of curiosity than anything else given that I just got my new Titanium Blackbird delivered a few minutes ago...

How does the durability of Ti compare to SS? Should there be any care / maintenance instructions particular to titanium vs. stainless steel? 

Thanks again.

Thanks for all your great responses. 

Follow up question - and hear me out on this question. I usually shave with a razor for 3 shaves before moving to a new razor and blade. After this 3rd shave I disassemble the razor and let it air dry over night. I have heard some folks say that the wear on the threads from assembling / disassembling the razor 3 times may outweigh the risk of rusting.

What do you think? Just trying to get my routine down to maximize the life of the hardware. 

Thanks again.

Rust typically occurs in the blade first and is then transferred to the steel. This generally is in the form of light staining called tea staining. At this stage, you can almost always just wipe it off the razor and move on. If it's a bit sticky, white vinegar and a quick scrub most often takes the rest away. To really get deep corrosion, true rusting, you have to let that wet, rusty blade, sit in the razor for quite a while and never take it apart. If you're using one razor and changing blades every three shaves you'll be able to notice any tea staining and wipe it off with plenty of time to spare. Just make sure you look. The only concern is when guys have a dozen razors and store them with the wet blade for an extended time before it comes back up in the rotation. For long breaks, take the blade out and let the parts dry. Between shaves, I recommend just loosening the razor a turn or two. This lets the blade fully dry, allows the protective oxide layer of stainless to do its job by being exposed to oxygen, and, most importantly, allows me to still be lazy and avoid taking the whole thing apart.

Regarding the threads issue, I guess technically the fewer times you thread the handle on the longer the threads will last. I think in the real world that delta basically goes to zero with normal use. So unless you sit on the couch threading and unthreading your razor like a fidget toy, I would not worry about this.

Great stuff Shane. Thanks for the info. 

One more question for you Blackland Razors Shane. More out of curiosity than anything else given that I just got my new Titanium Blackbird delivered a few minutes ago...

How does the durability of Ti compare to SS? Should there be any care / maintenance instructions particular to titanium vs. stainless steel? 

Thanks again.

Titanium won't rust. Leave a wet blade in it all you want. You'll still get a rusty blade, but the titanium won't mind.

Other than that, basically treat it like a stainless razor. It's a bit more prone to scratching, but overall it's pretty fool-proof in this application.

There is a nice table to see which metals more susceptible to corrosion in https://www.fastenal.com/content/feds/pd...rosion.pdf

Is it possible (through normal use) for a solid stainless steel razor to rust? If so, any particular things to avoid? Thanks

Ali,
I hope you are well...I thought I would share our thoughts. But to answer your question all stainless steel will eventually corrode/rust but the speed at which this happens is heavily impacted by 2 big things, 1) Grade of stainless steel used and 2) Surface finish.

1) Grade of stainless steel -
In terms of grades, below are a few of the common stainless grades used in DE razors, I have ranked them by high resistance to corrosion/rust to least resistant:

316L
304 & 17-4
303 (Least resistant)

Source:
https://www.clintonaluminum.com/what-are...ess-steel/

2) Surface finish -
"A polished surface is less likely to rust then a rough or badly polished surface." This is why beer brewing tanks, medical devices, knives, marine fittings, etc...are polished. Some manufacturers also "electro-polish" their stainless(including us), it is the only/most effective way to polish inside threads with out destroying them, this process uses acid, chemicals and electricity to remove "free iron" and contaminants from the surface(not be confused with "passivation" which is similar but far less effective at corrosion resistance).

On a side note, another benefit of a polished surface, is the ease to clean and keep sanitary, less small spaces for debris and bacteria to grow. This includes implants, where corrosion resistance, reduction in friction and cleanliness are important.

Source:
https://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=16546
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/effe...ce.782548/
https://www.metalsupermarkets.com/stainl...g-options/

Feel free to leave your blade in our Cx-316L...rust will wipe off the polished surface. We have dipped our Cx in heated ferric acid with minimal corrosion, while destroying 304! If your razors do not have a polished surface (#8 or "True #8" Finish) or it is of a lower grade you will need to take more care of it to prevent rusting and to keep it clean....

An benefit for dissembling the razor, for us, is more for sanitary purpose, if that is also a concern.

Other notes-

-I wouldn't worry about using the threads too much either on any stainless...there is a lot to wear before it fails. I think the bigger risk is stripping the threads by using a different handle with a different thread count or cross threading.

- Grade 5 Titanium only has .25% iron so virtually no risk of rust.

Stay well...

Sean