Treet carbon steel --- for me, a best blade

[ZiggyDeath]

these carbon blades definitely build up rust at a much faster pace than the SS ones, i'm probably going to give it a few more chances before i call quits on them

it just seems that no matter what i try, at the end of the day i end up going for the derbys

 

[Leisureguy]

Weird. Derby blades just don't do it for me. I'll give them another go, though.

So far as I can tell, the rubbing alcohol is preventing rust. I'll know for sure in a couple more days.

 

[Nancy Boy]

How long does it take for these blades to start rusting? If you only use it for, say, three days and ditch it, isn't that too short of a time for rust build-up? Signed -- Curious in L.A.

 

[Leisureguy]

I did find rust after 3 days use of the Blue Special. After two days on the Dura-Sharp carbon steel (with rubbing alcohol), no rust. I used another Blue Special this morning, did the swishing, and so far okay---but I'll check after two more days and report.

I am getting out my little Japanese teacup that has a lid (but no handle) and will also separately try total immersion (of the head of the razor), not just swishing.

 

[ZiggyDeath]

mine developed rust only after 1 day..., guess i give my blades a pretty rough treatment
*i rinsed the rust off and gave it another go, it was actually even smoother, but definitely not as sharp as it was earlier

 

[Nancy Boy]

Wow. Who would have thunk it? I'll have to keep that in mind the next time I give them a try.

PS: Michael: Bought your book today from Giovanni. Looking forward to the read.

 

[fritz]

Yeah, that is terribly clever, Fritzy! You might be on to something, there.

Well, shucks, thanks gents! But it really isn't rocket science...
Since my travel plans got put on hold, I obviously didn't have enough to do today!

 

[Leisureguy]

Okay. Even though I'm continuing the swishing technique, I'm also looking at total immersion. Take a look at this solution.

Robert, many thanks. Let me know what you think of the book---and feel free to post a review.

 

[Nancy Boy]

Okay. Even though I'm continuing the swishing technique, I'm also looking at total immersion. Take a look at this solution.

Robert, many thanks. Let me know what you think of the book---and feel free to post a review.

RE: "Swishing technique". I've been trying to perfect that for years, but try as I might, I can never seem to get that down. Does that mean I don't get the toaster??

 

[Xavier]

About to start my wetshave experience. Have one question. For the large sampler pack, do you follow the order suggested (from bottom to top of list)? If so, where do I fit the Derby blade?

Also I am no metallurgist, but the TREET brand can be confusing:
TREET Blue Special description says it is "Blued Steel", but the package only says "Treet Double Edge Blade" and the box is not blue, is red & yellow
TREET Dura Sharp Carbon descriptions says it is "Carbon Steel" and the box says "Treet Dura Sharp Hi-Tech Steel" and the box is blue
So do you call the blade by what is on the box, the actual blade, description on seller's web, or popular consensus?

 

[Leisureguy]

The Treet Blue Special blade is blue---a very dark blue, so that it looks black to me. Still, I think it is that kind of extreme navy blue.

I've been referring to them by vendor name, mostly: Treet Blue Special (aka "Black Beauty," which is the name I gave the blade) and Dura Sharp Hi-Tech (carbon) Steel. Like that.

Why not start with the Derby, and then you can compare the other blades to it as the standard? As for me, I have to admit that I skip around. I jumped to the Treet Blue Special because I saw a post with a photo on the ShaveDen and it looked so cool. And then I was amazed by its performance (for me).

 

[fritz]

<snip>
Also I am no metallurgist, but the TREET brand can be confusing:
TREET Blue Special description says it is "Blued Steel", but the package only says "Treet Double Edge Blade" and the box is not blue, is red & yellow
TREET Dura Sharp Carbon descriptions says it is "Carbon Steel" and the box says "Treet Dura Sharp Hi-Tech Steel" and the box is blue
So do you call the blade by what is on the box, the actual blade, description on seller's web, or popular consensus?

I and some others have been calling the first one the "Black Beauty" because the "bluing" is so dark it's almost black. And it's very plain which one you're talking about (you don't even really need the "Treet"). For the other two, if we say "Treet Carbon" and "Treet Platinum" it will work out.
And yes, on this forum popular consensus overrules all logic. The Israeli Personnas or "IPs" that we talk about are not the blade that's labeled Personna and made in Israel (red wrapper) but rather the blades made in Israel and NOT labeled Personna, but Crystal or some other brand (blue/white wrapper).

 

[Nancy Boy]

I gotta headache.

 

[fritz]

I gotta headache.

Give yourself a Treet (any flavor), take 2 IP's, and call my nurse in the morning...

 

[rickw]

Okay. Even though I'm continuing the swishing technique, I'm also looking at total immersion. Take a look at this solution.

Michael,
Why don't you run an immersion experiment. Case 1: Immersion in 91&#37; alcohol.
Case 2: Immersion in water. See what the results are. Rust is iron oxide. Air is 20% oxygen. If you cut off the exposure to air, you should reduce the rate of rust formation.

 

[Leisureguy]

Okay, I'll give it a go.

 

[jlander]

Michael,
Why don't you run an immersion experiment. Case 1: Immersion in 91% alcohol.
Case 2: Immersion in water. See what the results are. Rust is iron oxide. Air is 20% oxygen. If you cut off the exposure to air, you should reduce the rate of rust formation.

Generally there is enough disolved Oxygen in water to encourage rust.

Isopropyl alcohol, being hydrophilic, will also cause rusting eventually. It will slow it down as the Oxygen content of the disolved water takes a while to reach high enough levels.

The best method of preventing Oxidation is to immerse the item in any light paraffinic oil. Mineral oil or baby oil will do.

 

[Leisureguy]

I've completed 3 shaves with no sign of rust, just swishing the razor heard in the rubbing alcohol and then putting it in a rack to dry. And the razor seemed as sharp as ever for the 3rd shave---BBS today. I don't really need to get more shaves than that from a 11.5¢ blade, but now I'm curious as to how long it will last.

I assume the water content of the rubbing alcohol will gradually increase and thus I'll have to replace the alcohol in the little jar from time to time. But I do keep the jar sealed between shaves, so the alcohol isn't absorbing any water from the air, just picking up water from the razor head (and I shake the head to remove as much water as I can before immersing it).

Before using the rubbing alcohol, just shaking the razor and putting it up to dry, I had quite a bit of rust after the 3rd shave. So this is definitely a big improvement.

 

[JeffNYC]

I had no rust after three days of the Treet Hi-Tech (carbon). No alcohol or oil. Just shook it off and few puffs of air to dry.

 

[Bob Dobbs]

OK I'm getting jealous!

I sent my check to Giovanni at Barbieria Italiana for the large sampler pack. Hopefully I'll get my blades next week!