Are rusty DE blades a common thing?

A couple of weeks ago I posted that I had a 7 O'Clock yellow blade go rusty on me. I was surprised because I never saw this happen before. At least 2 people on this site said it was a known problem with the 7 O'Clock "yellows".
Now today I discovered I have a Shark blade that got very rusty in just a few days. When I use to use mostly Feather blades I never saw this problem.
Is this common with all blades except for Feathers?

i had the same issue with the yellows. Good blade but i found it odd that after one shave it was showing small signs of rust. I let it air dry a bit longer than the first time i used it, and it seemed to get rid of the problem.


EDIT: i forgot to say that these are the only blades that i have encountered that problem with. feathers, timors, astras, lord and merkurs have not had this issue.

Over the years, I've encountered this sporadically.
I once dismantled my HD to change out the blade and found that a mound of rust had developed on the Astra SP that was loaded in it.
A quick cleanup of the razor was all it took to make things right.

On the other hand, I have noticed that no matter what brand of blade I use, rust develops with my 40s Aristos and my silver Tuckaway

Haven't noticed this at all with any of my blades.

ateace said:

Over the years, I've encountered this sporadically.
I once dismantled my HD to change out the blade and found that a mound of rust had developed on the Astra SP that was loaded in it.
A quick cleanup of the razor was all it took to make things right.

On the other hand, I have noticed that no matter what brand of blade I use, rust develops with my 40s Aristos and my silver Tuckaway

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Funny how you mentioned it happens with certain razors. Both times this happen it was with my new Joris. I wonder, could it be that nice plating causing it?

I've seen it occasionally happen in blades. Make sure you thoroughly run the razor underwater and leave it out to air dry.

Ahhh its ok, I've had so many tetnus shot over the years, who cares about a little rust! (J/K) Actually, I have noticed a little rust on my Derby's in the razors that are on the "bench" and waiting to be put into the game, but past that, I haven't experianced any, especially on the cutting edge.

I have yet to see rust develop on any of my razors or blades. But, I use the two and out rule and give the razor a quick spray with 70% iso after each use (the blade stays in the razor, so really just the edges see the alcohol). I also only ever use one razor at a time, so no blade is ever in the razor for a week, unless I end up using a straight for days on end.

shave/brush said:

Funny how you mentioned it happens with certain razors. Both times this happen it was with my new Joris. I wonder, could it be that nice plating causing it?

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I recall hearing that rhodium plating may be tougher on the blade and encourage rust, but I have not experienced this myself (not sure what the Joris is coated with).

I never had a rusty blade. They have no time to get rusty. Normally I use a blade six day and than change it.

Occasionally i have that problem.
not very often, since i usually take the blade out and dry it (and the razor) after a shave.
This seems to be the norm for My Single edge razors tho, which is when a quick soak in rubbing alcohol comes in handy.

shave/brush said:

Funny how you mentioned it happens with certain razors. Both times this happen it was with my new Joris. I wonder, could it be that nice plating causing it?

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I have no idea as to the cause, but I wonder if the shape of the inside of the head may trap water in certain spots.
Either way, it's a pain.

Straight out of the wrapper. The water on the corner is because I thought "I'm sure it's still sharp" and then I thought again "oh, yeah. Tetanus is bad." Stainless steel stamped right on the Med Prep. Rusted IN the wrapper.

I accumulate expired blades in a soda can before disposal in bulk, and note a few signs of rust on used blades that have been there for some months. But i've never seen rust on a blade that I'm using (I get 7+ days of shave per blade).

I never noticed any rust on any of my blades until just recently while on vacation and with very hard water. After a few days, when removing my Personna Red, the was some surface rust on the blade and razor head. It was not much, and just a little cleanup on was all it took for the head. The blade was on its way to the bin, anyhow. The razor head was rhodium plated, and that might have had something to do with it.

Any blade that came rusted right out of the wrapper would go straight into the bin, for sure!

Please pardon my ignorance, gents, but since when does stainless steel rust?

I never see rust, even when I'm using my carbon steel blades (two and out).

Are we sure we're not seeing some sort of deposit on the blades that we're taking for rust? Seems more likely:

TexLaw said:

I never noticed any rust on any of my blades until just recently while on vacation and with very hard water.

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I have whole-house water softening, so I'm not one to testify.

tromboneliness said:

Please pardon my ignorance, gents, but since when does stainless steel rust?

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That was pretty much what I was wondering when I took the picture! It's not like rust could have transferred to the blade from a rusting razor...it's straight out of the wrapper.

Never had any rust on a blade...yet.

tromboneliness said:

Please pardon my ignorance, gents, but since when does stainless steel rust?

I never see rust, even when I'm using my carbon steel blades (two and out).

Are we sure we're not seeing some sort of deposit on the blades that we're taking for rust? Seems more likely:



I have whole-house water softening, so I'm not one to testify.

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I have a water softener at home, too. This was the first time I've ever seen a rusted blade in one of my razors, even though I've traveled into hard water areas. The difference is that I've had a nickel or chromium plated razor those other times, rather than rhodium (which another poster mentioned could be "rough" on a blade).

Stainless steel is not rust proof. It's resistance to rust comes from a very thin oxide layer that forms on its surface. That oxide layer can be chemically "disrupted" (for lack of a better word at the moment), leading to corrosion.

That's a clumsy explanation, but it's about all I can get out at the moment.

That Med prep is strange. It looks like the corner might have been sitting in a couple drops of water for a few days. I recently removed a Timor blade after 7 shaves and the surface of the blade was showing several lines of light surface rust. It never affected the edge and was likely water trapped in the razor.

frstplce said:

That Med prep is strange. It looks like the corner might have been sitting in a couple drops of water for a few days. I recently removed a Timor blade after 7 shaves and the surface of the blade was showing several lines of light surface rust. It never affected the edge and was likely water trapped in the razor.

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Nothing seemed out of sorts with the wrapper it was in...