Rusting Razor Blades - Simple Experiment

I took a few value razor blades and did a simplistic experiment to see how well they held up in a bathroom environment. I placed an unused Debry, Dorco 301, and Walmart Personna on the side of my sink and sprinkled them with water. Each day I flipped them over and sprinkled them with more water. The sprinkling was heavy in that I would typically get them to float on the surface tension of the water and then dry up the excess, letting them sit until the next day at which point they would be dry. After 8.5 days I found that they looked like:

The opposite side looked like:

Note that the time to rust appearance varied across the blades. The Derby started showing some rust after day two (prehaps eariler), the Dorco was next after 4-5 days, and the Personna was last. So even though all show rust, it appeared at different rates.

The motivation for this experiment was that I have gotten inconsistent results with Derby, which is my usual blade. While they typically show little to no rust, I have occasionally had bad experiences with lots of rust. Recently it had gotten very bad, here are a couple of blades that I had recently used, the first is from a razor that I had used approx 4-5 times and let sit for a total of 1.5 weeks before removing the blade. The second blade is after 2 shaves over 2 days. It is my suspicion that the Derby's vary considerably from pack to pack, in that every blade from my last pack rusted very quickly, while the Derby used in the unused rust experiment was from a new pack which held up much better.


My own conclusion from this experiment is get to know your blades and that 3-4 shaves may all that is really possible before rust compromises the sharpness. While I would like to change blades once a week, I can see why this is difficult to do.

Seems plausible. Also factor in the coating and manufactuer process (which could be any number of variables).

I know that my PAL SE blades rust very quickly. Typically 2 days and I start getting signs of rust on the body where its protected by the head (not on the edge). Most of my DE blades (haven't experimented enough to see which) last much longer.

Perhaps part of the key was that the experiment was unused blades. When using the blade, how does the surface change due to contact with the skin, the beard, and the lather? Also, the blade is bent in the razor. Could that also weaken any protective coating?

Could these changes caused by shaving increase the rate at which the blade rusts/deteriorates?

I find I 'm reluctant to scrap a feather and consequently get a crappy shave once in a while. Trying to "settle" for Swedes....they're definitely very good, but there's something about a new Feather that's just so special. Mind you, Swedish G's are among the cheapest in my area and i need to mailorder the Japaneses blades

In order to adress this problem of rust (which can microscopically affect the blade's edge and thus sharpness long before visible signs appear on the surface), I decided to start dipping my razor in Barbicide after a thorough rinse to remove all particles and cream. I immerse the entire razor while doing my rinse-off, AS, etc., typically several minutes. I then shake off the excess, dry the handle and replace in the razor stand. I chose Barbicide because it claims to have anti- rust igredients, although a straight isopropyl or ethanol bath would also probably work to remove moisture from the blade. But Barbicide is also a good germicide, fungicide and virucide, so that too is good to know. I use the small size jar, about 24 oz., more than enough to immerse a razor.
I just started this regimen yesterday, and after a few weeks of use, I will see if there is noticeable difference in the longevity of my blades (mostly use Feathers).

I use a straight ethanol bath. I figure if it works to sterilize the tissue culture hoods in our lab, Barbicide ain't got nuthin' on it, and it removes, rather than adds, water.

This is very interesting. Thanks for doing the experiment and posting your results StillShaving.

I honestly can't recall seeing rust on any of my blades, which get changed once a week (rarely, twice a week). But I haven't been looking too closely. I'll be sure and look a little more closely when I change them.

I usually don't have rust issues. However, I soak my razors in alcohol after use. But, I still have rust pop up now and then, probably due to condensation from showers/baths. So far the biggest problems have been with Derby (stainless) and Gem Blue Star (carbon-steel). Although it is odd that a stainless would rust like that in the first place.

I only questioned why unused blades would rust at a slower rate than used blades... a follow up problem raised by the original experiment.

sehrgut said:

I use a straight ethanol bath. I figure if it works to sterilize the tissue culture hoods in our lab, Barbicide ain't got nuthin' on it, and it removes, rather than adds, water.

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I believe I mentioned that. The advantage of Barbicide is not in germicidal properties, but rather that it has rust preventive ingredients which supposedly coat the surface. This needs some experimental verification also, but not so easy to do.

Etoyoc_Rebmos said:

I usually don't have rust issues. However, I soak my razors in alcohol after use. But, I still have rust pop up now and then, probably due to condensation from showers/baths. So far the biggest problems have been with Derby (stainless) and Gem Blue Star (carbon-steel). Although it is odd that a stainless would rust like that in the first place.

I only questioned why unused blades would rust at a slower rate than used blades... a follow up problem raised by the original experiment.

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on one hand, shaving with it will definitely wear down the coating, esp. at the edges.

on the other hand, cutting hairs daily will also buff minor rust off the edges.

so who knows?

This is just a great post. Thanks for taking the time to post your pictures and explain your experiment. It really is much appreciated.

Feathers are sharp but so sharp that I get a dull blade quickly, no time to rust!!

Great experiment, I like it. Thanks for sharing.

Sorry, but I don't see the problem.
My time is more valuable then the cost of a blade.
I shave with a blade 3-4 times then toss it in the bin.
I never notice any rust on the blades.
When I used to shave with expensive cartridges I wanted to get every last shave out of them.
I dried them off with canned air and then sprayed the blades with "Shaver Saver" electric shaver spray lube.
I'd get 20+ shaves from a Mach 3 cartridge.
With DE blades being so cheap I no longer bother.

Even though blades are labelled as 'stainless' 'platinum' etc all are made of relatively low grade stainless steel and coated with a rust retarding material. If they were made from a high grade of stainless steel (more carbon, less iron) they wouldn't rust - but would be difficult to put an edge on and would of course be more expensive.

Stainless steel can be simply tested for grading using a magnet - if it is a lower grade it will be more magnetic - put a magnet against any razor blade (that I've come across) and it will stick - whereas put it against a high quality stainless steel kitchen sink or watch band and the magnet won't stick - these won't rust either.

cooncatbob said:

Sorry, but I don't see the problem.
My time is more valuable then the cost of a blade.
I shave with a blade 3-4 times then toss it in the bin.
I never notice any rust on the blades.
When I used to shave with expensive cartridges I wanted to get every last shave out of them.
I dried them off with canned air and then sprayed the blades with "Shaver Saver" electric shaver spray lube.
I'd get 20+ shaves from a Mach 3 cartridge.
With DE blades being so cheap I no longer bother.

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+1. Never seen any rust on my razor blades and I don't do anything to them at all beyond a cursory shaking off of excess water.

onotoman said:

Even though blades are labelled as 'stainless' 'platinum' etc all are made of relatively low grade stainless steel and coated with a rust retarding material. If they were made from a high grade of stainless steel (more carbon, less iron) they wouldn't rust - but would be difficult to put an edge on and would of course be more expensive.

Stainless steel can be simply tested for grading using a magnet - if it is a lower grade it will be more magnetic - put a magnet against any razor blade (that I've come across) and it will stick - whereas put it against a high quality stainless steel kitchen sink or watch band and the magnet won't stick - these won't rust either.

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I wouldn't use the term hi & low grade.
Obviously a SS that won't rust but also won't hold an edge is low grade for the purpose of a razor blade.
You could make razor blades from ATS-34 dut that would probably be too expensive.
Much of the razor blade steel comes from Sweden, except for the counties in the Far East which make their own.
Razor blades are made to be sharp but not to last for too long, they want to sell you more razor blades.
A razors edge is very fine and whisker are tough.
I imagine the edge will start to break down from wear before it will rust and since I switched back to DEs and have several years worth of blades in my hoard I don't tolerate a dull blade.
First sign of drag and in the bin they go, I usually switch razors at the same time with a new blade.
Besides shaking out the excess water I don't bother with any nonsense.

As a follow up to the original post, I left these original test blades laying around out of contact from any water for about two more months and did not notice any appreciable increase in rusting. I did not take any photos at that point, just making a causal observation.

Rating shaving lubricants by their stickiness, I find that brushless creams are stickiest, followed by lathering creams, then hard soaps which are the least. The point here is that many of the shaves I did at the time of finding rusty blades in my razor were done while using brushless creams in shower. So even though I thought I had adequately rinsed the razor and blade, I later realized that maybe I did not. That this was helping to trap water and thus cause the blade to begin rusting quickly. (If you have used Cremo Cream you know what I mean, it is very difficult to rinse off. Though the product itself works well.)

This may be obvious, but the point is that water left in contact with the blade will rust it quickly, more quickly that one might think. This is crucial at the blade edge, and may happen (???) before one can visually detect it, affecting shave performance after the first shave.

I now shave more often with hard soap and almost no brushless creams, and carefully rinse the blade by loosening the top to make sure no residue is left and have not had problems with blades rusting in place inside the razor head.

Interesting experiment, does this underline the need for proper blade storage?

I store my blades in an air tight rub along with a few packs of silica gell that came with something else I bought (electronics or sometimes shoes). Every now and again when I get a new pack in something I buy I swap out one of the packs in the blade tub. This seems to keep the blades in a nice dry envrionment particulary when they are stored in a bathroom.