Derby Question????

Anyone else have a problem with there Derby's rusting? They seem to be the only blade I use that has this problem no matter what I do.

I didn't have that problem, but then I didn't have them around long enough to notice. They gave me crap shaves.

Rusting while in your razor? I pretty much use Derbys exclusively and have never had that problem. I typically shave every other day, so I leave a blade in for around a week. I did have a rusting issue with one of the Gillette 7 0'clock yellows I used.

I left one in my razor and thought that was the issue. I took the last two out and stored them on the shelf. A day later they have small rust spots on them.

I store my blades in a dry area -- not in the bathroom. I have a valet on my dresser wherein I store my straights. My extra DE blades fit perfectly in a little cubby in the valet...

Mine haven't rusted. I change a blade after three shaves.

is it possible that they were exposed to excess moisture at some point? Like, submerged?

That little bit of wax-paper wrapping is really more for the protection of the user than the blades.

Edit: Argh, hit post too soon. It is possible you just had a bad batch. Are all these blades from the same pack?

I don't have that problem...

Deftim13 said:

Anyone else have a problem with there Derby's rusting? They seem to be the only blade I use that has this problem no matter what I do.

Click to expand...

Yes. I leave them in the shaver in my (horribly non ventilated) bathroom, then one or two days later, there's rust spots on them. Not a big deal as they're so cheap that i just toss them then.

This shouldn't happen, at least not with any regularity. Does it happen consistently, regardless of which razor you leave the blade in?

You might contact the vendor who supplied your blades to find out if you got a bad batch, or maybe pick up an older 5-pack from another member and see if it still happens.

I haven't had that problem with any blade. I use my blades three times and shave every other day.


Regards.

Jakob

I've been using Derbys for about six months now and have never had that problem. I shave daily, use one side for a week then flip the blade and use the other side for a second week. I've never found any rust on them, even after two weeks. (You'll note that Derby's edges are numbered - those clever Turks! - so I always start with the side numbered 1-2 and flip it to the side numbered 3-4. That way at 0630 on a dark winter morning I don't have to wonder if I've already flipped this blade. It works a treat.)

White Moustache said:

I've been using Derbys for about six months now and have never had that problem. I shave daily, use one side for a week then flip the blade and use the other side for a second week. I've never found any rust on them, even after two weeks. (You'll note that Derby's edges are numbered - those clever Turks! - so I always start with the side numbered 1-2 and flip it to the side numbered 3-4. That way at 0630 on a dark winter morning I don't have to wonder if I've already flipped this blade. It works a treat.)

Click to expand...

You actually flip the blade? Crazy, I have never flipped a blade over and I heard the numbers do not matter because flipping the blade does not give them more shaves!! I use both edges and with Derbys I get 3 good shaves and then I usually toss them! But I have seen them get a little bit of rust spots on a few blades but that was because of me opening the razor handle to rinse the blade and razor! Now I don't have this problem with my feathers at all and I have one blade in my Slant that is past 10 shaves and still sharp!

Cheers,

I have had problems with Derby's rusting. To the point where I posted this experiment:
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=63169&highlight=rusting+razor+blades
I have found that keeping them dry between shaves is the key to minimizing rust problems, by that I mean insuring that there is no shave cream residue left on the blade to trap water, not actually trying to dry the blade. I found that brushless creams (i.e. Trader Joe's or Cremo Cream) are the worse culprits as they are stickier and sometimes get traped under the head even though you think the razor has been rinsed clean. The problem varies depending on the soap/cream and razor head design. Bottom line I find that if you insure the razor/blade is rinsed clean the amount of rust is minimized, even if that requires you to loose up or expose the blade to rinsing between shaves.

StillShaving said:

I have had problems with Derby's rusting. To the point where I posted this experiment:
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=63169&highlight=rusting+razor+blades
I have found that keeping them dry between shaves is the key to minimizing rust problems, by that I mean insuring that there is no shave cream residue left on the blade to trap water, not actually trying to dry the blade. I found that brushless creams (i.e. Trader Joe's or Cremo Cream) are the worse culprits as they are stickier and sometimes get traped under the head even though you think the razor has been rinsed clean. The problem varies depending on the soap/cream and razor head design. Bottom line I find that if you insure the razor/blade is rinsed clean the amount of rust is minimized, even if that requires you to loose up or expose the blade to rinsing between shaves.

Click to expand...

That second picture is exactly how my razor looks after my first shave. I tried submerging them in rubbing alcohol to see if that helped and no dice. These were purchased about a month ago on Ebay. I am just afraid that the rust with compromise the edge. I have used Feathers, Israeli Personna's and Gillette Swedes without any issues.

Deftim13 said:

That second picture is exactly how my razor looks after my first shave. I tried submerging them in rubbing alcohol to see if that helped and no dice. These were purchased about a month ago on Ebay. I am just afraid that the rust with compromise the edge. I have used Feathers, Israeli Personna's and Gillette Swedes without any issues.

Click to expand...

If you are using the same razor and shaving cream throughout and also rinsing/cleaning each razor pretty much the same then you have a more consistent test than I. I did want to suspect that there was variation in the coatings from pack to pack, perhaps their manufacturing process is inconsistent. My rusting issue was really bad at the time and I was thinking of changing brands, but I still use Derby's daily and currently have little to no problem with rust. I attributed that being more careful about thoroughly rinsing the blade clean between shaves, but from what you are seeing, maybe it was a blade coating issue.

All that said, at the time I had come to believe it was partially my fault and not just the blades because:
A) I was rotating through 4-5 razors and 4-5 shave creams at the time, meaning consistency was not high. Later realizing that occasionally, especially when shaving in shower with a brushless cream (and also in hurry to finish) there was cream residue left behind and that this must have been the main culprit.
B) the standing water test showed that all three test brands would rust if kept in contact with water for hours a day.
C) After that one week rust test I left the blades exposed for 6-8 weeks but without any direct contact with water and no more rust appeared. I did not take any photos or try to get the oxidation process started again as in step B in order to prove this point, just making a general observation.

So I eliminated the water and rust has not a problem. But it could still just simply be the blades.

Just got back from travelling with my Derby and found rust on the blade...instantly in the trash unfortunately. I didnt have time to shake/wipe it down?