Thread: My first razor arrived today: surface rust

I would say once you change anything with it you cannot expect a refund, even if you make the razor better. I think this is fair to both parties.
If the item wasn't as described you should get a satisfactory resolution with the seller.

As long as there isn't deep rust at the edge I would keep it. The only reliable way to get a pristine blade is to pay the cost of new one. On ebay unless the item is described as new I wouldn't expect it to be excellent cosmetically, even though it can happen. The black rust doesn't spread by itself if the razor is dried and stored properly.

Your theory seems good to me - the razor probably has just one shave on it but wasn't stored too well. In any case I'd give the seller the benefit of doubt on this one as there's no strong evidence to support the contrary. If the seller described the cosmetic condition wrongly I would talk with them about it and either return it for a full refund, keep it for a partial, or if I feel it's worth the price I paid I'll just keep it but still tell the seller his description was incorrect.
I think you should decide how much this is worth to you and if less than $200 you ask the seller for partial refund or send it back for full.

Until you can get some MAAS or similar, try a little lemon juice mixed with bicarb (for cooking - bicarbonate of soda) worked into a paste and rub this into the rust on the tang at the pivot, perhaps with a Q-Tip. It wont add any marks but it will get rid off the superficial rust staining, giving you a better idea of what - if anything - needs to be done next.

Regards,
Neil

Thanks everyone for the great ideas!

I Think I am going to ship it off to have it professionally sharpened and have the pro take a look at the rust while it is there anyway. Then probably just use the Maas cream (which I plan on tracking down this weekend) to touch it up. The amount of rust on the blade is really nothing to right home about, so I am just going to deal with it and tell the seller that I am a little dissapointed but want to keep the razor (and maybe he can cover the cost of the cream or if the pro will fix it, the price of getting it professionally done).

Anyway, thanks again for all your help. I will be sure to post again after my first shave / attempt. I just want to shave already, it is hard to wait for all this sharpening and such. But it wont be long now!

Tristan

Tristan, I bought Maas at an antique store. Most carry wood and metal refinishing products, at least the bigger shops. I have also used Moms chrome cleaner that I picked up at a car parts store.

Ace Hardware carries Maas. good luck!

sounds like a plan. i would probably do the maas treatment before honing as it's dangerous for the edge. you can of course be very careful to not get close to it, but it's always safer to do it the other way around.

Simichrome applied to the blade and worked with the fingers, then allowed to dry, then buffed off with a cloth should remove 99.9% of the rust. Polished steel is more difficult to rust than rough. Careful of the edge. It may not be shaving sharp, but will still cut skin...

Got my MAAS at walgreens. Good luck with your razor!

never-dull works great too you can get it at walmart or autozone