Thread: WD40: Does it have any place in straight razor care?

I know WD40 is bad for your skin, so I realise that it shouldn't be used on any part of the blade that touches your face, but I was wondering about how best to keep water out of the pivot and some of the other parts that are tough to wipe dry.

Perhaps WD40 is OK to use to force water out of those little corners?

I would not use WD40. It's more of a cleaner than a petroleum lubricant. If you want to dry around the pin and scales after your shaves. Get a can of compressed air used for cleaning computer keyboards etc. Just be sure your blade is wiped dry after your shave. Store it in an open air environment and not in a room with high humidity. You can polish the blade occasionally with a mild metal polish. Polishing will remove the oxide tarnish which is normal for carbon steel blades. If you store your razors for extended periods without use. Wipe them down with a commercial product called a "Tuf Cloth".

The easiest and best way is to not allow moisture near the pivot. If you rinse the blade holding the blade downward (toe toward the bottom of the sink) and keep the water flow light and an inch from the pivot, water never gets to it. My pivots never get wet.

I'll have to disagree WD40 is a good lubricant and preservative , it us a cleaner also. So the best of both worlds , I have used it for many things and on razors no ill effect , as a matter of fact I know of a couple guys who always use it and their guys who do this for a living. Not arguing , just in my experience it will not harm your razor and to tell you the truth I've never been harmed with it on my skin. Tc

Originally Posted by feltspanky

If you store your razors for extended periods without use. Wipe them down with a commercial product called a "Tuf Cloth".

Or just a cloth impregnated with mineral oil.

Originally Posted by ace

The easiest and best way is to not allow moisture near the pivot. If you rinse the blade holding the blade downward (toe toward the bottom of the sink) and keep the water flow light and an inch from the pivot, water never gets to it. My pivots never get wet.

The easiest and best way not to allow moisture near the pivot is not to allow any water near the blade. Wipe the lather off on a cloth or sponge and don't ever let water touch your blade.

Originally Posted by tcrideshd

I'll have to disagree WD40 is a good lubricant and preservative , it us a cleaner also. So the best of both worlds , I have used it for many things and on razors no ill effect , as a matter of fact I know of a couple guys who always use it and their guys who do this for a living. Not arguing , just in my experience it will not harm your razor and to tell you the truth I've never been harmed with it on my skin. Tc

I'm not crazy about WD40 as a protectant for steel, but everyone is welcome to their own opinion.

I'm not as tolerant about your skin logic. A lot of things can cause harm for a long time before that harm becomes evident. Cancer is a good example of that. To reduce risk, I use a food grade mineral oil on my blades. I would prefer to use Ballistol, which is what I use on my muzzleloader and consider to be a better protectant, but I consider that to be of slightly greater risk to me.

Well as always Everything about Straight Razors is a 'Personal Preference' so anytime someone 'Prefers' something and someone else 'Prefers' something else, it opens up a 'Hornet's Nest'.



When the dust settles and tempers cool, it's still 'Personal Preference'.

Sanfte Rasur, mein Klingenbruder!

(Smooth Shaving My Brother In Blades)

OH!

Personally I use both WD 40 and Ballistol

I thought WD40 is a mineral oil. I think it used to be dinosaurs and plants and other critters before it became 'mineral' and then it got pumped out from deep under the earth's surface, refined and packaged in a bottle.
Like a lot of other stuff it's mostly C from CO2, hydrogen from H2O and sunlight to break off the Os so that the Cs and Hs can combine. I don't drink it because other CHs taste better, don't use it as aftershave because other CHs work and smell better, but I've put it on blades when I ship them or when I won't use them for a while as well as when sanding razors.

It's probably somewhat carcenogenic like most things including sunlight are, but it's unlikely to be as bad as, say, smoking tobacco.

Originally Posted by smolloy

..I was wondering about how best to keep water out of the pivot and some of the other parts that are tough to wipe dry. ...Perhaps WD40 is OK to use to force water out of those little corners?

Keep water out by not letting water in as said above. In Detroit there was a man who worked the auto assembly line wearing a white suit every day. He stayed neat and clean eight-hours/day because, he said, he paid attention to what he was doing and his movements were "precise". When I failed to pay attention there was water and soap on my hands, fingers, razors and pins almost every day; now I am more precise. Hands and razors never get soapy or wet except for lather on the blade. No grime or rust and never oiled a blade or pins with anything except a drop or two of baby oil from time to time.

It might be different in Skaene, Miami, Houston, Cincinnati, Darwin or the Marshall Islands where humidity is intense and everything rusts.

Wow! I wasn't expecting to generate a 3-page long thread! It seems use of WD-40 creates strong opinions!

Anyway, thanks to all for the help.

Originally Posted by smolloy

Wow! I wasn't expecting to generate a 3-page long thread! It seems use of WD-40 creates strong opinions!

Anyway, thanks to all for the help.

LOL think it has strong opinions here do a search on google and find the Firearms Forums


Also however many Firearms and Boat aficionados have done multiple tests on Rust Prevention there are tons of them just a click away I think you will be quite surprised to find what product scores in the top 5 in nearly everyone of them

The only Razor related thing I would not use WD-40 on, is unsealed wood scales, I would be a bit worried on that...