Thread: Blade maintenance?

Ok, I've looked around the forums a little and I'm finding it hard to track down the answers I'm looking for in regards to maintaining the blade on a daily basis.

I want to keep my blade in the bathroom and I'm going to be purchasing a cigar box to store it in but after I shave:

What, if anything, do I clean the blade with? (alcohol etc?)

What, if anything, should I coat the blade with (carbon) to protect it?

If I coat the blade with an oil, do I need to clean this off before shaving again?

Thanks guys!

Depending on the humidity where you live changes how best to care for carbon blades. Knives in Hawaii need different care than blades in Arizona. I'm in the bay area in CA and it's not that humid here so I don't coat my blades at all unless we get a humid system come through. Than I use food grade mineral oil very lightly to coat. So far no rust on the razors or the carbon kitchen knives.

After shaving I dry the razor off, place on a clean dry towel while I get the rest of my equipment cleaned and put away. I check the razor for any drops of water that I missed the first time and put it away. I store them in a ceramic vase on the counter.

Your results may vary

As DwarvenChef said, depends on where you live. I never store my razors in the bathroom, it is too humid after showers. I store them in a cigar box, on a top shelf in my hallway closet. After shaving, I wipe my razor dry with a wade of tissue paper and place it ontop of the cigar box 'till the next shave. I strop my razors in the evenings. I keep the razors awaiting their rotation inside the cigar box and coat the blade in light machine oil. Most guys on this site are using mineral oil because it's safer and causes less reactions with the skin. You do have to wipe the oil off before use but some residue always seem to stay on and mineral oil is gentle on skin. I really should switch to mineral oil but I just like the smell of machine oil.
Ernest

Word is water isn't the only enemy. Alcohol itself, oily, acidic, salty fingerprints also do their part. You don't want anything working on your blade under a coating of whatever lube.
There seems to be some schools for keeping the air circulating around the blade and others are basically boxing it or even saran wrapping the oiled blade to keep all moisture and air away. You have to factor in the safety from little peeps, and environment factors. Practice due diligence for your environment.

The heavy storage techniques like coating the blade in mineral oil or wrapping it are really for long term storage. If you're talking about blades in your regular rotation I think you should be fine with simple, but diligent maintenance. I live in a moist climate and what I do are dry the blade and scales completely, blow through the shoulder pin from the spine side if the blade, wipe the edge with a little rubbing alcohol, let it air dry for about 15 minutes or more, strop a dozen laps on finishing leather and store in a cedar cigar box, but I do keep that in my bedroom and most of my blades also slip into a cardboard carrier.

X

I think most of us follow the same general routine with minor variation depending on razor use and local climate. I have about 70 razors in my rotation so I only use most of them maybe a few times a year so I always make sure I have a good coat of sterol on them and that they are perfectly dry. I keep my razors in a series of wood boxes away from the bathroom. After use I usually wipe em down good, blow through the scales and leave air dry about 20 minutes and then apply sterol. If I had only a few I probably wouldn't bother with the sterol.

I keep my daily shavers in a cigar box with one of these:

http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/i...OD&ProdID=7789

I carefully dry them with tissue and then put them away.

Note: No crumbstealers here, LOL.

Thanks everyone. That's really helped me a lot. I now have a short shopping list to take care of and I'll be set and ready to go.

Much appreciated!

I have been using Vaseline to coat my blades after they are fully dried and kept in a closest away from the bathroom. Has anyone had any good, bad, or indifferent experience using Vaseline? I just read this thread and will probably invest in some mineral oil, but am curious to hear responses to this first.