Thread: Drying off your razor...

All seven of my razors are just plain ole steel. I've been careful about drying them off post shave as best as I can, but the tang area (especially around the pin) is just too hard to get dry.

So I'm thinking...If I put a tall decanter full of 91% isopropyl alchohol on the sink, and dipped my razor in it all the way up to the monkey tail after shaving, would this be an effective way to displace the water and prevent rust? Would it damage the old bakelite or celluloid scales?

I'd sure hate to be responsible for rusting out these 100+ year old gems I'm using to hack hair off my face.

I know that the alcohol doesn't get on well with some scale materials, so test it out first.

I think the best thing to do is to keep water out of the pin area altogether. When I rinse the razor, I use my thumb and forefinger to cover the tang near the pin to keep the water out. I also keep the water pressure low so it won't run up the tang.

Jordan

Originally Posted by jnich67

I know that the alcohol doesn't get on well with some scale materials, so test it out first.

I think the best thing to do is to keep water out of the pin area altogether. When I rinse the razor, I use my thumb and forefinger to cover the tang near the pin to keep the water out. I also keep the water pressure low so it won't run up the tang.

Jordan

Same here. When I rinse my razor off under the sink, which isn't very often as during the shave I wipe it on a cloth to remove the built up lather and cuttings only rinsing it at the very end to remove any soap residue. Then I just towel dry the damp blade, neever getting the tang area wet.

Keeping the area dry sounds like a much better idea than exposing old scales to alcohol repeatedly.

Do any of you guys keep a little dressing of light weight machine oil around the pin area just in case it gets a bit damp?

I'm probably being paranoid here, but I'm working darn hard at restoring these blades to rust/pit/stain/defect free condition, and *really* want to prevent any rust, etc. from re-appearing.

Some guys apply Cammila(sp?) after every shave for rust protection.

I would look for a more natural/ healthful alternative rust preventer than machine oil just in case some got into an open shaving cut off your razor sometime.

I also do my best to keep moisture away from the tang and tail of the razor. I only need to rinse the lather.
When water does sneak in there, I dry it off with a paper towel as best as I can and then hope for the best. Others have resorted to using blowdryers (on low, I assume.) Whatever works, I guess. You could probably oil the pivot area daily as well if you wanted to play it safe

Could someone tell me what type of scale material is not compatible with alcohol?

Originally Posted by hoglahoo

I also do my best to keep moisture away from the tang and tail of the razor. I only need to rinse the lather.
When water does sneak in there, I dry it off with a paper towel as best as I can and then hope for the best. Others have resorted to using blowdryers (on low, I assume.) Whatever works, I guess. You could probably oil the pivot area daily as well if you wanted to play it safe

Agree here. It is best to try to only rinse the blade so that the water doesn't come in contact with the pin. Sometimes leaving the razor open for a while after shaving to dry will help, but if the pin area is saturated, it may not. The preventative drop of oil may not be bad either, but you may have to tighten the pin some.

Lynn

I have had problems with this in the past, so I decided to solve the issue with a cross-discipline approach:

I treat all my razor blades with Militec1 and low heat, (this is intended as a lubricant/rust preventative on firearms) and have no had any rust at all since doing this, even if I put the razor up soaking wet.

It's important to put the Militec1 on hot (150F) metal or it won't bond right for some reason.

This is the one thing with razors that I guess I don't have OCD on.... I dunk the whole razor when shaving I rinse the whole thing...
I hold it tightly after shaving and snap it with a flick of the wrist to get the water off wipe it dry on a towel and then use a tissue sprayed with WD-40 to wipe down the blade.. I leave the razor open until the next day then chose another, and put that one back in it's spot....
So far so good I have never had a rust problem since I started doing this about a year and a half ago... Obviously you have to wipe the blades before shaving again....

I don't know whether I would even recommend this way of doing it but it works for me...