Storing a razor between uses

Hello all,

I was wondering what I should be doing with my razor between uses? I always make sure to dry off the blade and move it to a dry location (aka, not the bathroom). But should I be putting oil on the blade? And if so, what kind of oil? Will Vaseline do, or should I order a specific type of oil online or from a hardware store or something? Let me know what you think. I would definitely prefer not to have to order something online, as to save on shipping for such a small item. Thanks for your time and for your help!!

Tristan

Though there are more optimum places to store your razor between shaves, the bathroom is always the most common place. If you have a powder room with no shower that would be easier on the razors/strops. It all depends on personal preference. After shaving, I rinse and towel dry my razor then close it and keep it on the bathroom counter top. I do have a stainless blade so I'm not overly concerned with rusting. I also shave with that particular razor daily or semi- daily so the regular stropping keeps the edge fresh and clean. My strop lives just outside the bathroom to keep her away from changing temps/humidity. I hang it in the bathroom only long enough to get through the shave and then it goes back out to it's hanging spot. Some people swear by oiling their blade nightly to protect them. Like I said, it's all personal preference. As long as you dry the blade after shaving, you may want to do a a few laps on the strop to help clean, dry the edge for you. Anything past that I think is overkill. No reason to worry too much about the small stuff. Good Luck!

Depends on the humidity I guess. Vaseline should be just fine.

I wonder about using a towel to dry the razor afterwards. I guess I am paranoid about impacting the edge of the blade, but is there any need to worry about the edge when drying the razor with a towel or cloth? Are some towels better for this (ie microfiber or chamois or terrytowel) or does it really not matter??

Rocket,


For my own razors I rinse in the hottest water the faucet will deliver and wipe the blade with a stropping motion on a cotton terry cloth towel, pinch the spine and wipe in the towel grasped between thumb and forefinger to make sure it is dry, wipe the tip and shank, and I'm done. The razors in rotation are stored on a shelf in my bathroom; there is no evidence of any rust, but I have a dry house with forced air heat so my conditions may be different than yours.

ps, and only some of my razors are stainless steel.

Thanks for all the input. I will try a bit of vasoline on the edge between uses because my house tends to get a bit humid, and it probably wont hurt anything. I just wonder about these things because I want the blade to remain sharp for as long as possible after a good honing, and I keep hearing people mention oil on their blades between use and I wonder how important that is. Thanks again.

Tristan

This is what I do: After my shave I wipe the blade very carefully with toilet paper, and let the razor dry in an open position for a while. It is so dry here in Canada at the moment that it doesn't take long. Once it's dry I take some heavy mineral oil (pure, with no water added) and wipe it on the blade with a bit of tissue. Mineral oil would probably work better than Vaseline, probably for no other reason than it wipes off easier when you pick that razor up for the next shave. As for the storage place, there seems to be differing opinions on this. IMO I do not like storing my razors in the bathroom because a) I don't like having them in the most humid room in the house, and b) I have kids, so that would be a recipe for disaster.

I dry my blade on a towel and store it in a wooden cigar box with the rest of my blades. No rust at all since I started using the cigar box. I don't need any oil or anything else. Plus cigar boxes are cheap...:D

I think that it kinda depends on how many razors you are storing and with what frequency you shave with each. I have 8 currently and I use all of them except one that is going to be sold. I dry with towell, finish clean up, me and the shave den, dry again with tissue, oil lightly with sewing machine oil, 2-3 drops max, fold and store in my razor holder.

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/b.../shave/021.jpg

This is kept in the shaving den and no showers done there.

If you have only 1 or 2 and use them both you probably could skip the oil, but why?:shrug:

Mark

I usually dry the razor, then let it air dry some more while i do the needful. Then strop it, put some mineral oil on it.

I dry and strop the edge and put them in a cedar cigar box. Vaseline or any other oil will also protect the life of your edge substantially.

X

So I have adopted a set of thorough storing habits based on these great posts.

I will now shave, dry with a cloth (being careful not to actually wipe the very edge of the blade), strop, put a light coat of mineral oil along the edge of the blade, and then store in a wooden box (which I actually made over the weekend to store my 3 blades!!).

Anyway, thanks for all the great posts. SRP is an awesome source for information!:rock:

Tristan

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by tadamsde

So I have adopted a set of thorough storing habits based on these great posts.

I will now shave, dry with a cloth (being careful not to actually wipe the very edge of the blade), strop, put a light coat of mineral oil along the edge of the blade, and then store in a wooden box (which I actually made over the weekend to store my 3 blades!!).

Anyway, thanks for all the great posts. SRP is an awesome source for information!:rock:

Tristan

---

I just want to let you know I was using a regular wooden box a while back and that didn't help. I don't know what is different about a cigar box, probably the type of wood but it makes a difference.

I've only been doing this for 40 years or so, but I've learned not to put anything on my razor that I wouldn't first put directly on my face. There are some hard learned lessons there, but I won't bore you.
Dovo markets a lubricant called "Sterol" that is a sterilized product that is safe for skin contact.
Camelia oil is also a good protectant and the best recommendation I've heard is that Lynn & Don use it to protect the razors they ship.

Casey 302, thanks for the post. Sounds very reasonable. I believe mineral oil is edible, I use it to oil my wooden cutting board in the kitchen. Camelia oil sounds good too.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mkevenson

Casey 302, thanks for the post. Sounds very reasonable. I believe mineral oil is edible, I use it to oil my wooden cutting board in the kitchen. Camelia oil sounds good too.

---

Agreed. I was looking for a while for some mineral oil, and ended up finding it at the pharmacy. It is edible; I also believe it is used as a laxative. So let that be a lesson to all you boys and girls..... don't eat the goo or you'll be on the loo :rofl2:

I live in the tropics in Thailand so i have to cope with high humidity. After I use my razor I wrinse under a cold tap (don't have hot water) then strop a few times on a towl to dry. Then I do a few laps on the strop to make sure the edge is dry and clean. Then the razor goes into my basket holding all my shaving gear and strop which gets put into my room away from little fingers. I never bother with oiling my razors unless I am going to be going away for a week or two and won't be using my razors.
But where ever you decide to store your razors just make sure they are in a dry airy place.

FYI,Woodcraft.com has camellia oil in a spray bottle.I haven't bought mine yet,but I'm going to.