Grease residue on the razor after shaving. What is this?

Hi.

Just been shaving for some months with the straight. I love it, but there´s this issue that got me thinking.
When I finish I take a look at the razor, and there it is: some kind of dirt (maybe grease from the skin?), and it´s difficult to get rid of. I go over the strop but it remains there, so I end up wiping it out with a tisue and LOTS of caution so that I don´t damage the edge.
What´s this, guys? How do you get rid of it? Maybe someone asked about this before, but I don´t know how it´s called so the search function wasn´t helpful.
I have a couple of photos for you to see what I´m referring to. Here, have a look:

http://img41.imagevenue.com/loc121/t..._122_121lo.JPG

http://img169.imagevenue.com/loc813/..._122_813lo.JPG
http://straightrazorpalace.com/%5BUR...G%5D%5B/URL%5D

It looks like some left over soap residue. After you rinse off your blade (try it with hot water) do a gentle stropping motion on a towel. That should get it off. Your strop won't contact the blade much beyond the edge so it won't do much to get that stuff off,

Looks familiar. Is it ok to hold a towel between too fingers and run the blade between it, with the edge up?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kevor

Is it ok to hold a towel between two fingers and run the blade between it, with the edge up?

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Works for me....I am careful to stay at least an eighth of an inch away from the edge. Then I will finish off with a stropping motion against a towel followed up by a few passes on a strop.

Yes, maybe that´s just soap.
I´ve been looking at the razor while shaving and I saw it only happens on the second pass. Maybe the lather is a bit dry then and that´s the cause...
I´ll try to rinse with hotter water and see what happens, then carefully strop in the towel.
Mmmm... sometimes I´m so afraid of causing damage to the razor...

Sometimes if the lather seems really stuck on I rinse the blade under very hot water until it comes off (a little help from my finger comes in handy). A lot of guys prefer to wipe the lather off on a towel which allows them to avoid accidental contact between the faucet and the blade (and all the cursing that follows). You will find what works for you soon. If this is the worst problem you are having you are way ahead of the game. :)

I have relatively hard water, and get a fair amount of soap scum. I put some 99% isopropyl alcohol in a little spray bottle, and find that a good spray until the blade is dripping loosens the scum so that it wipes off much easier and completely with a tissue. (Probably, the more common 70% isopropyl would do about as well, if you can't find the 90-99% stuff.)

This is another good reason for oiling the blade (and leaving the oil on during the shave.) Since lather and water never really touch the blade - just the layer of oil on it - they never get the chance to stick or cause stains.

After shaving I rinse and wipe the blade and strop a few times on linen, then reapply the oil (Ballistol is my choice.)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by fritz

I have relatively hard water, and get a fair amount of soap scum. I put some 99% isopropyl alcohol in a little spray bottle, and find that a good spray until the blade is dripping loosens the scum so that it wipes off much easier and completely with a tissue. (Probably, the more common 70% isopropyl would do about as well, if you can't find the 90-99% stuff.)

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I just happen to have a bottle of 99% alcohol at home. I´ll defineatly give it a try for the next shave.

Lemon acid based bathroom cleaner is great for soap scum.