Thread: Whats the best way to keep my blade looking good?

If you buy a new razor especially with mirror finish and Gold trim the best way to maintain the like new finish is to put some oil on the blade and put it in a storage container and never use it. No kidding.

If you use a razor its eventually going to begin to show wear and marks and the gold will begin to fade to matter how anal you are about it.

The best bet is to oil it after each use and use a little metal polish like maas or simichrome periodically or some cape cod polishing cloths. if the razor has gold trim your basically out at homeplate the gold comes off way too easily to use anything strong enough to remove markings. I prefer plain blades for a working daily use razor.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

...or some cape cod polishing cloths...

So there is a use for this stuff!

Probably the easiest way to keep a blade in pristine condition is to not use it for shaving.

I put a bit of mineral oil on a piece of tissue paper and wipe the blade on it. Dont like to get my fingers too close to the edge.....

After every shave I run my razor under really hot water which heats up the blade, then i wipe it down with a tissue to dry it off (the heated blade evaporates the water quickly), careful not to get any water into the pin by the scales. Then I put a couple of drops of regular mineral oil on another tissue and wipe the blade (using a "stropping" action to get the edge. I do this more to protect the edge from rusting than anything else.

I also used Maas metal polish to shine up the balde occationally. I have goldwash on my razors, and decided I like a shiny blade better than the goldwash, so I don't worry about the Maas stripping it away (which it does in short order).

-Chief

After every shave I rinse off my blade, wipe it with a towel, and then dip it in a 0.5% solution of mineral oil in isopropanol. The alcohol removes all water and the residual oil protects the blade.

Actually, another good everyday oil is sewing machine oil.


Lynn

I really should get a pilot's license as once again my comments will show that I am flying in the face of collected wisdom: I don't oil my razors if they are in my shaving rotation and they don't get rusty. At least I can't tell that they are corroded and they don't shave as if they are corroded. If one is familiar with the Popular Science(?) article from the 1930's, one will realize that rust starts quickly and can be shown on 3000 power photo-micrographs. A member here (mparker) is a great advocate of using the linen strop to remove that micro-corrosion before stropping on leather.

I don't have 3000 power photo-micrographic capabilities, so I can't see any of that nagging micro-corrosion and the bevels still look shiny and the blades are not red with rust, so I blithely stumble on without oiling the blades, but I do use the (mparker) linen precaution - just in case... However, at the finish of my shave I do wipe the blade between my thumb and forefinger under quite warm water to remove any lather scum and then turn the tap to scalding hot for a final rinse. Once thusly rinsed, I wipe the blade and shank dry, close it only enough to keep the edge protected, and put it on the razor rotation shelf in my bathroom. When I shelve the razor the blade is dry and still very warm to the touch. My opinion is that dry steel is going to rust very, very slowly in a room with relatively normal humidity or normal relative humidity. Humidity from showering is exhausted out - enough so that the mirror does not get fogged.

Oiling is probably a good thing to do, but the lube/protectant needs to be wiped off before the razor is used again - at least for me as I hate a slippery razor. I'm challenged enough with just handling one that's nice and dry.

good luck & eschew corrosion

Originally Posted by Bruce

I really should get a pilot's license as once again my comments will show that I am flying in the face of collected wisdom: I don't oil my razors if they are in my shaving rotation and they don't get rusty. At least I can't tell that they are corroded and they don't shave as if they are corroded. If one is familiar with the Popular Science(?) article from the 1930's, one will realize that rust starts quickly and can be shown on 3000 power photo-micrographs. A member here (mparker) is a great advocate of using the linen strop to remove that micro-corrosion before stropping on leather.

I don't have 3000 power photo-micrographic capabilities, so I can't see any of that nagging micro-corrosion and the bevels still look shiny and the blades are not red with rust, so I blithely stumble on without oiling the blades, but I do use the (mparker) linen precaution - just in case... However, at the finish of my shave I do wipe the blade between my thumb and forefinger under quite warm water to remove any lather scum and then turn the tap to scalding hot for a final rinse. Once thusly rinsed, I wipe the blade and shank dry, close it only enough to keep the edge protected, and put it on the razor rotation shelf in my bathroom. When I shelve the razor the blade is dry and still very warm to the touch. My opinion is that dry steel is going to rust very, very slowly in a room with relatively normal humidity or normal relative humidity. Humidity from showering is exhausted out - enough so that the mirror does not get fogged.

Oiling is probably a good thing to do, but the lube/protectant needs to be wiped off before the razor is used again - at least for me as I hate a slippery razor. I'm challenged enough with just handling one that's nice and dry.

good luck & eschew corrosion

Gee.......I wonder if where you live has any influence over your opinions.......

Lynn

Originally Posted by Bruce

If one is familiar with the Popular Science(?) article from the 1930's, one will realize that rust starts quickly and can be shown on 3000 power photo-micrographs. A member here (mparker) is a great advocate of using the linen strop to remove that micro-corrosion before stropping on leather.

I don't have 3000 power photo-micrographic capabilities, so I can't see any of that nagging micro-corrosion and the bevels still look shiny and the blades are not red with rust, so I blithely stumble on without oiling the blades, but I do use the (mparker) linen precaution - just in case... However, at the finish of my shave I do wipe the blade between my thumb and forefinger under quite warm water to remove any lather scum and then turn the tap to scalding hot for a final rinse. Once thusly rinsed, I wipe the blade and shank dry, close it only enough to keep the edge protected, and put it on the razor rotation shelf in my bathroom. When I shelve the razor the blade is dry and still very warm to the touch. My opinion is that dry steel is going to rust very, very slowly in a room with relatively normal humidity or normal relative humidity. Humidity from showering is exhausted out - enough so that the mirror does not get fogged.

Oiling is probably a good thing to do, but the lube/protectant needs to be wiped off before the razor is used again - at least for me as I hate a slippery razor. I'm challenged enough with just handling one that's nice and dry.

good luck & eschew corrosion

My razors are in a relatively humid basement and a completely humid locker room. It takes just a moment for me to dip a razor in my solution and it lasts for a long time before I have to top it off--just under one year. I have never bothered to wipe off the oil. I just strop a couple strokes on leather to remove the oil from the edge and to help condition the strop, then strop linen and then back to leather. I've been doing this for years and the small amount of oil transferred has had no ill effect on my strops. I just consider it to be easy insurance.

BTW, I've seen rust form on an edge 5 minutes after honing using just 10x magnification. Definitely always remember to strop or oil right after any honing session.