Thread: First straight shave

At the risk of opening up a can of worms I will disagree with #2. I let the steel recover as much as possible after a shave so as to minimize the potential damage to the edge. Steel has a memory... it wants to return to it's "natural" shape. I let it do so.

Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT

If you have a 12 razor rotation, then yeah. Anything up to 7 would be ok without using oil, as long as you:
1) Give it a quick clean with alcohol
2) Strop with linen/leather after shaving
3) Store them in a DRY place
With 12 razors, this is what I'd do to avoid any rust issues. Do steps 1 and 2. Let the razor sit in a dry place for a day, then oil it with ballistol. Takes a bit of adjustment, but it becomes a routine. Once you run out of it, you can just buy mineral oil, available for as low as 1-2EUR in any pharmacy. It will protect your blades from rust and it's dirt-cheap. It's also very safe, since baby oil is just scented mineral oil.

unless you are sharing razors, there is no reason or need to clean with disinfectant...after shaving I rinse the blade under hot water dry completely and strop the razor on leather side 30 laps...stroping also takes any excess moisture away from razor...With regard to oil unless I dont plan to use a razor for 2-3 months, or I am moving to tropics oiling a razor is busy work and not productive...I have over 100 high quality razors exposed to the air all the time ...as long as they dont get wet there is not rust or corrossion problems...with regard to stroping after shaving except for making sure razor is completely dry... I dont believe steel has a memory and is noncommital in its feeling about stroping or not stroping after shaving!

As you can see Piper, there are as many opinions as shavers.

When I strop after shaving I don't do the linen, just the leather and only about 12 passes to clean the edge.

I DO use alcohol to clean my blade after shaving. I do believe it helps prevent the survival of bacteria between shaves. It sure can't hurt. Disinfectants are used to stop the spread of bacterial cultures and from me, back to me is still spreading.

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