Thread: white gunk on razor?

I just got my straight razor a few weeks back. It's always dried off with tissue, and wiped with a drop of oil on each side of the blade after use. Today I noticed that there is white film/ gunk on both sides of the razor that does not come off with soap and water nor 91% isopropyl alcohol. Any idea what this could be, and how to clean it off? Any advice is greatly appreciated!

What kind of oil have you been using? My bet is it's the culprit.

How hard is your water? That might be clue one.

I have been using olive oil. It hasn't left any residue before though.
I am in New York, as far as i know our water is supposed to be fairly soft water.

I've used oils but found that if I dried the blade properly there was no need for it. I'd eliminate that variable. You may have to use Maas or Flitz polish to get the residue off.

Thanks! I'll be sure to get some. Just out of curiosity, how do you recommend drying the razor?

I just leave mine out to dry in the open position for several hours. If you have kids in the house, I'd suggest getting a can of compressed air to use to dry it so that it is not sitting out.

I should add that before leaving it out to dry, I rinse it off and wipe the excess water off with some toilet paper.

I dry mine after shaving by wiping longnitudally with a super dry towel, with two fingers, avoiding the edge. Then I gently strop the edge on the dry towel a few times, leave it open in a dry, safe place for a day and restrop it. Back into rotation! I am always carefull to not get the tang, nor scales wet. Rinsing only the blade.
I treat mine with Tuff-Glide after polishing and before honing and have never had an issue doing this. No re-oiling has ever been necessary. YMMV

If it's a "gunk", meaning sticky , gooey, spray it with WD-40, let it sit a little, try to wipe it off. If successful, then clean the WD-40 from your blade before use.

I store my blades in Baby oil for a few reasons. One, I kinda like the smell! Two, you can buy the stuff anywhere and it is relatively cheap and lasts forever! Works well for me, even though I live in pretty dry place I still use oil. YMMV