Thread: Protect my Steel

I've been sorting this same dilemma out over the past few weeks..

I have treated all of my blades with Renesance Wax. Makes rinsing them really easy, though I have adopted the practice of 'wipe on a face cloth instead of rinse'. (I still rinse the Feather AC razors)

I've settled on rinsing the blade with very hot water and drying with a few squares of toilet tissue.. also drying between the scales and around the pivot and giving a good puff at the pivot to blow out any water. I strop it on linen to be sure the edge is dry, then leave it out to dry completely. When I come home later in the day, I strop on leather and put a dab of oil from Hart Steel on the blade. I store them outside of the bathroom. Initially, I hadn't been doing the oil but now that I have a few more razors, the down time for each is getting longer. If you're using one or two razors in constant rotation, the oil might be more of a headache to apply any wipe off.

Mineral oil is a good choice too.. At the suggestion of another member, I have mine cut 4:1 with alcohol. Helps it evaporate, thins it a bit and supposedly helps to displace water. I do find it a bit a pain to deal with. I have it in a smaller vial with an eye dropper and one drop is enough oil to treat a dozen blades, so was just touching the glass dropper tip to the blade and working with that quantity of oil.

My regular shavers I dry with make up removal pads...I blow real hard on the pivot bearing to get any water outta there. Make sure the inside of the scales are dry too. I don't store mine in the bathroom as it is so humid. If I ain't gonna use one for a while, I give it a light coat of mineral oil and put it in a wooden jewelry box drawer. In the drawer, I have 4 of those packs that come in pill bottles for the purpose of absorbing moisture. Desiccant packs I think they're called. Some guys make a point of not rinsing the blade during the shave, but rather keeping a towel or sponge on hand to wipe off the blade between passes. Good Luck.

Originally Posted by Wayne1963

My regular shavers I dry with make up removal pads...I blow real hard on the pivot bearing to get any water outta there. Make sure the inside of the scales are dry too. I don't store mine in the bathroom as it is so humid. If I ain't gonna use one for a while, I give it a light coat of mineral oil and put it in a wooden jewelry box drawer. In the drawer, I have 4 of those packs that come in pill bottles for the purpose of absorbing moisture. Desiccant packs I think they're called. Some guys make a point of not rinsing the blade during the shave, but rather keeping a towel or sponge on hand to wipe off the blade between passes. Good Luck.

Its called silica gell, it comes in new shoes and beef jerky amongst other things

Originally Posted by Wayne1963

I have 4 of those packs that come in pill bottles for the purpose of absorbing moisture. Desiccant packs I think they're called.

Originally Posted by edhewitt

Its called silica gell, it comes in new shoes and beef jerky amongst other things

Silica gel is a desiccant. Six of one, half a dozen of the other

Originally Posted by Jonah

Silica gel is a desiccant. Six of one, half a dozen of the other

Quite right, wasn't trying to be facetious, just giving a name for the product in case folks were looking for some and the packet only said silica gel on it but not desiccant. In any case no smugness or offence intended.

There are so many variables; the general environment where you live (Mobile Alabama I would consider a very humid environment), the environment where you store your razors (in the bathroom- not recommended!, etc.), the type of steel of your razors, how often you use your razors, etc. You will hear all sorts of things on this forum how guys get by with all sorts of things and never see rust. The last thing, believe me, you ever want to see is rust on one of your razors.

There are two easy things you can control; where you store your razors and how you clean/preserve them. What works for anyone else on this forum may not necessarily work for you. I would guess that you may want to consider oiling your razors right after rinsing and drying them. To clean. I rinse and dry carefully with a towel then with a cotton square. Then put on oil with an SRD oil applicator (not really necessary but it saves some time. Don't blow into the pivot. That's the equivalent of blowing steam into your pivot. Once you get used to it it takes no time at all to both apply the oil and to take it off. If your rotation is small this may be unnecessary. I like to use leather razor rolls. After a while, they pick up some of the oil you have been using and for those rare times you forget or don't have time to oil they sort of cover for you. They also "breathe" and help pull the moisture, if any is there, from the contents and wick it out. Just like shoes do for our feet.

Originally Posted by edhewitt

Quite right, wasn't trying to be facetious, just giving a name for the product in case folks were looking for some and the packet only said silica gel on it but not desiccant. In any case no smugness or offence intended.

No worries bud, all is well

Originally Posted by Wayne1963

My regular shavers I dry with make up removal pads...I blow real hard on the pivot bearing to get any water outta there. Make sure the inside of the scales are dry too. I don't store mine in the bathroom as it is so humid. If I ain't gonna use one for a while, I give it a light coat of mineral oil and put it in a wooden jewelry box drawer. In the drawer, I have 4 of those packs that come in pill bottles for the purpose of absorbing moisture. Desiccant packs I think they're called. Some guys make a point of not rinsing the blade during the shave, but rather keeping a towel or sponge on hand to wipe off the blade between passes. Good Luck.

I also stick to a towel to wipe between passes. As tempting as it is to rinse with the tap. I've found that using a towel will show you just how well you are shaving, especially after a long hiatus.

Originally Posted by MikekiM

Mineral oil is a good choice too.. At the suggestion of another member, I have mine cut 4:1 with alcohol. Helps it evaporate, thins it a bit and supposedly helps to displace water. I do find it a bit a pain to deal with. I have it in a smaller vial with an eye dropper and one drop is enough oil to treat a dozen blades, so was just touching the glass dropper tip to the blade and working with that quantity of oil.

I ordered a small bottle of razor oil from vintage blades with my razor, I believe it is mineral oil, the bottle itself comes with a foam applicator tip similar to the glue applicators we had as kids. It is very easy to put on, kind of a pita to wipe off completely before stropping

I avoid geting the razor too wet all over during shaving, use the towel to keep my hands dry and run the blade under the faucet without getting anything else wet. If I miss I run paper towels between the scales and blow air to dry but normally I dry the blade with a hand towel I keep in my shave area. I strop 25 on leather before putting the razor away. My razor box is made of bamboo and has lots of vents, but after I shave I lay the razor on top of the box to dry out anything I may have missed. Next day, I put a drop of mineral oil I keep in a small bottle with dropper, and place the razor back in the box, and pick the next one. I keep bags of dessicant in the box.