Thread: Question . . .

So, with the impending arrival of my Ralf Aust 5/8, I have been watching a few tutorials on Youtube (yes, the Lynn Abrams was top of the list), which leads me to my question . . .

Abrams seems to make a very strong point about keeping water away from the scales, and I understand his point, in general. I "get" that water will negatively affect the area around the pins, through trapped moisture and so on. But is it really that big of a problem? What I mean is, if I happen to slop a little water on the pivot area of my razor in the first few shaves, is it really that difficult to ensure that it is properly dried before storing it? I would think even something as simple as a short blast with the wife's hair dryer would solve the problem. At worst, store the blade next to a dessicant of some kind.

Obviously, I will not be submerging my new straight in the sink or tub, but am I making a mountain out of a mole hill?

The only time my razor sees water is as-finished shaving, I hold the blade down and rinse the blade, from tang downward, dry it on a towel, stropping the edge on the towel. I always fold a hand towel on the side of the sink to strop lather/hairs off during the shave.
Rinsing lather/hairs off during the shave is asking for faucet dings, IMO. If the pivot gets wet, a bit of tissue, possibly light hair dryer, will dry it out, but do it after the shave when hands are dry. YMMV

I oil the pivot on mine fairly regularly. I do rinse mine while shaving. I carefully hold it tip down and the water flows down the blade away from the pivot. There is the risk on more than just water in the pivot doing it though. A razors edge is extremely fragile and if it you touch the sink or the tap it will mess up your edge. The towel is the the safest method by far.

I'm meticulous about keeping my hands and the razor dry when I shave. I use a wet wash cloth to wipe lather off the blade.

gssixguns does not worry about getting the pivot wet.

I think we're both right.

Can't add more to what has been said other than the tang/pivot and/or scales should never get wet under normal use. It is the old ounce of prevention can be worth a pound of cure. There are always accident though.

Bob

Thanks, guys . . . part of the reason (main reason really) is that I am a tub shaver. I find my skin dries too much between a shower and shaving for comfort. This may necessitate a change in method I had not considered.

Originally Posted by Orville

Thanks, guys . . . part of the reason (main reason really) is that I am a tub shaver. I find my skin dries too much between a shower and shaving for comfort. This may necessitate a change in method I had not considered.

Call me a coward but shaving in a shower with a straight razor just seems too risky for me. Too many body parts for it to fall on for me from slippery wet hands.

Bob

Originally Posted by Orville

Thanks, guys . . . part of the reason (main reason really) is that I am a tub shaver. I find my skin dries too much between a shower and shaving for comfort. This may necessitate a change in method I had not considered.

i dont know if you have dry areas on your face or just your whole face in general , but i get really bad try skin on the tops of my cheeks , around my nose , and around my upper lip to where the sides of the mouth meet ... lately my ex wife had talked me into using sesame seed oil in those areas , she says every day but i have tried it 2-3 times a week and noticed that the after pealing of dry skin has almost all been gone after drying the face ... this might be something you could try to get you shaving over a sink instead of in the tub as wet hands holding a sharp razor in a tub can have a high risk of dropping your razor and getting cut or damage to the blade .... of course you have your own thing going but i would try that oil applied lightly if dry skin is an issue either way ..

Originally Posted by Orville

.. I am a tub shaver...

Reading this made me cringe, honestly. Soapy wet fingers, slippery wet steel - you are a braver man than I. Don't ever drop your razor. Better yet, consider re-thinking this entire scenarion.

if you're shaving in the shower it being subjected to quite a bit of moisture even if water doesn't directly come in contact with it. Overall it's not the best method to shave with a straight. A DE no problem.