Thread: How to prevent rust?

By no means am I saying this is the only way but I haven't had a rust problem since I started doing it this way....

I BTW don't pay any attention to not getting the pivot wet..

Rinse razor under very hot water, shake off excess water with a snap of the wrist or two... wipe off razor, spray a folded piece of TP with WD-40 wipe blade, tang, and tail, leave razor open in drawer until the next morning then fold and put it in it's spot... Take out next razor in rotation, wipe off WD-40, strop, shave and repeat...
I have not had an adverse reaction to any scales as of yet, although I have not tried this on wooden scales that have only wax for protection, I would be very careful there....

For drying the razor (and preventing rust), I wipe it down with a towel being careful not to get too close the the cutting edge - I then, very lightly "strop" the blade on a towel to remove the water near the edge. Once that is done, I strop the blade on my strop about 15 times just to ensure that the edge is very dry. I then put the razor on my dresser, outside of the bathroom, in an open 90 degree position to allow it to air dry for at least a couple of hours.

As for rinsing the blade, I always rinse the lather off with very hot water and the toe pointed downward, trying not to get the pivot wet.

No rust yet with this routine!

Hope that helps,

Mark

I dry it on the towel I used on my face, then strop it on that towel a couple of times. Then fold it up and put it in my draweri n the bathroom. No rust in several years.

Originally Posted by Lt.Arclight

Mineral oil, nothing else needed.

Mineral oil FTW!
I never run my razor under running water when shaving. I wipe the lather off on the back of my hand as i shave. When I'm done, I GENTLY wipe the razor blade with a couple of sheets of tissue paper. Other than the lather, my blades don't touch water.
Blade that are not being used get a light coating of mineral oil. Alot of my razors are vintage straights and they are very happy with this lifestyle.
Ernest

Wow! Really? I rinse mine off with hot water, shake them dry, wipe them off with a cup towel and then strop on leather for 10 laps. No rust in MANY years of doing this. Maybe the oils from the leather are doing the trick.

I have been thinking about the alcohol/oil method: For this method to work, the alcohol has to be water free (100%, 200 proof), right? Otherwise you always end up with some water on your blade. However, 100% alcohol absorbs moisture overtime. How do you prevent that? perhaps using a dessicant? Could this be another conundrum?

Al raz.

Oil and water don't mix

Thus, coat your blade in oil, and water won't get to it. You don't have to screw around with alcohol, except to steady your hands...

What about using a desiccant in whatever you store your razor in? Granted your storage box would have to be airtight for this to work effectively, but it seems like a simple solution for anybody living where the humidity was high, no oil needed. Any thoughts guys?

I agree that oil and water are not soluble in significant quantities (about 55 parts per million w/o) but they can be mixed together because of the ethanol. If I get you correctly, this does not matter because the oil is closest to the blade. If this is the case, why not spray lightly with the oil alone after you wipe your blade?

Al raz.

I consider there to be two advantages of using a mix of oil and alcohol over just spraying or wiping with oil. First, the alcohol causes the rapid evaporation of any residual water. Second, the oil dissolved in the alcohol is spread uniformly and thinly everywhere on the blade when the alcohol and water evaporate.

I use a 1:250 mixture of mineral oil and isopropyl alcohol. Until recently I was using olive oil because I considered it to be better for the skin but found out that olive oil has a low pH that might damage metal. Mineral oil WILL dissolve in isopropyl alcohol but it will take a few days.

I have read in this forum that alcohol can damage scales. I have been dipping my razors in the oil/alcohol mix beyond the pivot pin for at least three years and have never seen any affect on any of my scales. If you are worried about it for your razors, then just dip the blade and keep the scales out of the mix.