Thread: How to prevent rust?

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.