Never thought to try that myself Carl. Is it working well for you? I might have to make a switch.
Mick
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Yeah, it works fine. I've been using it since I started over a year ago. It's very light but does the job well. When the pivot gets a little grubby I just dip the pivot end of the razor in the jar. Normally I just up end the bottle on a tissue and wipe it on the blade and scales...
A knive maker recommended me the vaseline to this purpose,
Carl...where do ya get Eucalyptus oil at or is that Strailie indigenous ? Does it breakdown or go rancid easily ?
No Steph, it doesn't really go rancid and you should be able to get it over in the US...Geez you have Eucalyptus trees growing in California. I know! I've seen them there. Not natives, but someone has planted a nice large grove of them. Try some of those new age-y sort of shops or places where you can get 'essential oils' from.
If you don't like it as a blade oil, you can always use a few drops on your hanky the next time you have a cold to help clear your sinus'. I'm going to apply some to a razor tomorrow to see what I feel about it myself. I reckon it would be good stuff and I'm kicking myself that I didn't think of it as well. I have a bloody great bottle of the stuff staring at me every time I open the bathroom cabinet!
Mick
Health food and nutritional supplement stores sell eucalyptus oil.
You'll want "essential" oil I believe Steph. Anything else is either a blend or fragrant oil if I remember correctly. Blends can be a blend of several essential oils or one oil diluted down, usually with alcohol which may just evaporate off, leaving your razor unprotected. Fragrant oils are mostly a chemical concoction that smells like the essential oil but isn't derived from the plant itself.
Mick
From years ago, a lot of the original custom knife makers used to use Scott's Liquid Gold, the oil that you use to restore the luster on wood furniture. I had forgotten all about this until I started reading this thread and, low and behold!, I found my can in the closet, from the seventies, and almost full.
I forgot to mention that the reason SLG was used was because it didn't harm the exotic woods and ivory handles.
Hey everyone, I have noticed that some people here make their own pre-shave/post-shave oils and had a thought about blade oil as well, because if our face gets to smell nice, why not our beloved blades??? :p
My question is, has anyone mixed paraffin/mineral oil with another scented oil such as lavender oil to give it a nice scent? Also if you have, how much and did you notice any adverse affects to the oil such as life span on the blade, leaving gummy residue etc.
I'll more than likely get some lavender oil and try it some time soon but I would really like to hear what everyone else has to say on the matter :)
Nick,
There was a thread a few days ago about this. I think for a couple less than 4-5 days a friend uses clove oil and it works fine, I use camelia. However, for more than 4 days in storage I use tuff glide or gun oil...it stinks, but works well. Now my friend who used the clove oil on his went out of town for about a week and a half, and had black spots on the blade when he came back; they polished out no problem with flitz, but better safe than sorry.
thanks tiddle,
I did a search but couldnt find anything specific on blending the oils for the blade itslef and how well a blended oil lasts. There was talk of essential scented oils you can buy that where alcohol concoctions but I haven't found anything on blending pure oils together and their longevity on the blade.
I already use paraffin oil and it works great, just want to make it smell nice as well but don't want any adverse affects on my razors.
I guess I could brave the eucalyptus oil.....:p
I had thought about that as well, since it's naturally anti-bacterial. I just don't think I will let it sit more than two or three days. I would definately make sure it was as thin a layer as possible too. Oh, well blending the oils...well, I would probably use a formula made for skin care, versus bath concoctions, or aroma therapy. Here's a good link with some ideas of ratios and mixing for different uses to start with. Essential oil uses and basic formula for anointing oil.
Nick,
If you use your razor regularly, at least once a week, you should be fine. I recently found out that Camellia oil is bad news if stored 21-30 days. I started a thread on it...don't have time to link to it right now, gotta get out the door and to work. Will get back to you or you can search the threads I have recently started.
The scales on mine are plastic(celluloid?) Can i use wd-40?
Different Tuf-Glide for me I think, great, light oil with the rust inhibitor.
I make sure the pivot and blade is lightly coated, spread evenly with some tissue and store.
I will pick a blade, wipe off the oil, use for a week or two, oil it back up, into dry storage, and go on to the next blade. I store my razors in their boxes, in a large zip-lock bag, with several desiccant packs (removes moisture).
That's my style....YMMV!
WD-40 is great stuff but not recommended for razors. I would recommend Ballistol. An excellent product.
I use INOX, which is safe on plastics, is non toxic and a general all round great product. I keep a small pump spay bottle in my bathroom cabinet to apply a small amount of after I clean, dry and strop my razor. I use a cotton ball to wipe it over the blade.
Mick
+1 on the Ballistol. Unlike most oils, it will displace water. With an ordinary oil, unless the razor is perfectly dry you can trap a little moisture under the oil. This probably accounts for the stories we sometimes see here of "I oiled it and put it away carefully and now it has a film of rust all over it!"
rs,
Tack
I've used wd40 with no problems.. Just wash off before use
Nooooooooooo! There is something common that one learns in a chemistry class. "Likes dissolve likes" WD40 is a carbon based solvent (all petroleum products are carbon based). Plastic is made from petroleum, more or less.
Camilla oil is good and most of the products listed here are good ones also. I personally mix Camilla and Ballistol but that is just my twist on it.
for what what it is worth, later,
Richard
Camillia oil is good , but not for long term storage as it breaks down over time and gets gummy.
Wish we could get Eucalyptus oil readily over here. I hear from the Oz's that it's great stuff.....which does lead me to a thought. I wonder how Melaluca oil would fare ??????
Now I was thinking, and I'll have to go downstairs to my workshop to confirm it for myself I suppose, that WD40, was in fact, fish oil based. So am I wrong, and it really is a petroleum based product?
I just went and checked out the blurb on the INOX bottle to see what it said about itself, but there is no ingredients list on the bottle. It does say 'Food Grade Safe' and 'May affect rubber with long term use' so for you blokes thinking of adding more lube to your...Well you shouldn't re-use those things no matter how well you rinse them afterwards anyway, so I'll not go there. :)
Mick
WD40 MSDS.
WD40 Company
Inox MSDS
http://www.bynorm.com.au/images/uplo...%20Aerosol.pdf
SublimeShave,
If you have a small rotation of 2-3 razors or oil your daily use razor, WD-40 will work just fine and will not harm the scales. If your razor is not to be used for a while (3+days), I would recommend another type "oil".
Machine oil for the blade gets my vote. Wiped on and off with a tissue. :)
Are the Eucalyptus oils on Amazon for us US folks the right thing? I ordered some hoping that it is. The one I ordered is all organic and alcohol free... It is just an Essential Oil correct?
"All organic"? Petroleum, gasoline, and paint thinner.....are all "organic" compounds!
later,
Richard
To be honest, none of the "organic" oils work as well as the synthetics. Ballistol may be the only exception to the rule. Any oil will work for a few days, but many will thicken and harden if you store them away...ask me how I know. Many of your gun oils available at any big box store will provide superior protection, just wipe it off before you strop and you will be fine & your razor will have been protected. Think about it, companies have been protecting expensive guns for quite some time and have found some good ways to protect carbon steel over the years.
Heck, I don't know what I'm looking for. I can't use most stuff because of my allergy. That's why I got something with few ingredients. Glen asked me to coat a Greaves with penetrating oil before sending it to him and just the fumes broke my face out and started bad itching. I even went by a room at work where the floors were being cleaned and waxed and it caused my itching to start... I need something natural to use to coat the blades if I can get something. This organic stuff is just Eucalyptus EO.
It makes me sad to think that my gun oil will probably break me out...
Just keep in mind that plant based oils will 'go bad' over time. So your olive oils, sunflower oils, eucalyptus oil, tea tree oil etc. all fall into this category. Short time frames are fine, just don't expect they will be the ones for longer term storage. It won't work.
Mick
Try Ballistol. There should be a member near you that would give you a little to try before you buy it.
Just looked up Ballistol and I don't see anything in the ingredients so far that should give me a problem. That being said, I have a friend at work who's a gun nut and also is restoring a 66' Fastback Mustang GT so I'll bet he has some. I'll ask and see.
Mick, thanks for the info. I'll probably be fondling them often enough that it wouldn't be a big deal to wipe them off every week or so anyways. I'm probably going to start and use them all in a rotation after I get my technique down anyways. I just heard someone talking about Eucalyptus oil and how it's a natural antiseptic too so I figured...
Would the razor socks work without having to oil the blades or no? I ordered and got a dozen in the mail this week... I'll use them too but...
Hi there. The Eucalyptus oil I use is a brand named 'Bosisto's'. I doubt you can get it over there; and unfortunately I can't send you any (I tried once before) as it seems you can't post it to the US. It is labelled as '100% pure'. make sure you don't get one with water in it. As far as i know this is distilled from Eucalyptus leaves.
The oil I use can be used for cleaning (I use no chemicals at all for cleaning ion my house; just vinegar and the Eucalyptus) and you can apply it directly to minor wounds such as cuts and abrasions. It is also labelled as 'BP quality'; I'm unsure what that means...
[EDIT] the Eucalyptus oil does not gum up at all, it is very, very light; it essentially dissipates or dries up in air, it is not an oil like a 'normal' oil, not at all like even very light machine oil...