Thread: Razor care questions

I am currently looking (again) at vintage razors. More because I want to make a set of scales for a a razor, I have had a design in my head for a while now, but that is not the point of this post.

My questions are about care. Any vintage razor I buy will be usable, or else it just kinda seems pointless. So I understand that after a blade is honed and ready for use it has to be honed daily(?) but do you have to apply oil to the blade after every shave?

Hi there
I think you mean strop daily and yes you should strop a razor before each shave. The question of whether to oil, you will probably get several different answers. Personally I oil my razors after every shave with Ballistol oil. I may not need to as the climate here is not humid but as I've several different razors it may be a while before I use each one again. They may be ok without oil, but for the time it takes to smear a small amount on to the blade, tang and spray the pivot I think it's better to be on the safe side.

I only have 4 razors of wich 2 are in my rotation. The one I don't use regurlaly are protected with some oil the other 2 are not. So I only oil those wich gets stored for a while.

I'm curious how you apply that oil Anthony1954, you use a cloth for that wich is in your bathroom?

Yes, I did mean strop, thats what I get for thinking about 5 different things at once.

Yeah, I did not think it would be a big deal to oil the blade, but there are mornings when you are rushing and skip things and was not sure if not oiling for a day or two would cause major damage (as unlikely as that would be).

[QUOTE=Noxa;1348664]I only have 4 razors of wich 2 are in my rotation. The one I don't use regurlaly are protected with some oil the other 2 are not. So I only oil those wich gets stored for a while.

I'm curious how you apply that oil Anthony1954, you use a cloth for that wich is in your bathroom?[/QUOTE


I have a small glass bottle of Ballistol and a small aerosol can of the same oil. I transfer the oil from the glass bottle to a plastic dropper bottle and use this for the blade and tang. The aerosol can I use to spray into the pivot. Ballistol oil is safe and biodegradable, I keep it in the bathroom.

Make sure the blade is clean of soap reside; it isn't corrosive but can hold moisture.

As for the pivot, I use bicycle chain wax lubricant. It's in a solvent and penetrates, but leaves a water-repellant wax.

Your normal shaving technique should minimize the exposure of the pivot to water.

Cheers, Steve

Lots of great advise, but to pivot from the question of caring for the blade. Does anyone know where to get replacement pins, washers, ect. to use when replacing the scales?

I used 2 razors without oil for about 6 months with no corrosion, but as I started acquiring more, I figured I'd oil them as the time between shaves would be longer with several, and it only takes a moment. There are a lot of places to purchase pins and washers for scale work. Microfasteners.com has small washers to use, and you can find brass and nickel silver pins a lot of places. My local ace hardware stocks 1/16" brass rod.

I oil everyday that way if I choose not to use one razor for a while I don't have to worry
Parts can be found at some online shaving vendors. Classic Edge. Revisor. Ebay