Razor care

Is there a way to keep my straight razors shiny and new looking?
The problem might be called patina? caused by hard water.
I'm fine with it on most of my blades but I have a custom blade with Titanium scales and it just doesn't look right unless the whole thing gleams.
I honed it up the other day and thought lets get it looking perfect. So I used a little maas on the blade and mineral oil on the scales. Finally I oiled the blade. It looked splendid :)
Today I had a shave with it and the markings that appeared made it look like a vintage blade, untold speckles and marks.
Is there any tricks that I'm unaware of?
Thanks.. Happy New Year ..

I too had hard water before we fitted a water softener. I made sure that as soon as I'd finished the shave, even before rinsing my face and clearing up I rinsed the blade in clear hot water then wiped it thoroughly with a completely dry towel. This seemed to stop the spoting you refer to. After rinsing my face and clearing the rest of the gear I use toilet paper and give the blade a final wipe before stropping the blade. I then move the razor to a bedroom but leave it open until the next day.
Hope this helps

If you are not doing so already, you can wipe off the shaving cream with a towel. Like they do at barber shop. That way you can minimize contact with water. Also wipe the blade frequently. Some razors, like TI, will get spots on them by simply looking at water.

There is no need to get the blade wet.k

You might try Tuff Glide and like n2s says, keep it dry. The one thing I love about wet shaving is I can keep my fingers out of it :<0)

Keeping the blade dry is a good solution but I don't think i'll go for that option.
The best answer is to just wait until on day I buy a house and fit a water softener system and on that day I will clean my blades back to their original shine.
I can wait, im good at that :)
Thanks for your help.

You can wax your blade as well. Ren-wax is my wax of choice. There are others though.

+1 on the ren-wax. it does work.

I'll have to try that, sounds like a good idea!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JOB15

Keeping the blade dry is a good solution but I don't think i'll go for that option.
The best answer is to just wait until on day I buy a house and fit a water softener system and on that day I will clean my blades back to their original shine.
I can wait, im good at that :)
Thanks for your help.

---

Ok here's another idea that might work. Before I paid out for a water softener I used about a teaspoon of citric acid in a basin of water. This has the effect of reducing the alkaline content of the water and moving it towards a neutral PH in effect softening the water your using in the basin. Citric acid is safe to use and is used in cooking as a substitute for citric fruits. Try it it may work, but I'll guarantee one thing after treatment your water will make superb lather without the soap scrum you always get with hard water. Hope this helps.

using citric acid may change the Ph of the water however it does nothing to the offending minerals. They are still there. The high Ph is a by-product or symptom of the minerals. Those minerals have to be removed to eliminate the problem.

I have found that using a microfiber towel keeps my water spots away.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

using citric acid may change the Ph of the water however it does nothing to the offending minerals. They are still there. The high Ph is a by-product or symptom of the minerals. Those minerals have to be removed to eliminate the problem.

---

I bow to your superior knowledge Sir. Your comments are appreciated however it reduces the carrier effect so these minerals stay in suspension effectively remaining "more slippery" and limiting the deposits, I think. It definitely improves lather production though.

Flitz polish works well to remove patina on carbon steel. I'm not sure I would use it on a Gold wash etching.

Haven't been able to restock on Fitz but Maas also works well. I don't have gold wash on any of my blades but Maas does a good job on my razors.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by KarloT

Haven't been able to restock on Fitz but Maas also works well. I don't have gold wash on any of my blades but Maas does a good job on my razors.

---

Maas works great!

I never tried Maas, but I heard that it works well. I got a large tube of Flitz from Amazon as I have about 85 hand made knives in 01 steel. Even so, the Flitz tube that I have will likely last me the rest of my life, so I may never have a need to get the Maas.

I like to know what kind of oil is recommend to use for the blade.

I was told mineral oil works fine so that's what I've used so far. No corrosion problems to date and I live by the ocean in a tropical country.

I had wanted to try Ballistol but I don't know what I'd do with 16 ounces of lube.

1. Use renaissance wax 1 a month
2. Use mineral oil after each shave
3. Forget about water and sink when shaving. Use microfiber towel to whipe when shaving.

I've thought about using this product for after shaving and not when in use. Any suggestion?
Attachment 189771 Attachment 189772

[QUOTE=Steston20x;1442160]I've thought about using this product...any suggestion?

Never heard of or tried it. I use Tuf Glide. You can buy it several places but it is used by the Navy Seals. You can get it pretty cheap on the bay.

Gun Cleaning, Knife Care, Gun Care, Corrosion Protection, Lubrication, Rust Stopper, Oil-Free, Sentry Solutions

Thank for the tip. The product that I have is made from Boeing Co., well known for aircraft builders. I got tons of sample of this product from a convention show. The liquid is ultra thin that it feels like mineral oil. I thought it worth a try to use it and see how it goes. Thanks for the tip engine46.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Steston20x

Thank for the tip. The product that I have is made from Boeing Co., well known for aircraft builders. I got tons of sample of this product from a convention show. The liquid is ultra thin that it feels like mineral oil. I thought it worth a try to use it and see how it goes. Thanks for the tip engine46.

---

Before you put it on what you put on your face, you might want to read its MSDS.

I’ve had a can of Boeshield for years, great stuff for storing guns and on plastics. Never used it on razors, I only oil razors for shipping that I send out.

I too, would not use it as an after shave, now Ballastol and Hoppies No.9 ... that is a different story...

Try leaving you razor open to dry, you may have water between the scales.

I leave my razor on a glass butter dish open over night.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Euclid440

I’ve had a can of Boeshield for years, great stuff for storing guns and on plastics. Never used it on razors, I only oil razors for shipping that I send out.

I too, would not use it as an after shave, now Ballastol and Hoppies No.9 ... that is a different story...

Try leaving you razor open to dry, you may have water between the scales.

I leave my razor on a glass butter dish open over night.

---

I have to agree with Euclid440 on this. After using your razor, let it sit overnight to air dry as me mentioned or if you happen to have some of that canned air for computers, you can blow any water drops out at the pivot area where it most likely accumulates. I use Tuf Glide just on the pivot area once dired just for the extra protection but that is all. I wipe my blade clean after use. If storing for a period of time, I have some lube I got from SRD to coat the blade called Straight Razor Oil but it depends if you are in a high humidity type of climate. I'm not far from the coast so the humidity is higher here. If you are far from the coast, no need to worry. you can store dry.