Thread: 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!

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.