Thread: Daily maintenence?

Gents,

I will start with the caveat that I have just begun SR shaving (5 times so far) my stropping techinique has drastically inproved, although I still nick my strop pertty much every time, but what I haven't found is how to look after my razor.

It is a restored blade I purchased from the classifieds here and has some dark spots developing in the blade as well as a dreaded rust spot. When I saw this I immediately gave it about ten passes of my linen strop and applied some of my preshave oil to the blade.

My questions are a) was this correct?
b) how do I polish out the dark spots/rust if it forms
c) what are the best storage practices when not in use? (as I am not at the everyday point yet)

Thank you in advance,

Sly

If it's surface rust any quality metal polish will do. If it's deeper then you need some very fine sandpaper. Stropping won't remove rust it just dresses the edge. If the rust is at the cutting surface then you have another issue and that would have to be honed out.

Some oil on the blade is the best way to protect it. Sterol is what I use but everyone has their favorite. Some guys use mineral oil.

That is a little complicated because we all have different routines that all work for us. Personally, if my blades are not in rotation, they are in plastic containers, wrapped in VCI (anti-corrosion) paper. After each shave I carefully dry and strop the blade, and oil the pivot and apply a light coat of ren. wax before they go into the off rotation bin. For me I am more concerned with the ones not in rotation because I live in a marine environment and even stainless rusts here with out a little care. The in rotation ones are cleaned and cared for daily.

When I was starting out, not very long ago, I would dry the razor and oil daily and still get spots and rust. I realized quickly I was not thoroughly drying the razor. I now use a microfiber towel to dry razors and keep them in a drawer with a desiccant pack (you can buy on Amazon). I have not had a problem since I started a routine of drying them better.

If I am not using one for a while I will put a light coat of oil on the razor.

FWW
A friend told me about a method he used for years. Then it no longer worked...for him.
I bought a bottle of 190 proof vodka.
I bought a squeeze bottle like used for ketchup. At least one like it in clear poly from Goodwill store.
I bought some mineral oil.
Put in about a table spoon of oil followed by the rest vodka into the squeeze bottle.
Cap it. shake it.
Dip razor in after shave. After uncapping it of course!
Wipe of the excess with a finger tip... you will feel the oil coating.
Watch it dry.
Ok Why?
The grain alcohol will absorb a whole lot of water and keep it in suspension.
It also evaporates and any water with it. The remainder is the oil and it is on the surface of the metal.
YMMV
~Richard
PS I think the reason the originator had a problem was that he switched to rubbing isopropyl alcohol.

after restoration (or getting a new blade) i coat with Renaissance wax and then dry with toilet paper after use (before stropping). store away from humidity in my cedar razor box. only a little oil on the pivot occasionally. no problems so far.

When you use your razor do you keep everything dry ? You may be getting water and/or soap down in the scales. No matter what you do to the blade, if you put it away in water your other steps won't matter. Everybody thinks blade but sometimes while your looking 1 way :<0)

Are you letting the razor air dry after use?

I use the same routine every shave and I'm about 200 shaves ahead of you with no spots or rust. To be brief: I rinse the blade in very hot water, then dry it, the tang, and between the scales with a tissue. I then strop, 10 fabric, 30 leather, and set the razor down open on my bedroom cable box (which is always warm). I leave it there about 8 hours, then store in my razor box with a desiccant package. Once you get yours cleaned up, that ritual, or something like it should work for you.

I rinse the blade in HOT water when I'm done. Wipe it immediately on a dry towel, Check the tang and scales for water drops and remove them if I find any. I then set the razor in my storage box (a big Plano tackle box kept outside of the bath room) with the blade open. Close it the next day when I grab a different razor to shave with.

Haven't oiled any of the 14 or so razors I use regularly in three years. None of them have any new rust spots.