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I hope to have a total of nine (9) straight razors soon. At the moment, there is no "grand wall-mounted display case" such as I would love to build. I think what I will do is buy eight more silicon-impregnated sheaths from The Superior Shave and have each embroidered with the name of the razor. I plan to check on that work today.
What do you guys think?
Sounds like a safe way to keep them. IMO, I dont feel the silicon is needed. But it cant hurt.
nope it wont hurt. an ounce of prevention you know.
now on the other hand it really isn't needed either. just dry them properly and set them somewhere away from the bathroom, mine go in a safe when done in a shaving mug without any oil or socks or magic incantations. but if dry the socks will keep rust at bay, just don't put them in wet Tc
I probably should have mentioned "rust isn't my biggest fear, scratches on the scales are."
I have several wooden boxes that i have made dividers in (so far i have been able to find some appropriate sized cedar boxes at antique stores and garage sales). I was watching a show on the Gerstner tool chest company and they made the comment that the wooden drawers made a sort of micro environment to protect tools from rust. Makes sense to me. I'm also a firm believer in Renaissance wax for some extra rust prevention.
I guess what you do when you store your razors depends on what the house environment is like as far as protecting them from rust is concerned. My place is heated in winter and air conditioned in the summer so high humidity is not a problem. I dry the blade well, lay the razor out open for a few hours and then put it away. I may oil the blades if I go away for an extended period of time like a month or more. I have wooden boxes that I store mine in made from things like cutlery boxes. The only time they see that bathroom is when I shave with them. If I lived in a high humidity environment things would be a lot different.
Bob
Attachment 289225
Pencil cases. Everything kept dry and out of harm’s way
As others have noted above the trick is to keep them dry and in some sort of container that protects them. I keep mine in 7-day felt rolls that lay flat in a sealed tote box. I let them air dry first before I put them in the container. I used to oil them, but I don't bother anymore.
Anti-Corrosion Emitters - Lee Valley Tools
Anti-Corrosion Liner - Lee Valley Tools
Corrosion-Inhibiting Storage Bags - Lee Valley Tools
Lee Valley is not the only source for these types of product just an easy site for me to reference. There is also VCI paper.
I frequently buy stuff that comes with those "DO NOT EAT THIS PACKET" moisture inhibitor thingies. I discovered you can reuse them if you heat them in a 200° F oven for 20 minutes or so. I put metal items into a plastic container with a few of these and they seem to keep well for several months. In the case of razors, I also either coat them with a light coating of paraffin oil or renaissance wax (for longer storage).Quote:
Originally Posted by RezDog
Silica gel (the 'do no eat this packet' things) and the inhibitors/emitters have the same goal for our purposes - preventing rust - but go about them in different ways. The silica gel will absorb moisture in the air, while those other products deposit a fine layer of rust inhibitor on the surface of the thing(s) being protected. No reason they couldn't be used together IMHO.Quote:
Originally Posted by DZEC
BTW, I bought a number of reusable silica gel things similar to this:
Reusable Silica Gel
They work well. It is easy to see when they need refreshing and that's just a matter of a minute or so in the microwave, after which they're ready to go again.
EDIT: I forgot to add that these have the advantage over the packs that come with stuff in that the colour indicator makes it very easy to see when they are getting saturated.
I keep my SR in a cloth rolled bag I got from Straight Razor Designs. Keeps them clean and dry. I also put a thin film of machine oil on them after I shave, and dry the razor. My place is heated in winter but can be hot and humid in summer (I don't run the AC if I'm not home, and I am frequently gone for 2-3 days at a time due to work). So, the machine oil and rolled cloth storage bag keep them clean and dry and rust free. I've been storing them this way for several years and have had no rust or other problems. My razors are a variety and all different sizes so the rolled cloth storage bag was the best solution I found that accommodates the size variety and does the job. This also does a great job of protecting the scales.
A cheap and edible alternative to silica gel packets is dry rice. Just tie some up in a paper towel and use it as you would a silica packet. Once or twice a year replace it with fresh dry rice and throw the old stuff into a pot of soup.
:)
I have heard of this before. Rice works to keep Salt dry. That's why you find it in Salt shakers sometimes. It's too big to come out the holes and it keeps salt dry. Not a bad Idea. I don't think I'd cook it after it sucked up whatever for 6 months. Ha.
Rice also works well as a polishing media in brass cartridge polishers when you chuck in an old blade for cleaning.
Bob
Absolutely. While at school I spent my summers working at an outdoors restaurant in Greece, by the sea. Salt shakers were loaded with rice :) It worked.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gasman
The sheaths from TSS work really well. I live in South Florida so it’s humid outside and even inside my house constantly. None of my razors have showed any signs of harm since I’ve been using these so I highly recommend them. Now if you live somewhere dry like Colorado I don’t think you need them.
It turns out that the OP had no interest in moisture protection, only scratch protection. For that purpose paper towels would be sufficient.
Also raw parboiled rice is an alternative to clean a coffee grinder in place of the expensive stuff.
I'm supposed to CLEAN my coffee grinder? I've used a hand crank Hario burr grinder for about 10 years and never have considered cleaning it.
I keep my razors in the bathroom in a walnut 7 day box which does not have a tight fitting lid.
The bathroom itself does not have an extractor fan and I have to clear the condensation off the mirror with a hair dryer after a shower.
My working razors are all different and I will swap one with another from my collection now and then.
The only maintenance I do is one application of Renaissance Wax after a razor gets honed, which is not very often.
I am very careful about towel drying the razor after shaving, and I have never ever had a problem with rusting.
I am not saying this will work for everyone but it has worked for me for more years then I'm willing to admit to.
Having a small bathroom and more importantly a little one I currently use a roll. It hold both my razors, paddle strop, and has a space for a brush in travel tube. I’ll get some picks but it’s pretty ugly but effective. I’ve got some material to make a newer nicer version that is leather on the outside with a felt type material inside.
