Thread: CARE QUESTION

JUST NEED SOME ADVISE HERE I JUST RECENTLY GOT MY FIRST CARBON STEEL RAZOR. THE REST OF MY RAZORS ARE ALL STAINLESS. WHAT SHOULD I USE TO KEEP THE BLADE FROM RUSTING. I HAVE BEEN USING NORTON HONING MINERAL OIL BECAUSE ITS WHAT I HAVE BUT I REALY DONT WANT IT TO GET SCREWED UP AND I NOTICED A SPOT ON THERE THAT LOOKS LIKE IT IS STARTING TO CORODE. IT IS SMALL BUT MAKES ME WORRIED. ALSO DO I NEED TO OIL IT EVERYTIME I PUT IT AWAY OR ONLY IF IM NOT GOING TO BE USING IT FOR A FEW DAYS. ITS A NICE RAZOR AND I PLAN ON HAVING IT LAST A LONG WHILE. I AM A CAR JUNKY AND I NO ONCE RUST STARTS GOOD LUCK STOPPING IT.

Why are you yelling? Please don't use all CAPS.

A light coating of oil after properly drying should be all you need to keep the rust at bay. I personally don't use any oil on my razors between uses, but I do run the blade under hot water for a while after shaving. I then use toilet paper to dry the blade and the scales (inside and out). Then I leave the blade open for about a day before closing the razor. No problems so far.....

My opinion is that if you are going to put the razor away for a long time oiling may be in order. If you are going to use it soon I think it is not necessary to oil, grease, or otherwise use some type of rust preventive. One caution is that you want to make sure the razor is absolutely, totally, and completely dry before wiping it with oil or you can trap some moisture under the oil against the steel. When through shaving, I rinse the blade under very warm tap water and remove any traces of lather by wiping the edge between my thumb and forefinger and then rinse it in the hottest water the faucet can deliver and wipe dry on a cotton towel in a stropping motion. I take a corner of the towel and wipe between the scales to make sure nothing wet sneaked in there and close the razor - not quite all the way - and park it until it comes up again in rotation. The same treatment is done to both my stainless and carbon steel razors and I've had no corrosion problems. Maybe it's just dumb luck, but it works for me.

good luck,

definately no yelling just started in caps so i continued that way. thanks for the info.

Just keep in mind that carbon steel and rust go hand and hand like a big mac and fries. Actually once you complete your shaving even if you are really fastidious about drying your razor within seconds of that rust will begin to form at a microscopic level. Normal stropping should remove it though. So it up to you whether you want to put a light coat of oil on to protect it or just deal with the minor rust at each use.

I dry the razor with kleenex and strop 10 laps after the shave. Then I wipe the razor down with a rust preventative impregnated Outer's Silicone Gun cloth. No rust in a tropical climate yet.

rinse hot, dry kleenex, vaseline like the o'l boys in the days.

I too would like to keep my razors for a long time. I carefully dry the razor, sometimes blow-dry it and coat it with camellia oil, unless I plan to use it the next day. The camellia oil provides a thick protective layer, and seems to be a popular oil for razors. I have found it at Japan Woodworker (.com) and some cosmetic websites (for treating wrinkles). Of course, we don't care about the latter, do we?

Originally Posted by Maplerunner

I too would like to keep my razors for a long time. I carefully dry the razor, sometimes blow-dry it and coat it with camellia oil, unless I plan to use it the next day. The camellia oil provides a thick protective layer, and seems to be a popular oil for razors. I have found it at Japan Woodworker (.com) and some cosmetic websites (for treating wrinkles). Of course, we don't care about the latter, do we?

Treating wrinkles ? I'd need a gallon of the stuff.

Camellia oil, which I should point out I have never used, is a vegetable oil and so is a triglyceride. As such, it can be corrosive to metal over time. I had been using olive oil dissolved in isopropyl alcohol for a few years but recently switched to using food grade mineral oil in isopropyl alcohol.