Is all oil good oil?

Hey,

I never had to oil my razors so far, because, well, I use them all the time and didn't think it was worth the trouble! I came to the point where a razor can remain unused for over a week depending on where it sits in the rotation.

I have some oil you can put on the metal parts of doors, locks etc... and it prevents rust as well. Can I use that as well? I spraid it on a rusty beast I cleaned (but can't be saved unfortunately) and it seems to be holding up just fine.

I see everyone is using 'mineral' oil or 'baby' oil. But for my Wok, which is pure steel, which will rust in less than an hour if you don't oil it after use, I put whatever oil I happen to have in the kitchen, and it never rusts, even after sitting for months without being used.

So, what's the verdict on these oils?

If it works, use it. I personally use baby oil because you can get a huge bottle of it at walmart for $2, but if you have something laying around that works for other steels, I don't see why it wouldn't work for a razor.

I may be talking out of my a$$ here, but I would think that a good reason not to use a cooking oil would be that it may start to attract bacteria (being a food product and all) whilst being left out in the air for a week. Just a thought, I could be quite wrong.

Best,

Mark

I use vaseline (mineral petrolatum, white petrolatum) to coat my razors between uses.

Lots of us use this camellia oil.

Buy Camellia Oil, 8 oz. at Woodcraft.com

It's a light oil in a spray and I think I read somewhere that it is supposed to approximate the oils in our skin and thereby be non-irritating.It works very well.

I use Ballistol, which is pharma grade mineral oil and some other ingredients, none of which are toxic. It was developed for the German army's guns early in the 20th century. Good stuff for a lot of uses.

My vote is for Cameillia oil. Be careful what you put on your blades. Some things that may be fine for steel, is not so good for the scales. Some petroleum based products can actually eat away at your scales....Wahl clipper oil is ok, it's mineral oil based.
I like Cameillia oil because it's light, and works great. 4 and 8oz bottles are very affodable at SRD. I put a small drop on my finger and wipe both sides of the blade. An 8oz bottle will last forever....

Jimmyhad uses a silicon based gun cleaning cloth between uses. Balistol I use on guns too, I don't know about razors, again, the Scales....I definitely would stay away from Wd-40, and PB blaster...

As others have pointed out, some oils may may not be good for your razor. Keep in mind that some oils may not be good for you! I only use a natural based oil on any part of the razor.

Some natural oils will go rancid-mainly food oils like olive oil and corn. Mineral oil is good, and waxes are good too, like Renaissance wax. I think some people on here use carnuba wax, too.

Really any barrier between the air and the metal will protect from rust. The trick is to use something that is also harmless to the scales and your face and can be easily removed come shave time and doesn't attract bad things and doesn't deteriorate over time.