Is there an ideal way to store straights for daily use?
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Is there an ideal way to store straights for daily use?
I'd say the first thing to remember is to keep it away from any sources of moisture. Being that most SR's are made of carbon steel, they're prone to rust. I rinse whichever straight I've used with very hot water, then gently wipe it dry w/ a tissue. I'll then take a can of compressed air (like you use to clean your keyboard) and blast out any water that may be trapped around the pivot. Finally, I dip the blade in a tall narrow jar containing a mixture of alcohol and mineral oil. The alcohol will dry out any remaining moisture and, leaving a light film of oil to protect your blade.
Besides drying and oiling the blade you may want to wipe off any finger prints. SOme people have acetic skin oils that will cause rust more quickly that other people's skin oils. In time all skin oil will cause rust. If you are using your razor daily you may get away with just drying the blade and scales and removing skin oils. Also be sure to get all of the shave cream/soap off the blade and scales. Some times the lather gets between the scales and then onto the blade. Lather will cause the blade rust/staining on the blade.
Good luck!
Do you use 70% isopropyl alcohol? And how much of the oil and alcohol do yu mix? I'm trying to figure out a good way to store the blade after shaving and this sounds like its easy and works well.Quote:
Originally Posted by LAsoxfan
How much oil? "Some".Quote:
Originally Posted by teemus
Utopian explains the .5% solution here: http://straightrazorpalace.com/razor...tml#post660088
Now, Utopian's an actual smart science kind of guy and I'm an idiot in marketing, so I have no idea how to make a .5% solution. I just use a tall narrow jar that the Spanish "martini" olives come in. Throw the olives away because they're nasty if you're sober, and wash and dry the jar. Put "some"- (maybe 1/2 teaspoon?)- of mineral oil in, fill the rest with 70% IA, and shake it up. Yes, this is as precise and scientifical as it sounds. But it works.
Close the razor, dip the toe end in, remove, invert, dip the tang end in. Open and close the razor a few times to work the solution down into the pivot area. Let it dry while you get dressed, then store as usual. Done.
This is precisely what I'm doing. BTW, I agree that the standard martini olive, filled with a pimento-like substance is pretty hideous, which is why I avoid them in my martinis. Currently I go with a pepper jack cheese stuffed olive or a garlic/jalapeno stuffed olive.Quote:
Originally Posted by mbaglio100
Well, that's easy! You'll need a large container. Gather 200 gallons of alcohol and 1 Gallon of oil. Mix them thoroughly in the large container. Now you can gather your olive glass container and fill it from the large container.Quote:
Originally Posted by mbaglio100
Note: you have got to keep the large container sealed tight, otherwise the alcohol will evaporate and the percentage of oil will rise accordingly.
To the OP:
Further note on dipping into IA/Oil mixture:
Utopian, in the thread referenced earlier, said that he does not dip the scales into the solution, but rather relies on keeping the pivot dry during shaving.
I've been dunking the entire closed razor into the IA/Oil mixture, after shaving, since I first read his post, (about 5 months), with no ill effects to any of the various scale materials and no rust at the pivot point. Ymmv, of course, but it works for me.
Really love this method, makes clean up and maintenance a lot easier.
This post made me lol regarding the olives. Can't make a good martini without them.Quote:
Originally Posted by mbaglio100
Seriously, for me, unless they are going our of the rotation I just make sure they are good and dry and I have not had a problem. If they are going into the storage box, they oiled and I put some of those silica things that pull moisture out of the air into the storage box as well.
As has been pointed out, a 0.5% solution of mineral oil in alcohol is 1 part oil in 200 parts alcohol. If you don't have a way to measure it, "some" really will work just fine. Just put a small amount in and shake it well. It can take a couple days for the oil to fully dissolve You can always add more oil if you want more coverage on the blade, but very little is needed.
Chopkins,
For my 'daily' razors, after careful drying, I wipe them over with Sentry Solutions TufCloth, then store them in an air-tight Tupperware like box.
Probably over-the-top, but it has kept my blades in tip-top condition :)
Have fun !
Best regards
Russ
For the past, what is it now, ten or eleven years of shaving with straight razors (never when travelling, I don't wish to explain the presence in my hand luggage of an implement capable of slicing through the flightdeck door) I have reached a couple of conclusions......
Straight razors come from a bygone age, but don't belong there. It really is a gentler, finer way to shave; I will get round, one fine day, to counting how many more strokes of the blade the same result takes with a double-edge safety; I bet it's times five.
Remember, way back when, straight razors were common, but there was no television, or for that matter central heating. In the evenings, while listening to the radio, you could occupy your time with other activities simultaneously: polishing your shoes (I live in England, where, disgustingly, no one ever seems to do this), knitting and embroidery, fancy that?!, putting your hair in rags, and razor stropping. It's the shoe polishing and razor maintenance I do. All the time in the world. I cannot figure out, watching other people's procedures on YouTube, why they seem to think a razor has to be stropped within one minute of shaving with it. In the morning rush. In a steamed up damp bathroom!
Here in the North of England, 1839-1939 the knocker-upper would walk the streets at dawn with a fifteen foot wooden pole to a). put the street lamps out and b). rap on the upstairs windows to get everyone out of bed! Imagine getting washed, having some breakfast and getting down to stropping the blade - or more - in the half light. As if.
If you want to keep your razors as new, maintain in the evenings, keep the strop out of the bathroom (well away from your wife's hairspray, creams, powders and general muck, plus the children's toothpaste and I shudder to think what else). Always make sure after use that the scales are every bit as dry as your razor is. Damp scales murder carbon steel razors. If I am going to use the same razor the next day, well very soon anyway, I lastly wipe it over with a piece of quite new chamois leather - you can smell a trace of the oil it was tanned with still there. If I am not going to use the razor for a week or more, kind members here have recommended a scant smear of mineral oil as the best protection, with Baby Oil being the most recommended of those available. Cheap too! Remember they have to put two whole babies through the press just to make one bottle.
if storing for a day to a week or two i use Sentry Solutions tufcloth if longer say months i use renaissance wax polish but for day to day you cant beat baby oil
After applying baby oil, or wiping with a Tuf-Glide / Smooth-Kote impregnated Sentry Solutions: Tuf-Cloth is all that is needed prior to the shave is to run through hot running water or do you need to wipe the blade before shaving?Quote:
Originally Posted by eleblu05
I'm wondering about increased skin irritation from the 'protective' coating...
Personally I only oil razors that are not used in the current daily rotation between two razors each month.
I don't know about the lubricants other than mineral oil, but that one is perfectly safe to remain on the blade during the shave.
Skydiver,
WRT TufGlide on blade
I strop my razor in the usual way, then dip the blade of the razor in hot water then carefully wipe. Personally, I have not had any adverse reactions from any residue of the TufGlide, bit with such things YMMV.
To be on the safe side, stick to mineral oil as Utopian has said.
Have fun !
Best regards
Russ
I keep mine in a coffee cup (about half a dozen or so in one cup) tang upwards.
I just make sure that the razors are dry and keep the cups out in my bedroom. No oil or anything else. I've never had any problems with them.
Do you have to wipe off the razor before stropping, or is the amount of mineral oil on the razor okay for the strop?
I don't wipe it off before I strop and I haven't had any problems.