Cleaning the inside of the handle of a Straight Razor

I saw Lynn Abrams use a piece of toilet tissue to dry out the inside of the handle (schales) of a straight razor on a video after he got done shaving and before putting it away. I have done that but at times the paper didn't want to co-operate and was a PITA to get up in there. Now, it's a piece of cake.
I use the "hook" at the end of the tang, the "monkey's tail" and put the paper on the razor scales and use the hook to pull it though. Quite easy now to get the paper in. Merely move the razor blade so that the "end" is out of the scale and pointing back to the handle and put the paper on the handle and rotate the blade so that it grabs the paper and hooks it and drags it though the handle. When on the other side, the paper comes off the blade "hook" but the TP is now on the inside and you merely swipe up and down with the paper to get rid of any latent water that might still be in there. You don't want water in the handle part when you close up the blade and put it away.
Just thought it might be useful for some newcomer as I found it now a breeze to dry out the inner part of the handle after shaving.

When cleaning scales after shaving and during "restoration", I've had success using a bristled pipe cleaner to scrape out the accumulated gunk. Sometimes I wrap toilet paper around that to get out any moisture. I've also found that mineral oil will help loosen up and dissolve the gunk.

Great idea, I'll try that in the morning.

Welcome to the forums easyace!

I find that running a razor through an ultrasonic bath clears off a lot of trapped gunk. I did that a couple of times to a razor I bought and the water was grey by the time I removed the razor, from all the crud trapped between the scales.

For my daily shave I use a Kleenex tissue. I just stick the pointed corner through the scales if it is necessary. I take a look and see if I inadvertently got any droplets in there. I am careful to keep the scales dry when I shave. For cleaning gunked up scales on vintage acquisitions I've got a rubbermaid tub with a lid. I filled it with the contents of the pump spray version of Scrubbing Bubbles. I drop the razor in there for a few minutes and let it soak. When it is ready I go to work with toothbrush, Q-tips and dental floss for up around the pivot. Gibbs, be careful with your new found method of inserting the TP. Seems to me you could slice your fingers if you weren't careful.

I've used dental floss in the plast to clean the inside of the scales and pins on the razors I kept intact. I caught the suggestion from someone here. It works well though.

Sorry if someone already mentioned it hear...i just skimmed the thread.

I generally use a Q-tip for cleaning on the inside and sometimes use a bit of mothers polish on it. You can also vary the thickness of the Q-tip by just pulling off a little of the cotton as appropriate. For cleaning around the pivot though, dental floss and MAAS work great as well.

Are we talking about Restoration or after shaving here????

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Originally Posted by Harvitz81

I generally use a Q-tip for cleaning on the inside and sometimes use a bit of mothers polish on it. You can also vary the thickness of the Q-tip by just pulling off a little of the cotton as appropriate. For cleaning around the pivot though, dental floss and MAAS work great as well.

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I put the Q-tip on a little anvil I have and flatten the end some with a ball pein hammer. Works well to get into tighter scales.

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Originally Posted by gssixgun

Are we talking about Restoration or after shaving here????

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No. Not restoration, but after shaving... GOOD catch!
I should have titled it a bit different (which I just did from cleaning to drying). When you get done shaving it is a good practice to make sure that BEFORE you put your razor away, or actually close up the razor, that there is no water on the inside of the handle. Lynn showed it in a video, and often times I had a bit of difficulty getting the small piece of toliet paper to co-operate. By using the "monkey tail" end of the tang, I am able to put a small piece of TP on the handle and let the end of the hook pull it though the handle. THEN, I take it off the hook and now can run the TP up and down the handle to maker sure it is dry before closing the blade on it.

TY Vern for the clarification

Make the Victory Sign with your fingers, fold the razor to the full open shaving postion... Put the razor inside the V of your fingers
The tail is on top of one finger the spine on top of the other...(sorta like your going to shave but the edge is up) Hold firmly with your thumb locking the razor into the V.. Holding the razor edge up to your side snap your arm fast downward with a flick of the wrist at the end, once maybe twice, and then wipe down the razor and put it away in the open position until the next day... Fold razor and choose the next razor to shave with,, Repeat often...

This from a guy who is a razor dunker, I don't give a hoot if the scales, tang, pivot, in fact the whole dang razor gets wet, they better be made to shave with.....

PS: If you are an uncoordinated klutz please don't attempt this maneuver :rofl2: no seriously...
PPS: want to test this??? wipe down your razor then do the Snap and see what comes out :p

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Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

I put the Q-tip on a little anvil I have and flatten the end some with a ball pein hammer. Works well to get into tighter scales.

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I hadn't thought of that - great idea! Will have to give this a try on those delicate ivory scales with narrow wedges. Thanks!

I use compressed air to dry inside the scales and the pivot. They have cans of it at the local Big Lots for $1.50 a can.

Q-tips for me too. If the gap is smaller than the Q-tip, I slice off a small amount of the cotton with scissors. Very easy.

After shaving I just use the edge of a face cloth pushed up inside the scales to dry them.

take a couple Q tips and smash the end with a hammer,works for me.

Guys, I use these UCS sticks for all kinds of things as seen here NORTON'S UNIVERSAL CLEANING STICK FOR WEAPONS MAINT. . Sometimes I wrap a cleaning patch around them or some other thin piece of thin cloth, but they also work very well by themselves. For the record I am not connected with CountyComm in any way, but they do have a bunch of cool gadgets and are a pretty good group of guys.

CC is a great place,know Nick C well:)

For ever day use, I use folded tissue to wipe the inside of the scales then let air dry for a while before putting away.

I'm a tissue guy. BUT, I always have air available. I'm a computer repair person, and there is always air available in my house. I dry the razor, do the tissue up between the scales, using the 'saw' method around both ends. Then (while the tissue is still inside the scales) I hit it with air, a lot of air, until not a single drop comes out of the pivot pin area. I wipe some more with the tissue, oil up and put her away until it comes back around in the rotation.. There's no spotting on any of my razors, so I think I'm doing ok.. I'll know more in a few months. My razor collection just keeps growing so the rotation is getting bigger and bigger all the time. Now theres almost a week between using the same razor again. If anything were going to show up, I think it will happen in the next few weeks.

But that's what I do..

M

I have noticed certain brands of TP to be thicker than others, single guy I buy whats on sale and not john wayne paper. My girl doesnt like this philosophy and only buys the brand she grew up on ...not all two ply is created equal I guess. I keep a roll of the thinner stuff around now so I can have something to dry the razors with, like scott. You can buy single rolls at rite aid and cvs.

Several of you guys took the words right outta my mouth on this one. Compressed air will do it fine and placing your razor on a sunny side windowsill will dry it very nicely.