Razor oxidation ramblings

Ok guys, my wife and I were at an outdoor swapmart/craft show in downtown Phoenix a couple weeks ago and came across a booth with a vendor selling a shaving product. Now I am very new to straight razor shaving, so new that at the moment I am waiting for my razor and accessories to arrive in the mail. With that being said I am very excited to try out the traditional art of shaving and I am soaking up info like a sponge.

This vendor had a small plastic bottle containing a blue colored watery liquid. Inside the bottle he had a Gillette fusion 5 blade soaking in the solution. The vendor Lon Myers (LONZ great american shaving secret) said he worked apx 30 years for I believe he said Proctor and Gamble and had learned a thing or two about keeping blades sharp. He claimed that a protect-ant was applied to the blades of disposable razor blades and once it wears off, (shortly after the first shave) it begins to oxidize and dulls the blade. He claimed if you can prevent the blade from oxidizing you can get at least 6 months out of one disposable razor blade.

Immediately I began pondering what he was saying and found this hard to believe. I immediately thought if that were true straight razors wouldn't need stropped prior to each shave because if dried off they don't oxidize that fast. Then I pondered the blue liquid and thought, "I wonder if that is the pump saver solution sold at Home Depot for airless paint sprayers". Lon wanted $25.00 for his product which came with a plastic bottle for soaking your razor. I wasn't going to pay $25.00 for some snake oil but it did get me thinking for quite awhile.

After several days, thoughts related to razor oxidation still rattled around in my head. I started researching pump saver solutions and non-toxic solutions to prevent metal oxidization. Well I guess my wife had some rattlings of her own because out of the blue she said " I was thinking about that oxidizing stuff and if you dry your blade off with a hair dryer and soak the razor in a small cup of olive oil it would probably do the same thing". Wow what a simple approach, why didn't I think of that. To be fair to me, my wife does have a chemical engineering degree.

So begins the great american anti razor oxidation experiment. I started with a fresh blade on Sunday 2/19/12 and I am on my third shave today. I normally stretch out a Gillette fusion 5 blade for a week but it is generally shot by the 5th day (I am just cheap, ok frugal sounds better). I am 43 and have been able to grow a full beard since I was a freshman in high school. My beard is not the toughest in the world to shave but it is not as soft as a twenty something either. So back to the olive oil story, well as of day 3 I can say I am still getting a pretty darn good shave, maybe there is something to this.

Since I can't wait for my straight razor and my Castle Forbes shave cream to arrive I have been playing around with some sample shave creams. I first tried The Art of Shaving sample pack, it was nice and did leave my face nice and smooth with just my Fusion razor but it wasn't anything to get super excited about. Next I tried some Kyoku unscented shave cream. It doesn't lather real well (I wasn't using a brush and only applied some sparingly to my face), I didn't care for the smell of the unscented but it did leave my face very smooth afterward. For clarification, I am not trying to rate the shave creams I sampled, there is plenty of better qualified reviewers on this site. I am trying to document my results with the oxidation experiment and felt it necessary to mention I used some better quality creams that what I normally have used in the past.

I will let everyone know how it progresses and we will see how it goes by the end of the first week. I just wanted something for the rest of the group to ponder. Also I have not checked out Lon's website but if any of you are interested it is www.lonzworld.com.

Link8382

Phoenix eh? you shouldnt have any oxidation problems!!! its a dry heat! lol that being said, I live in tempe. I have found that I dont have any oxidation issues as long as my shave den is not in the same bathroom as the shower. I have not seen a speck of rust on any of my razors that are restored and shave ready. When my shaving equipment was in the other bathroom with the shower, I did keep them well lubricated in mineral oil. Since I have switched locations, I have not had any issues and generally do not coat my blades in oil any longer.

thats my story, but ymmv!

Disposable razors usually have a coating of either platinum or platinum/teflon combinations or some other concoction. These don't oxidize they simply wear off and you are left with a poorly crafted stainless blade which shouldn't rust anyway. I don't see how his scheme would work unless his solution is some lube that replaces the worn off coating.

Good observation, that makes sense. Then no matter what blade is soaked in, it shouldn't stay Sharp for very long.

Just a one time experience but the only time I ran a hairdryer over a blade I was wet sanding I saw rust forming immediately as the steam evaporated. :shrug:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by alb1981

Phoenix eh? you shouldnt have any oxidation problems!!! its a dry heat! lol that being said, I live in tempe. I have found that I dont have any oxidation issues as long as my shave den is not in the same bathroom as the shower. I have not seen a speck of rust on any of my razors that are restored and shave ready. When. my shaving equipment was in the other bathroom with the shower, I did keep them well lubricated in oil any longer.

thats my story, but ymmv!

---

I live in a humid area and when I finish shaving I towel dry the rssor, let it rest straddled across a dry shaving bowl and let it air dry during the day. I haven't had a rust problem.

Many of us do coat a blade with some type of oil as a rust safeguard. I do think it is important if one lives in a humid climate. However, I too lived for seventeen years in Arizona (Prescott) and didn't use any oil and never had a rust problem. If you do use oil, I wouldn't recommend a veg oil ( olive or any other cooking oil ) as if left on a blade to long they will thicken and you will have a gooey mess on your hands. I like to use either mineral oil or a good gun oil. Very Best, John

A lot of interesting comments. I bought some razor oil from SRD to keep my new blade it top shape but the olive oil is an experiment on disposable blades. I am not a huge fan of disposable blades and hate the expense of the 5 blade cartridges. I haven't seen any type of rust or corrosion from the hair dryer possibly because the protective coating hasnt wore off yet.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Link8382

A lot of interesting comments. I bought some razor oil from SRD to keep my new blade it top shape but the olive oil is an experiment on disposable blades. I am not a huge fan of disposable blades and hate the expense of the 5 blade cartridges. I haven't seen any type of rust or corrosion from the hair dryer possibly because the protective coating hasnt wore off yet.

---

cartridges are at the core a stainless steel and finished with a platinum/teflon coating as mentioned. because at the core they are stainless you shouldn't see any rusting anyway. some de blades are not stainless and they would rust. straight razors are mostly high carbon non stainless and that is why you would want to be more careful with them especially since they are not disponsable; however, you can always buff out any oxidation with a little metal polish unless you let it progress to the point of no return. even then i have seen some impressive restores bring a rusty nail back to a museum masterpiece.

i guess my point here is every blade has it's own characteristics based on what it is made from and cartridges should not so much be influenced by rust, or not enough to worry about it. i have used a fusion blade for over 20 shaves leaving it wet at the end of the shave with no problem and a very comfortable shave. one thing i noticed made the most difference is the quality of prep and shave technique. using quality products and making sure your prep is good and lightly stretching your skin during the shave goes a long long way to prolonging your blades no matter what type they are. i would focus on that over any anti-oxidation solution to soak blades in.

one additional technique I have learned helps prolong cartridges (or any blade really) is to strop it before and after each shave. to strop a de or cartridge simply rub it the opposite direction across your palm or on a soft microfiber towel or even a small piece of leather, just make sure it is dry first if rubbing it on leather otherwise it will damage the leather after awhile. i use a micro fiber towel since it also helps dry at the same time. doing this i don't think you will notice an improvement using snake oil.

Shave prep may very well be an important key to a longer lasting shave out of disposable cartridges. That should be fairly easy to evaluate and prove.

Wish I could say the same for south Florida. Bare steel can rust within a few hours outside during the summer.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by alb1981

Phoenix eh? you shouldnt have any oxidation problems!!! its a dry heat! lol that being said, I live in tempe. I have found that I dont have any oxidation issues as long as my shave den is not in the same bathroom as the shower. I have not seen a speck of rust on any of my razors that are restored and shave ready. When my shaving equipment was in the other bathroom with the shower, I did keep them well lubricated in mineral oil. Since I have switched locations, I have not had any issues and generally do not coat my blades in oil any longer.

thats my story, but ymmv!

---

Why are we discussing disposable razors at all??

Just a light hearted look at oxidation as it relates to razor blades, sparked by a comment from a snake oil salesman.

Well..... I must have been at the same swapmart / craft show in downtown Phoenix as I also ran into "LONZ". At first I just stood back and listened for about 30 minutes. Finally I stepped up and he gave me the schpiel face to face..... answered all of my questions and the next thing you know....BAM...... I bought a bottle of the snake oil. I have always complained about the price of razors and I figured I had spent 25 bucks on worse things. I got home, installed a new blade, shaved and dropped that bad boy into the snake oil. Now 4 months later..... I am using the same blade and on a scale of 1-10.... I am still getting a 9. Now...... I only shave about 3-5 times a week but still....... I am impressed. Not sure what the Magic formula is but it has paid for itself at least 3 times now. My Brothers and a couple of close friends will be getting a bottle for Christmas.

That's funny, I am glad it worked out. He definetly had a believable marketing pitch. It is nice to see someone try it out and comment on it. My mother also ran across him and purchased a bottle but I haven't asked what her results where. After reading your post I will have to see if she put it to the test as its been about 6-8 months now.

Have a happy Christmas and New Years!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dsikes

Well..... I must have been at the same swapmart / craft show in downtown Phoenix as I also ran into "LONZ". At first I just stood back and listened for about 30 minutes. Finally I stepped up and he gave me the schpiel face to face..... answered all of my questions and the next thing you know....BAM...... I bought a bottle of the snake oil. I have always complained about the price of razors and I figured I had spent 25 bucks on worse things. I got home, installed a new blade, shaved and dropped that bad boy into the snake oil. Now 4 months later..... I am using the same blade and on a scale of 1-10.... I am still getting a 9. Now...... I only shave about 3-5 times a week but still....... I am impressed. Not sure what the Magic formula is but it has paid for itself at least 3 times now. My Brothers and a couple of close friends will be getting a bottle for Christmas.

---

I am sorry but I have a hard time believing anything you just wrote. You joined the forum today and this is you first post so to me it feels like you are somehow related to this LONZ.

Even if it is true that oxidation can destroy an edge in one week then why would you ever buy something to prevent it for 25$? Just get yourself some dirt cheap Paraffin oil (Mineral Oil) that does the exakt same thing.

Following quote is taken from Wikipedia: "Prevents oxidation on the surface of polished steel and iron"

You must be awfully bored waiting for that straight razor! I just figure disposable blades should be disposed of. I started straight shaving because I was sick of the cost of cartridges also. You may soon find that one straight razor is just not enough. :p Good luck!

Pretty much everyone is right on the disposable thing. The platinum/teflon coatings are really to help give the razor a smoother glide and added protection since they aren't dried usually after use (I know I never did). However, the cutting edge is not coated, it couldn't be, otherwise... it wouldn't cut; see what I'm sayin here, the cutting edge will always be exposed steel regardless if it's a knife, chisel, razor, and regardless of coatings to protect against corrosion. If you had a straight that was blued except for the cutting edge, obviously, and didn't dry it the edge would rust but not the parts that were blued. This guy obviously didn't work in the engineering department there. As far as the keeping sharp thing, put some of that on a blade and don't strop for a week and let me know how that works out...*sarcasm* :o

Good comment PMH. I did not notice the recent join date from dsikes. I like to putter around the garage and just was curious about his product, not necessarily for razors but maybe other applications as well. I started shaving with a de and straight to cut down on the cost of blades and for a bit of nostalgia. Blades for a de are cheap enough to not mess with any type of preservation. I started messing with the olive oil just as a simple little fun experiment and nothing more. It did seem to help but certainly isn't worth the time. The blades did not seem to oxidize but they still dull over time. I have always been able to get a decent shave out of multi blades carts for a good week. I had a beard for most of my life and when I had to shave it off for a new profession my skin was so sensitive that anything other than the expensive multi blade carts just tore me up. I just got sick of the huge expense for those blades and figured there had to be a better way. When I first posted my experiment I had just recently found SRP and hadn't received my straight or de yet and was still looking for alternatives to the over priced multi blades. SRP has opened me up to a whole new world I didn't know existed and now I am actually enjoying the art of shaving. I also must confess, while I do save a ton on razor blades the money I was spending on multi blades has now gone to creams, colognes, strops and probably fairly soon a hone.

To those of you reading my comments, I have no affiliation to LONZ and I am in no way trying to promote his products. I like the fun spirited tone of the SRP forum and my initial post was just for fun and keeping with the tone of SRP.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas season.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Link8382

I also must confess, while I do save a ton on razor blades the money I was spending on multi blades has now gone to creams, colognes, strops and probably fairly soon a hone.

---

Welcome to the club. :)

My reply was in no way directed at you or your thoughts. There might be some truth behind the oxidation idea (To be honest I highly doubt it since the mechanical wear will be much greater during that short period of time) but what I reacted to was the cost of that "miracle" liquid. If people want to try it out just get some cheap paraffin oil instead.

A merry Christmas and happy new year to you and everyone else on the forums as well. :)

I'm like you I think. i have been shaving with disposables, and an electirc some, for all of my adult life. I recently switched to the Fusion with the 5 blades. I actually liked it, but I quickly grew tired of spending $16-$20 for 3-4 razors! I switched to a something I saw online called "The Dollar Shave Club". For $6/month they mailed me 4 new multi-blade razors, which DID save me alot of money. Still, I really wasn't happy with the shave i was getting, and i really didn't enjoy shaving very much. I became more amd more curious about SR shaving, so I took the plunge and bought a Parker Shavette a month ago, and I LOVE shaving now. I fully expect Santa bring me my first STR8 this month. Good luck with your shaving journey