Don asks "Where do you keep your blade?"

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Originally Posted by donv

One thing that I haven't seen addressed is, what about the blade its self? Every thing I've read on care and storage stresses not storing razors with blades in them. OK, fine, but where do you keep the blade?

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Hi Don,
Several weeks ago another member posted that he keeps his DE blades in a jar of alcohol between shaves. I tried to find his post to credit him for his idea, but I had no luck.

His idea makes perfect sense because the enemy of a sharp edge is corrosion. And alcohol both holds water in suspension and prevents oxygen from contacting the blade -- the two cohorts most responsible for common corrosion.

I took a squat wide mouth jar and poured an inch of denatured alcohol into it. When I'm done shaving, I rinse off my blade and drop it into the jar and screw the cap on firmly. When it's time for my next shave, I retrieve the blade using a pair of hemostats but you could use a pair of tweezers, a lady's eyebrow plucker, a pair of vice grips, or whatever will do the job. ;-)

What say, guys? If you do more than just leave your blade in your razor between shaves, share your routine with Don.
Namaste,
Morty -_-

PS: I have verified for myself that I get two or three more shaves from a blade before I'd ordinarily have to replace it if just rinsing it and leaving it in my razor. YMMV

I never bother taking blades out of my DE's and have never had an issue with rust. A good rinse will usually suffice and I then store the razor head up in a test tube rack in the cupboard under the sink.

I must admit, though, that even the sharpest blades (Feathers and 7 O'Clock Yellows) rarely last more than two or three shaves before going blunt as my usual routine is to do my face and 75% of my head with a DE and finish the last 25% of my head (where all bar one DE - the current Muhle R41), are able to shave closely enough.

I've tried taking blades out before and storing them in a separate box in-between uses and didn't find that it made any difference whatsoever.

I'm not sure whether water hardness (I live in a very soft water area), would make any contribution towards blade corrosion or not though.

I don't have to worry about this problem. I have the type if beard that absolutely destroys de blades making them useless after one shave.:)

I hold my DE razor over the cup that holds my straights and whisper to the DE "it's amazing what you can do without being stropped". About a week later, when I throw out the DE blade I could swear I see some of the straights smile.

Again, it looks like I'm overthinking things again. I figure I'll just chuck them after a couple uses. They can stay in the razor till then. I've just seen too many novel ideas on these boards, or have had things pointed out that I never noticed. I guess I was waiting for some, "Just turn the blade box over, the blade will fit in the ________", type of answer. At least now I can quit sticking it into the crack in the wood on the right side of the mirror frame. JK


Thanks, donv

I also keep my DE razor in alcohol. I don't use my DE much since I switched to a straight but, when I do the razor and blade are nice and clean. I use an old Razor Brite razor bath container.Attachment 102021

Mike --
Nice setup! I especially like your razor/brush stand! :tu

Thank You!! I made the stand out of old oak window casings that someone threw out.

I think it also depends on how the razor will sit unused. If you use the same blade a few days in a row it will blunt before corrosion gets a chance to set in so leaving the blade in the razor is fine. You could probably get away with it if you shave every few days too. But if you only use a DE say once a week you'd probably want to consider taking the blade out and giving it some form of treatment.

I don't do the alcohol soak myself, but I have been experimenting with palm stropping as of late with good results.

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Originally Posted by Ryan82

I think it also depends on how the razor will sit unused. . . . if you only use a DE say once a week you'd probably want to consider taking the blade out and giving it some form of treatment.

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That's what interested me in donv's question. I kept my Gillette Sensor 3 razor to shave with on days that I did not have the time for my complete straight razor ritual. I've only just started using a DE again, after 27 years or so. Now that I'm comfortable shaving with a DE (for the first time in my life), there's no need for me to use a cartridge razor ever again. But I'll only be shaving with a DE once in awhile.

And while it is true that stainless steel is not subject to the kind of "red rust" that afflicts carbon steel, all forms of stainless steel ARE subject to corrosion. (My instructors spent a lot of time on that subject when I was a student in Naval Nuclear Power School back in the 70s.)

It seems to me that one of the purposes of the slick coatings added to DE blades at the factory after they are honed is to keep moisture and oxygen away from that very fine edge to minimize the corrosion that will damage the edge separately from using it. (But I could be wrong.) ;-)

I have in the past kept de blades in a small tin filled with talc. Place the blade give a little shake to coat then seal it up. Rinse before next use. Now a days I so rarely use a de that when I do I just toss the blade or use it a couple days in a row.

I've never done anything other than leave blades in my DEs and my Feather SS. I've never had any issues and seem to get lots of shaves out of them.

I have a few DEs I use maybe 1x a month or less and leave blades in them and have never seen any rust on the blades. For most of us with stainless blades and the coatings they have and the number of shaves you get from each I wouldn't worry about any rust.

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Originally Posted by Morty

It seems to me that one of the purposes of the slick coatings added to DE blades at the factory after they are honed is to keep moisture and oxygen away from that very fine edge to minimize the corrosion that will damage the edge separately from using it. (But I could be wrong.) ;-)

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You could very well be right Morty, but another reason they coat DE blades is to fill in the scratches left by machine honing. It's why they feel so "sharp & smooth", but as soon as the coating wears down the edge goes south soon afterward.

Good night all

I remember in University that on some catalitic microreactors, of a friend of mine in his Master degree, his adviser (the guy with the PhD who helped him to obtain the degree) recommend him to polish the catalyst. In this case the catalyst was a plate of steel. I did not remember which kind, but looked like 304L.

The explanation was that on a polished surface (microscopically this is a microabrasion and microscratches), the atoms can interact better than the regular surface of the grain. So the reason to coat the blades are both valid to avoid oxidation according to my knowledge, to fill the scratches (which slows the interaction=oxidation), and provide a barrier to prevent contact with the atmosphere (which contains oxygen).

From this also we can infere that the sharpest the razor the quicker it will interact with the atmosphere and oxidize.

And I believe, that the coat of alcohol works because is alkaline (the opposite to acid) they have an excess of electrons in solution (OH-). Since oxidation is by definition the element who lose electrons. It is not probable that the metal give his electrons in an already saturated solution with electrons. Therefore it will not oxidaze or the rate of oxidation will be slower.

I hope this information is useful to everyone, take care.

I only use mine twice. I gently dry with a bath towel (dabbing) then wrap back in the waxy wrapper, then turn the outside printed wrapper inside out and wrap the blade in that. I then put it back in its box in the drawer where the rest of them live, in my bedroom. Turning the outside wrapper inside out allows me to know it's been used once. I then throw it away after the next shave. I generally use a DE only once a week at the most (straights the other days), so the blade remains there for maybe two or three weeks (if I rotate brands for interest)...

I usually get 4-5 shaves out of my feathers, over the course of 3 weeks. The other days I use my straights.

My routine is to rinse with hot tap water and blow off most of the moisture. Then I lay the razor on it side (so the edges face east west), resting on the wooden box my feather SS came in.

I've never had a problem with rust or quickly dulling blades and I have very hard water. I've thought of the alcohol thing before but I've already taken over much of the bathroom with my gear, SWMBO would probably have a hard time with a little jar of DE's bobbling around also ;)

I once came across some old original user instructions somewhere, and they said to never touch the blade until it's time to change it, so I've always left it in & never had any isuues with it.