Thread: What to do with the knife after shaving?

Originally Posted by Razorthin

I've followed the recommendations of some members who use Renaissance wax. I carefully dry up my razor with a clean cloth or tissue, strop it a few times and then apply a light coat of RW. I then buff it off completely. This brings the steel to a nice shine and keeps it well protected. This stuff is used by museum curators so it has been field tested extensively.

Ty, what's RW?

Originally Posted by Einar

Ty, what's RW?

I'd hazard a guess at "Renaissance Wax".

I like the idea of stropping to clean/dry the blade. will have to try that.

Originally Posted by Deegee

I'd hazard a guess at "Renaissance Wax".

Lol, missed the connection there, ty

This is truly good stuff.

Try drying with tissues (Kleenex) especially between the scales, after cleaning under hot water.

I then leave mine partially open on my bedroom TV cable box which gives off drying heat 24x7.

Originally Posted by Einar

The baby oil are made of Canola oil btw.

I'm not sure what type of baby oil you have, but consumer baby oil is made of mineral oil with a bit of fragrance in it.

I used to use baby oil on my razor, but I didn't like my razor having that type of fragrance. I switched to food-grade mineral oil (USP), which is the type sold in pharmacies. Nowadays, I only use mineral oil for the razor pivot area after honing the razor, just to give it a light lube.

After shaving, I just wipe the razor and scales dry with a piece of toilet paper, then follow it with stropping on linen and leather, 10 strokes each.

Is baby oil still any good to keep the razor clean/smooth and all? I don't have my strop yet personally, so I'm looking for the best solutions of keeping the blade neat until I do.

First, outstanding that you care enough about your blades to want to properly dry and store them! Good for you AND your SRs!

RW is a great product for restoration and would likely help keep your metal clean - but I think it's a bit of overkill for use after each shave. That will get VERY expensive over time. Einar I can't find where you are located but up here in the Rockies I deal with a normal humidity level of about 15%. Around here all I need to do after a shave is to rinse the razor well, dry the blade completely and carefully with a clean towel (don't use the one you may have just used to dry yourself off), blow a few breaths into the scales to make sure they're mostly dry and then leave the blade out overnight. I've NEVER developed new rust on a blade.

When I travel to more humid climates (e.g., most of the rest of the world) I do the same but also place the blade where I'm sure it will get moving air to dry better. However, if I lived in a humid climate and wanted to coat my blades after use I'd use Camellia Oil. That's what I use to coat a blade when shipping it and also for blades that I place into storage. It's certainly much less expensive than RW, easier to remove, and probably has less harmful side effects to your face. I bought a few 245ml bottles a few years back and can't recall where I bought them, but it was online. It's been a few years and I'm still only a quarter of the way through the first bottle. If I come across the receipt I'll reply again.

Best of luck!

Ty for the tips

The baby oil are frageance free and I don't think it has a baby smell. I live by the ocean and a river so humidity may be a bigger problem here. My axes/carbon knives are all sprayed in wd40, so don't know if this is going to work or not.
As for using baby oil as a preping oil I think it worked well, soked in a bathtub with oil for 15min and I got a BBS(learned a new word today ).
But now I have got a rash on one side of my face, think my stroking all day to see when I can save again ruined it(probably didn't help that I am in a forge grinding blades all day so that my fingers are full of metal shavings...)
As for storage of the rasor I have it ontop of a high shelf, 2 kids, so need to keep it safe

Think I closed the blade a bit too soon last time, will just leave it open from now on!

And today I am geting a strop hopefully!