Thread: Rinsing the blade: with hot or warm water ?

I remember I've always been told not to use a knife to cut hot things or put it into hot water as it dulls the edge (for the metal expands due to raised temperature). Does it apply to straigt razor as well ? When i watched some shaving videos it was said to rinse the blade in warm water. Can this dull the blade ?
When my father taught me how to shave many years ago (with multiblade razor) he told me to rinse the blade in cold water only. I'm confused somewhat now...

River canyons were cut by cold water so that agent could be a problem too. However, that action has been working over geologic time and most of the cutting is being done by what the water is carrying. Water out of the faucet is pretty mild stuff and would, either hot or cold, and then only perhaps, affect your blade in a million years or so.

My opinion is rinse away. I do it every day and so far none of my razors are the worse for it.

good luck, good shaving,

I've always used hot tap water to rinse my razors - DEs, carts, disposables, and now str8s. I've never had a problem and I started shaving in 1968.

Dave

Hot for me as well but my tap water is not hotter then i can comfortably wash my face. FWIW, one of the barber manuals (honing and stropping) in the SRP help files says to wet the blade with hot water before making your first pass. I have been doing this. Can't say it is better but it ain't worse.

Heat can affect the temper of the blade, but it has to be higher than your water heater is capapble of. Most water heaters are set to around 120 degrees F or so, and won't do a thing to your knives or razors.

What if the temperature outside got to be 120 degrees, as it can sometimes get in the desert? Would we all have to throw our useless knives and razors away? No.

Rinse with the hottest water you've got. It's no big deal.

As an engineer I have to say that metal isn't very malleable at the low temperatures that the water comes out of at the faucet. A quick rinse doesn't give the blade much time to heat up or deform. It should just rise the later right off. And at 150 degree, which is only 80 degrees above a standard room temperature of 70, the metal isn't going to become appreciably softer.

I have rinsed it in tap water and haven't found any change in the blade.

i have extremely hot water as i have my hot water tank maxed out it does not seem to effect the sharpness of my blade as of yet

I rinse my straights off with the hottest water I can get out of my tap.. and I set it high!
I also clean my muzzleloaders with the hottest water I can (boiling) as this will also help dry the blade/barrel better than using just warm water.
The residual heat from the water has a drying effect

This might sound silly bit I have to be careful of water temp. I usually shave with a wedge and after the third rinse or so the blade starts to retains a lot of heat. Twice (slow learner) touching the hot blade to my face has caused my hand to jerk. Thankfully I have no been cut.