Thread: Hot Water On The Blade = Better Shave ?

I have always rinsed my blades under hot water: DE, multi or straight. It definitely makes for a more comfortable shave. As lather accumulates on my straight I rinse it under hot running water to maintain a hot blade. I am careful to avoid the faucet and also to point the blade downwards so as not to wet my fingers and the tang.

I've always rinsed under hot water. I don't know if it improves the closeness of the shave, but it certainly improves my enjoyment. Don't much like cold stuff on my skin. I loathe the cold water rinse, but do it anyway!
I once tried warming my deo in my wife's microwave before we married. It was a very chilly South African morning. Ten seconds & it went bang! She was not pleased.

Does it make a better shave? Who knows. I just know that the blade feels better when it is warm against my skin than cold.

I am at work now so I can't mess with it but it just occurred to me..... if I tried an HHT with a cold blade and it passed ,,,,,,,, take the same blade and run it under hot water and see if it HHTs any cleaner or quicker. That would be an interesting test of the hot knife through butter analogy.

I run the sink full of hot water and steam my face repeatedly with a hot washcloth, using that water. After lathering and stropping, I dip my blade in the hot water before starting to shave, and rinse the lather off the blade in the sink periodically. Edge held at a 45 degree angle with the water and away from the porcelain and tap, though! I keep the washcloth folded next to the sink to wipe the blade on if the lather and whisker mix becomes too thick to rinse off the razor edge by swooshing it in the sink. The warm blade feels better when shaving, but I have no proof that the blade shaves better that way. This system works well for me.

I like the way my razor feels on my face after rinsing it in hot water so yes that's a plus in the comfort column. But as far as cutting effectiveness I notice no difference between a cold, wet razor and a warm, wet razor

I think it is partly a matter of comfort and partly about opening up the pores and relaxing the skin. I do have to be careful not to let my water get too hot, because straight hot water from my tap is uncomfortably hot.

I do the hot water rinse as opposed to rinsing in cold water. It seems to work well.

OK, time for the self appointed expert to wade in. The warm blade makes for a more comfortable meeting of steel to skin. The old barber manuals were as much to instruct for the comfort of the customer as they were for the craft of the shave. Next, wiping the blade after the rinse is to insure that the shank won't be wetted by the rinse, enabling the razor to twist or slip uncontrolably and without warning. As for the need to do both, well, that's for the shaver to determine. My grandfather only wiped his razor - on a sheet of the previous week's newspaper - no rinse. The fact that the farmhouse had neither running water nor water heater probably had a lot to do with that economy.

I don't think it makes a single difference for the performance of the razor, but I rinse under a hot tap anyway.
It is more comfortable to the skin than a cold razor.

Bart.