Thread: Handles in Water

Jordan,

I'm just trouble making, forgive me.

I keep my hands and scales dry. I'm very careful when I rinse the blade, and I wipe the blade often.

I keep my scales dry, i am compulsive about wiping off the suds. Only my blade ever gets wet, but all of my wooden scales have either epoxy coating, or are sprayed down with 10-15 coats of polyurethane, in case they get a little damp but they never do.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Ninety nine percent of the time i avoid getting them wet. If I do I wipe them PDQ.

Nearly all of my razors in my current rotation are celluloid or bakelite scales. The only area that occasionally gets wet during shaving for me is around the pivot pin. I'm like Jimmy though, if I do get water there, I stop the shave and wipe off the water. But more than a wet scale concern, for me the last thing I want is to grip a wet tang. Not with a razor in my hand.

Chris L

Originally Posted by Bill S

I'm another "dry handle" kind of guy. I dry my hands off before I pick up the razor and rinse the blade only (to get rid of lather).

Ditto! I leave mine out usually till later same day before putting back. I live in a place that isn't real humid anyways or I'd put some sort of desiccant in the box with them.

Red

I let the water fall where it may, and that usually means the scales near the pivot pin get wet, as does the pivot pin. I fail to see how you can avoid dribbles onto your hand, and from thence onto your scales, personally. More power to you if you can

But for me it would take more effort than I believe it's worth to keep things dry.

That's one of the reasons I do not own any wood-scaled razors.

James.

I don't worry about water while I'm shaving.
If my fingers that hold the razor get wet, I dry them on a towel. I find it impossible to keep the pivot dry.

Most scale materials are not affected by being wet for a short time daily. The razor blade I dry with a piece of kitchen paper and I oil it after each shave. I also oil the tang and occasionally the pivot pin.

I have not disassembled a well-used razor so far, that had not at least some corrosion near the pin hole, even stainless blades.

I have not yet had any moisture related problems with handles.


Bart.

I hardly ever get a single drop of water on the
shank or the scales. When rinsing my face, the
razor is safely out of the splash zone, and I
the lather and water from rinsing is on the blade
itself only. I rinse using hot water after each
pass and dry carefully on my towel (using my
fingers to catch any missed droplets near the
edge).

Wood scales aren't entirely my preference, but
one of my favourite razors, the SRP Livi, has
olive wood scales so it's probably a good thing
that they don't get wet since they don't seem to
be treated with anything.

- Scott

I almost never get the handles wet. In the 25 years I've been doing this I can probably count on one hand how many times I accidentally got the handles wet. I certainly never conduct my shave in a manner that exposes them to this risk. And I do consider it a risk simply because if you fail to dry the handles completely you could end up with a water spot on the blade. Many moons ago this happened to me during one such mishap.

My custom is to wipe the blade while shaving not rinse it. This is probably the most significant thing a person can do to keep the handles dry.

Regards,
EL

I try to keep the scales dry, but they can get wet. This doesn't worry me as I dry them as best I can and then store the razor where it is exposed to the open air. I haven't had any problems with corrosion, yet.