Thread: Do You Rinse or Wipe or ....?

Having just taken possession of a custom blade with holes in it, I got to thinking about the best, or at least perhaps most efficient or least time-consuming, way to keep the rust at bay. I've always been a "rinse in water" kind of guy when it comes to removing the whiskery-lather from a razor, but I am thinking that perhaps the old "wipe on a towel" may be a better approach.

So I was wondering who wipes, who rinses, who's tried both, what do you consider the pros and cons of your chosen method, and are there any tricks or tips (eg how do you convince the wife to wash the towels on a regular basis; how many towels do you keep in a towel rotation...?).

Perhaps you have another method involving, say, the cunning use of a wet/dry vacuum cleaner, tin foil, and gaffa tape? Inquiring minds would like to know!

James.

With a practiced flick of the wrist you can fling the lather off the blade and make Rohrschach-like lather blots on your mirror.

Truth be told, mostly I just rinse.
Mostly.

I voted other because I both rinse and wipe. Most of the time I rinse but it seems like with my water, certain soaps and creams don't like to rinse off the blade. I also find it easier to wipe the blade off when shaving a heavier growth as the soap/cream can sometimes get a little sticky.

I fold a washcloth in two and put it over the sink, and wipe off the lather on it.
This way the razor stay much drier than when I rinsed all the time.
Works for me!

Originally Posted by Jimbo

Having just taken possession of a custom blade with holes in it, I got to thinking about the best, or at least perhaps most efficient or least time-consuming, way to keep the rust at bay.
James.

Hi James,
I haven't been very active in the last year+, mostly because I was a bigger jerk than I wanted to be, but I have some useful advice I can pass on to you.

I've been following Utopian's advice that he gives here, about using an oil/isopropyl alcohol mixture to prevent rust. After 18 months, I have not had one spot of rust. He describes elsewhere the .5% mix to be 200 drops of isopropyl alcohol to one drop of mineral oil (relying on memory there). That's two teaspoons of alcohol to one drop of mineral oil. I use an empty olive jar for dipping.

Scroll down a couple of posts to read the procedure Utopian follows. It works, just like he says.
Morty

I said wipe. I don't use a towel though. I use a damp sponge at the side of the sink, and wipe in a stropping motion as my razor fills up with lather. At the end of each pass I just rinse the sponge and start over. No unnecessary laundry!

I suppose I do rinse once at the end of the shave in order to get any remaining lather/hair particles off of the razor, but I only rinse the blade and then dry neurotically

Final step is storing in one of those silicon razor socks you can get at the superior shave. Haven't had a single problem yet!

I rinse, I find it the simplest thing to do.

Voted other. I rinse but after I'm done with the shave, and rinsing me and the brush/lather bowl, I wipe the blade with a Kleenex tissue and 20 round trips on a leather strop.

Rinse, but I follow the same method as JimmyHAD. I've been thinking that using a wet sponge in the bottom of the basin might be the go though...Saw that in one of the many youtube flicks getting around.


Mick

Rinse under hot running water.

The alcohol/oil mix sounds promising though.

Stu