Thread: Wipe or wash off?

Good question, however, this is one of those 'eternal' straight shaving questions that get asked again and again and again. I'm not 'dissing' the question, it's just interesting, if you have no life and spend an inordinate amount of time here, how often you see such a question. I think we need a thread titled 'The Top Ten Eternal Straight Razor Questions'.

I wipe on a damp face cloth folded in two laid on the bench. Two thirds of the way through the shave I fold the cloth over to make a square, as the cloth is covered with five or so lines of cream and whiskers.

Often, part way through the shave I wipe the tang on a dry bath towel, as I hate soap or cream on the tang; I like a nice dry grip.

Post shave, I pinch a dry bath towel between thumb and forefinger of my right hand and draw the blade through it. Normally once. I often rub a little after on the stabilisers (if the razor has them) or the area where the frame meets the blade (if it's a frameback).

I then strop 10/10 (linen/leather)

I then wipe the blade with a tissue with Eucalyptus oil on it.

I do understand rinsing, but I like to see the result of the shave on the face cloth and rinsing may lead to shaking which may lead to dinging on the tap. Also, I feel water may enter the pivot area and cause issues. I think it's pretty hard (for me at least) to get rid of ALL the water in the pivot area. When you look at old razors, the majority of patina, staining and rust is in the pivot. I love patina; but I like an even patina most. A black or grey stain in the pivot area to me speaks of a razor unused for some time with moisture between the scales and blade; and I'd rather minimise that as much as I can.