Thread: Oil to protect blade?

Something to consider. I have noticed that when i have a razor with a highly polished blade one that has a mirror finish that the mineral oil i use seems to just puddle up. kind of like water on a waxed car leaving areas of the metal with no protection. that's why on the razors i store for any long period of time i use R. I. G. A grease like anti-rust grease. just an observation on some of my razors.

Ballistol is what I use

I don't use any oil as I never have a problem here in CA. If I did use oil it would be Corrosion-X as I consider it the best metal protectant ever.

Originally Posted by rhensley

Something to consider. I have noticed that when i have a razor with a highly polished blade one that has a mirror finish that the mineral oil i use seems to just puddle up. kind of like water on a waxed car leaving areas of the metal with no protection. that's why on the razors i store for any long period of time i use R. I. G. A grease like anti-rust grease. just an observation on some of my razors.

After reading your post I went to check my razors and two of them had mineral/sewing machine oil puddles. Both of those razors have mirror finishes. The other razors in my rotation were evenly coated. I grabbed a bottle of CLP that I use on my rifles and that seemed to coat them evenly but it was an issue to initially get the mineral oil off before using the CLP. Thank you rhensley for the heads up.

Originally Posted by Benz

but it was an issue to initially get the mineral oil off before using the CLP.

As stated I use the Ballistol but when I receive a razor for honing that has any kind of oil on it I give the blade a quick spray of rubbing alcohol and then a rinse under hot tap water. Seem to always clean the blades very nicely.

And about oil 'puddling' I just checked and my most highly polished blade's oil is still very nicely distributed and I haven't used that blade in close to a year. Maybe it's because I use such a thin coat but I don't know for sure.

I used a thin coating of mineral oil on those two mirror finish razors and it beaded up. After I finally got them clean I put a thin coat of CLP on them and so far there is no beading. What I'm kind of worried about is if the CLP will damage the scales. I'll be keeping a close check on them for sure.

Any of the things these guys have mentioned will work. You could even use olive oil. One advantage of wd40 is that it will displace water. In fact WD stands for water displacing. The 40 stands for the inventor's 40th attempt at a formula. So long as the razor is completely dry any oil will protect it. If your using it frequently you may not need to oil it at all. I only oil razors that won't be used for some time.

As far as I am aware WD40 makes conditions for rust.

It leaves the surface dry and oil free or leaves a very thin weak coat.

Over the years I have bought numerous Hart Steel razors . Each razor comes with a bottle of oil, ill never run out of blade oil but I only oil a blade if I have just restored it.
If a razor is allowed to dry and not kept in say a bathroom, no rust should form.

Originally Posted by JOB15

As far as I am aware WD40 makes conditions for rust.

It leaves the surface dry and oil free or leaves a very thin weak coat.

WD-40 is almost worthless in my personal opinion.

I use cutting board oil on mine. I haven't had any problems with it yet and I don't have to worry about putting something harsh on my blade (or my skin). Cutting board oil is obviously food safe and it seems to do the trick.