Thread: i broke it already

Found this link to a book relating to shaving, razors etc...it has been posted here before...see page 18 relating to the care of SR. Hope this works, I am a klutz when inbeding links and vids. HOG

Shaving made easy; what the man who shaves ought to know ..

I have heard on good authority that the reason of a great many of these scales breaking is twofold.
1- They are popular with new shavers who wish a new razor at a budget price.
2- The inexperience of a newer shaver tends to put excessive pressure on the pivot while stropping.
IF this is true, the OP could benefit from checking out the "STROPTOBER" going on in the stropping forum next month.
The instruction there should help a lot in knowing how to hold a razor while stropping. JMHO
Oh, and certainly there is no reason to get the pivot or scales wet. Try to avoid it!

Originally Posted by unit

Interesting. I get water everywhere too, but I oil feverishly. I cannot leave my stuff out to dry like that (three little boys). They are great kids and probably would never touch...but I could not live with myself if something happened.

I have 2 little daughters. They have been seeing me hone / restore razors since they could look around.
There are razors and knives in pretty much every room in the house.
For me, the trick was to teach them how to hold them safely, and to show them what could go wrong.
And I promised a hefty reward if they should ever find one in the open and bring it to me (I had to pay out once).


Anyway, I leave my razor out to dry on the top of the cupboard where they can't reach.

I'm with Glen, water water everywhere. Too many other things to focus on at the time. When I get a new razor I treat the pivot with Tuf-Glide and hope that helps. Otherwise, I just do a final rinse with the hottest water the tap will run (in my camper, that's near-boiling) and make sure the blade heats up.

I don't go out of my way to get water in the pivot, but don't try too hard to keep it out either. Once the blade is good and warm, I wick any water from between the scales with a folded bit of paper towel, and make sure to work a single thickness of it into the pivot. Then I wipe off the blade and the outsides of the scales and let the heat drive off any remaining moisture. I haven't had a rust spot yet. Disclaimer, though, I live where the RH is about 10-15% most of the time.

About those bent pivot pins--I've noticed on some older blades that the pivot hole is enormous relative to the pin, and I've unpinned a few where the pin was bent almost to a V. I suspect that the manufacturers left that space so the pivot pin could in fact be bent inside the hinge as a way to tighten the joint. It's a little quicker than getting the peening just right.

Yeah, when stropping, support the blade by the tang, don't count on the scales for any kind of physical support like you can with a pocketknife. Different critter altogether.

Originally Posted by Bruno

I have 2 little daughters. They have been seeing me hone / restore razors since they could look around.
There are razors and knives in pretty much every room in the house.
For me, the trick was to teach them how to hold them safely, and to show them what could go wrong.
And I promised a hefty reward if they should ever find one in the open and bring it to me (I had to pay out once).


Anyway, I leave my razor out to dry on the top of the cupboard where they can't reach.

I hear you, and I taught 2 of my boys how to handle and care for a knife (my third will learn this winter). I gave them their first knives when I taught them and sharpened them to my standards (which is to say sharper than the Spyderco factory edge they came with). They handle them well and so far (knocks on wood) have not cut themselves.

There in lies the problem, they are both confident with VERY sharp knives, but my razors are not as predictable. Some have loose pivots and will fall open, others are tight (the way I prefer). I left one out to dry and my son picked it up to bring it to me and the blade swung out un-expectedly (but without issue). Way off topic here, but I decided at that moment to keep them in the drawer from then on.

My boys love to watch me hone, strop and shave...and I love sharing this time with them. I look forward to the day that I can share my shaving knowledge with them (hopefully by then I will have some valuable knowledge on the topic)

"No wet"? Really? Most of us are standing at the friggin' sink! How's that work?

Instead, I offer this: When you're done shaving and you've cleaned-up, take some toilet paper, fold/wad it up, then (with the razor open 90*) insert it between the scales and slide it back and forth a few times, absorbing whatever moisture might be present. Close the razor, and do the same thing around the pivot-pin area.

If I had to worry about not getting the pivot-pin or scales wet, I'd probably cut myself. So, instead I don't sweat it, and perform proper After-Action Maintenance.