Thread: Soaking razor in oil?

Hi All,

Just a quick question about steel and oil.

Does it benefit the blade in any way to soak it in oil? For example, a week or more. And how about heating the oil up slightly? (I'm talking about a normal razor in good condition).

Cheers,

Rob

No benifits IMO

Nothing whatsoever.
What are you trying to achieve?

Won't do anything for you. But go ahead and knock yourself out trying. Let us know how it turns out. The oil will ruin most natural scales and some synthetics. What are you trying to do?

Well, I'm not sure what I'm trying to do either. Condition the steel?

A while ago I bought a razor that had been restored by Neil in the UK. Apparently he had soaked the horn scales in neatsfoot for a week and it had brought back the luster. I don't restore razors so don't really know anything about this.

I appreciate that steel is quite different to horn, but wondered whether a long soak would benefit it too. From my own experience the edge seems better after soaking but any improvements seem to disappear after one shave. (That may have been coincidence or just imagined).

Anyway, just wondering.

Ah, no.

You can soak horn in neatsfoot oil, but only because horn is an organic substance which soaks up the oil.
Steel otoh is not porous or organic. Soaking steel in oil is a bit like soaking a diamond in oil.

The reason your edge might seem better -as you say- is that the thin coating of oil on the blade makes is slide across your skin more easily. Which is also why the effect wears off after one shave.

To the OP, are you getting the oil idea from the forging process where one might quench the blade in oil vice water? I'm not an expert in the forging arena, but maybe one of those guys would chime in.

Originally Posted by Gotdzel

To the OP, are you getting the oil idea from the forging process where one might quench the blade in oil vice water? I'm not an expert in the forging arena, but maybe one of those guys would chime in.

I think I'm getting the idea from the cast iron pan thread
( http://straightrazorpalace.com/finer...tml#post641479 ).
But that might just be about coating the surface.
thanks guys.

Originally Posted by Frankenstein

I think I'm getting the idea from the cast iron pan thread
( http://straightrazorpalace.com/finer...tml#post641479 ).
But that might just be about coating the surface.
thanks guys.

Cast iron pans are pourous to a point,razors are not.

To the OP; When most DE blades are made the final process before wrapping them is to soak them in oil for about 30 minutes. This is done to prevent corrosion from happening until the blade is unwrapped for use. The only reason they soak for 30 minutes is to make sure it hits all surfaces because they are stacked tightly. So, this would be no different than applying oil to your blade after use like a lot of us do. We use fingers, q-tips or even fancy SRD oil applicators (these are great by the way) The metal itself, in my understanding, does not absorb the oil as it is not a porous material so the only thing happening is the oil is preventing oxidation from occurring from moisture in the environment.