I've been taking my razor apart after every shave and wiping the whole thing down. I'm thinking of stretching this to every blade change which would be every 3 days for me. How do you care for your razors? And why?
Caring for de razors
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I don't do much at all. I rinse the head very well in very hot water after every shave (blade in). Shake out the water fairly aggressively, and stick back on my razor stand (blade still in). Nothing more than that really. I've got so many razors in rotation, I've haven't yet found the need to do any sort of cleaning on them. They all look great so far.
I give them a cleaning every month or two. They are constantly exposed to soap (from our lather) so they really don't have opportunity to get dirty. But I like to remove the soap scum residue once in awhile.
Many of us use vintage Gillette razors that were abused, and left with crud on them for decades (and still work perfectly fine), so there is really no reason to be super anal about cleaning a razor.
At the end of the shave, I simply shake the razor off, and place it in my stand to dry until the next day.
Just my opinion, but taking the razor apart (or removing the blade all the time) every day is just giving you more opportunity to suffer an accident with the blade.
Many of us use vintage Gillette razors that were abused, and left with crud on them for decades (and still work perfectly fine), so there is really no reason to be super anal about cleaning a razor.
At the end of the shave, I simply shake the razor off, and place it in my stand to dry until the next day.
Just my opinion, but taking the razor apart (or removing the blade all the time) every day is just giving you more opportunity to suffer an accident with the blade.
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For me, I rinse with hot water, blot once on top with my towel and once underneath and put on stand. I guess every few years I might consider wiping down, but since I don't see any residue or build-up on my Feather yet, I don't bother. I have a water softener so I don't get any soap scum or hard water deposits. If I did, I might consider a cleaning every couple months.
After every shave I take the blade out, rinse the head with hot water, and then blot both the razor and the blade with a towel -- minimal daily maintenance to keep vintage razors in top condition.
I make this one a little complicated for myself, I must admit. I have a glass container of rubbing alcohol solution and usually will take the razor apart, rinse each part in water and then slosh the head parts in the alcohol for a few seconds then lay on a cloth to dry. Mostly it's for the blade, which I usually also blot a bit, I think it makes it last longer, but while I'm at it I hit the razor too, and if it's a very pretty razor, in very good condition I'll wipe it with the nearby hand towel, at least the head. If I'm in a hurry, I just rinse the razor under the tap, assembled, and leave it on the counter to dry like a normal person. But I'm usually not in a hurry.
The only razor I bother to clean after each use is my DE89l, mainly because it's so shiny and I want to keep it that way (plus, I rarely use it). My go-to razors are all vintage Gillettes (which will be around after nuclear war; the cockroaches will shave with 'em).
The bathroom I usually use has hard water so soap scum starts to build up immediately with the first shave with a clean razor. I end up cleaning my razors off rather frequently--with most of them, after every couple blade changes or so. I like to keep my DE89L looking nice, so I usually clean that one off every time I change the blade. I usually just lightly scrub with an old toothbrush with a little hand soap or toothpaste. If soap scum didn't build up so quickly, I wouldn't clean as often, though, just when necessary.
What's a little soap scum? The cockroaches will hardly notice.
I just make sure to rinse and dry well. Every once and awhile I dip the head in a bit of 99% alcohol. Just to try and sanitize now and again.
Shave, disassemble, pat dry, re-assemble. Simple. Then look approvingly at your awesomeness of a shave. Well, maybe not THAT approvingly.....
One point to keep in mind:
Soap scum or hard water deposit on the surface of a razor isn't going to wear the plating, cause damage, or interfere with your shave.
Rubbing a cloth (especially with abrasive hard water deposits on the surface/embedded in the fibers) WILL slowly wear the plating away
Soap scum or hard water deposit on the surface of a razor isn't going to wear the plating, cause damage, or interfere with your shave.
Rubbing a cloth (especially with abrasive hard water deposits on the surface/embedded in the fibers) WILL slowly wear the plating away
I pull mine appart after each shave rinse under hot water blot dry reconstruct and store, my blade gets rinsed the same but air dried. If any soap scum is apparent of my razors I use some dish washing solution a q tip then a final rinse
I rinse off my razor with hot water at the end of every shave. If the soap scum build up is getting pretty bad I scrub with a toothbrush and maybe a little vinegar.
I don't go crazy with mine. Just a good rinse and shake out the moisture after I'm finished. I do loosen the head to get the hot water under the blade to rinse out any soap or scum. That's about it. Once a month or so I'll give the razor a squirt of scrubbing bubbles, and hit it with an old toothbrush, but that's about it. No problems so far with doing this routine.
Rinse it in hot water. Lay it on the counter until tomorrow.
I clean it with scrubbing bubbles after every third blade or so, so about every month.
We buy these razors out of shoeboxes at antique stands and then worry that they're somehow fragile and need of delicate care. It's not necessary.
I clean it with scrubbing bubbles after every third blade or so, so about every month.
We buy these razors out of shoeboxes at antique stands and then worry that they're somehow fragile and need of delicate care. It's not necessary.
Rinse
Shake
stick on the shelf
When I change the blade, I rinse each part and towel dry, then put the razor away without a new blade so that air circulates under the head for a day or so.
I think that it's perfectly fine to do whatever you want when you play with your razor and enjoy it, but I don't find it necessary to do anything more than the above.
Shake
stick on the shelf
When I change the blade, I rinse each part and towel dry, then put the razor away without a new blade so that air circulates under the head for a day or so.
I think that it's perfectly fine to do whatever you want when you play with your razor and enjoy it, but I don't find it necessary to do anything more than the above.
I ... Shave, disassemble, pat dry, re-assemble. Simple. Then look approvingly at your awesomeness of a shave.
Well, considering the fact that the majority of my DE razors are 50-100 years old and still functioning properly, I doubt that anything I do other than rinsing them after shaving will have any real impact on their longevity.
