Cleaning razor and blade.

[Roy]

I saw that someone said they cleaned the razor and blade after each shave. I silently mocked the idea!!
Well, I decided to stay this as I reckoned it would get rid of soap and hairs.
I mock no more. I think I get more comfortable and closer shaves and nil irritation. Each shave will like using a fresh blade every time.

 

[TSAR]

Всем здравствуйте!
После каждого бритья мойка станка под струей воды и разборка, далее протираю полотенцем от мыльных разводов и высушиваю станок…

 

[ajkel64]

Всем здравствуйте!
После каждого бритья мойка станка под струей воды и разборка, далее протираю полотенцем от мыльных разводов и высушиваю станок…

Welcome to the forum. Please post in English so that we can all understand what you are posting. Thanks.

 

[EclipseRedRing]

Всем здравствуйте!
После каждого бритья мойка станка под струей воды и разборка, далее протираю полотенцем от мыльных разводов и высушиваю станок…

Пожалуйста, используйте английский

 

[TSAR]

Welcome to the forum. Please post in English so that we can all understand what you are posting. Thanks.

Translated via Google translator: Hello everyone!
After each shave, the machine is washed under running water and disassembled, then I wipe the soap stains with a towel and dry the machine…
(I thought there were automatic text translators on your Internet devices.)

 

[Dave himself]

Translated via Google translator: Hello everyone!
After each shave, the machine is washed under running water and disassembled, then I wipe the soap stains with a towel and dry the machine…
(I thought there were automatic text translators on your Internet devices.)

Hi and welcome to B&B.

 

[musicman1951]

I saw that someone said they cleaned the razor and blade after each shave. I silently mocked the idea!!
Well, I decided to stay this as I reckoned it would get rid of soap and hairs.
I mock no more. I think I get more comfortable and closer shaves and nil irritation. Each shave will like using a fresh blade every time.

Water is bad for blades. Drying the blade would no doubt eliminate that issue (although rubbing is forbidden by some manufacturers). But I have two problems: over the past 60 years I've cut myself pretty good three times - once upon my return to wet shaving after sporting a beard I misjudged the distance from the razor to my chin and bounced the blade directly into the chin. The other two times were handling a blade during the loading process. Admittedly, that hasn't happened in a decade, but it still makes me a little nervous.

The other issue I have is that I'm inherently lazy, and it's a lot easier to run the razor under a blast of hot tap water and call it a day. I suppose a good solution would be to keep the razor in a small glass of alcohol between shaves, but it would need to be cleaned and refreshed - and now we're right back to the inherently lazy problem.

 

[WThomas0814]

Blades are stainless steel. Razors are some corrosion-resistant metal. Not rust proof, mind you, but corrosion resistant. Stainless Steel, in fact, was renamed “CRES” for aerospace applications decades ago. They will rust. Eventually.

Will it happen before a blade is changed on a razor in rotation? I can’t imagine it.

I loosen my razors a turn or two, shake them off, and let them air dry. I change DE blades after three shaves, SE blades after six. I disassemble, wash, and alcohol wipe at the end of the week when its time to put a particular razor away.

The only exceptions to this are brass razors or vintage Gillette Techs (disassembled and wiped dry every shave) and vintage Gillette TTOs (blade removed, wiped dry, and left open every shave).

For what it’s worth, when I started shaving in the 1970s, my first new razor was a TTO Black Beauty. I would leave a blade in it for weeks, just opening it, rinsing, and closing it again. I used it for probably 15 years and it never rusted.

Just my thoughts.

 

[euro]

I always thought that this is the norm. I always take the blade out and rinse both the blade and the razor and then I wipe them dry with a towel.

 

[Phoenixkh]

I’m one of those one and done guys. I always break down a DE razor, wipe the blade before I put it into the blade bank, clean and dry the razor, put it in its stand sans blade with the handle screwed on slightly less than snug.

I get three shaves from my SE AC blades. With those razors, I still break them down, clean and dry every piece, including the blade, which I flip, though I’m not convinced it makes any difference. It’s just habit, you know.

Like so many things here, there is no one, single , correct way. We develop routines that become rote, only changing things when something doesn’t work or someone convinces us to try something new.

 

[BigJ]

I rinse my razor and blade well after each shave with hot water. I clean and polish the razor when I change blades.

KISS works!!

 

[DEgeezer]

I rinse my razor and blade well after each shave with hot water. I clean and polish the razor when I change blades.

Ditto!

 

[dotKomo]

Probably more than I need, but I disassemble (if it's a two- or three-piece razor) or open the doors (for my butterfly razors), rinse both the razor head and blade, pat the blade dry and re-assemble the next shave.

 

[blethenstrom]

Loosen the cap. Rinse with hot water. Blow out the water. Hang on stand to dry. Ready for next shave. I usually shave for an entire week on a blade. Six shave normally. No issues.

 

[OkieStubble]

I have a vintage Trac II handle I use with Wilkinson Sword Twin II Plus cartridges. These cartridges were discontinued quite a few years ago. While I have a lifetime supply, I want to get as many shaves as I can from each cartridge before switching it out for an unused one.

If I shave with the Trac II and then just simply rinse it out after the shave and put it up, the smoothness and quality of the shave for my tough beard, is only good for 8-10 shaves.

But after doing just a bit of research years ago on caring for blades and making them last? I now,

1. quickly rinse out the cartridge after the shave.

2. And while I don’t want to dull or damage the blade edges by drying it off with a towel, a quick spray of isopropyl alcohol that is kept in a fine mist spray bottle, will quickly, A. Dissolve all soap scum and hard mineral water deposits instantly; B. But it also immediately, displaces all water from the blades while C. Also disinfecting the blades.

3. A quick towel dry of the handle and it’s ready to air dry and put up for next time.

4. Occasionally, after about every 4 shaves on the same cartridge, I will grab a small rubber strip called a ‘Razr Pit’.
I will hand squeeze some of the left over lather from my brush after the shave and wipe it on the razr pit. Then I will give the cartridge a few strops on this rubber razr pit with the shave cream. This action of stropping only takes a few seconds more, but it cleans the blades in the cartridge and helps to keep the edges of the dual blades in the cartridge straight and smooth.

I keep several die in the corner of my bathroom vanity by the mirror that I turn every shave to count the number of shaves I am getting from the cartridge I am using. The current cartridge is at 18 smooth and comfortable shaves now and still counting. Whereas before, I was only getting 8-10 before taking just a bit of extra time caring for the blade.

I’ll see many shavers who will get up an extra hour earlier to enjoy a shave not inhibited by a clock or timer, but not take any extra time to care for their blade. While a cartridge takes a minute more time, a DE user can simply just rinse and then very easily and quickly, either choose to remove the blade and spray with alcohol or just leave it in the razor and give it a quick zap of alcohol mist from a spray bottle and hang it in the razor holder for next time.

Takes like one extra second to grab the bottle and simply zap the DE and blade with a quick fine mist of alcohol that will clean, disinfect and remove all of the water and then hang it up to dry. Super Iridium’s or Polsilvers are my favorite DE blades because I can get 5-7 easy smooth sharp shaves out of a blade. But if I just simply mist the DE head and blade with alcohol from a spray bottle, I get 10-12 easy, smooth and sharp shaves.

Per blade, that’s only four extra shaves and doesn’t seem like much, but that’s 400 extra shaves per box of 100 blades.

Works for me.

 

[cranewarrior]

I saw that someone said they cleaned the razor and blade after each shave. I silently mocked the idea!!
Well, I decided to stay this as I reckoned it would get rid of soap and hairs.
I mock no more. I think I get more comfortable and closer shaves and nil irritation. Each shave will like using a fresh blade every time.

I do it. Everytime I break down my razor to clean it and the blade, there's always some soap and whiskers on the underside. It doesn't matter what soap or razor I use either. So, I clean my razor and blade after every shave.

 

[Roy]

Since I started, my shaves and skin are so much better. Closer shaves. Sharper blades for longer..

 

[njpaddy]

I admit to doing it when I started. I rinsed and wiped the DE, and even hand-stropped the blade after every shave. I usually shaved in the evening so it added to my ME time. When I began tossing blades after 2, I began wiping it down only when I changed blades.

 

[OkieStubble]

I admit to doing it when I started. I rinsed and wiped the DE, and even hand-stropped the blade after every shave. I usually shaved in the evening so it added to my ME time. When I began tossing blades after 2, I began wiping it down only when I changed blades.

If I only wanted two shaves from every blade, I could see myself doing this exact same thing.

 

[Hair Scraper]

Because I only shave every 3 to 4 days I'll open the TTO's or disassemble the 3 piece razors. I'll rinse them with water, brush them with an old toothbrush, shake the razor on a towel and blast the interior areas with Dust-Off. I think this helps keep the limescale from building up in the nooks and crannies. I'll rinse the blade off and pat it dry on a towel. So far, so good.