How do I take care, in an every day sense, of my new brass Karve Overlander?

[100pctFragranceFree]

It's my first brass razor and I don't want to mess it up. What I do with my other razors is when I'm done shaving, I disassemble the parts, rinse each part with water, dry them as best I can, then let them sit on a towel for an hour or so, and then I reassemble the parts and put the razor away.

With the Overlander, (instructions attached--a little blurry sorry) for every day care, (I'm not talking about any of the Flitz or chemical stuff, just every day care) it says: "After shaving, completely disassemble your razor, wash each part, and dry them to remove any remaining water."

If it's wash, not rinse, wash them with what? Dish soap? A toothbrush? (I'm really hoping rinsing under the faucet is enough.)

 

[Jenks]

I have a brass Overlander and when I read those instructions I interpreted them to be followed if you wanted to manage the patina.
So I do absolutely nothing. I rinse the crud off then hang it on the rack until I use it again the next day.
I like it to look like it is being used; and I am lazy.
I also figure that, as they are digging up 1,000 year old brass swords that can still take an edge, my razor will last the 30 years until I am in the ground.

 

[thombrogan]

When I’m on an Overlander binge, I wash and dry it after each use. No patina yet. And by wash, it’s 99% rinsing in warm water and patting dry.

 

[Kix]

I have a brass Christopher Bradley, and I disassemble, rinse and carefully towel dry the parts. The razor blade also gets rinsed and patted dry with a towel. After a while, when all the parts are totally dry, I reassemble the razor.

My razor has very slightly darkened by doing the above maintenance. There's no spots or green at all, just a uniform color, slightly darker than when new.

 

[Nehbulah]

I only hot rinse and dry mine. Not even disassembling it. I actually like patina.
I just loosen the handle so the blade can air dry.
If I want it looking new again, I would just brush it with a toothbrush and toothpaste.

 

[huck1680]

Take it apart, dry it off and that's about it. Once in a while if you want...polish it if you don't like patina.

 

[100pctFragranceFree]

I have a brass Overlander and when I read those instructions I interpreted them to be followed if you wanted to manage the patina.
So I do absolutely nothing. I rinse the crud off then hang it on the rack until I use it again the next day.
I like it to look like it is being used; and I am lazy.
I also figure that, as they are digging up 1,000 year old brass swords that can still take an edge, my razor will last the 30 years until I am in the ground.

Thanks.

when I read those instructions I interpreted them to be followed if you wanted to manage the patinaI

^ You're probably right. Still, it seemed ambiguous.

 

[100pctFragranceFree]

Thanks guys

 

[gdawg55]

I don’t do much with mine. Dry it a little and put it in its stand. I typically use a razor for four days. I might rinse and dry after the fourth shave before putting it in the cabinet for future use. Mine has darkens quite a bit from new.

 

[gpjoe]

There is no stopping patina on a bare brass razor. No matter how you try, it will darken or spot over time, and eventually require a thorough cleaning/polishing with something (toothpaste, hot sauce, metal polish) to brighten it up.

When I had an Overlander i would loosen the head, rinse under hot water, tighten the head, and towel dry the outside. It didn't have spots but the finish quickly darkened.

...and yes, hot sauce does work. (Use at your own risk/discretion.)

 

[Medivh]

I don't think the Overlander or any other Karve razor requires anything special maintenance, but since it's bare brass, it will evenetable develop patina, which some of us don't like. The other thing is that bare brass razors tend to ''stink'' and that's also not something everyone enjoys. So, my advice is to just replate the razor in nickel, rhodium, gold, platinum, palladium whatever and have fun. That's what I did with mine and I have zero regrets.

 

[Fiddler]

Apply a thin coat of renaissance wax to it every few days.
It kept my brass charcoal goods razor free from discolouration/patina.

 

[Iridian]

Alternatively you put it on the BST and buy the stainless steel version.

 

[Nehbulah]

Brass has antimicrobial properties.
You no longer get that benefit if you plate it or coat it in wax.

 

[Iridian]

Brass has antimicrobial properties.
You no longer get that benefit if you plate it or coat it in wax.

I agree, waxing might eliminate this benefit. Coating... gold, silver are inert, so yeah. But not so for every coating.
Because nickel, as well as brass and bronze, belong to the "copper group" with such properties, while rhodium and iridium (ok, never heard of iridium coating...) also have the same benefit. Rhodium also doesn't tarnish. Rhodium-Palladium alloy coating seems to be even especially good at destroying microbes.

Edit: Gold and Silver nanoparticles apparently can also somehow work antimicrobial. Shouldn't have googled this now...^^ But well, we talk about coatings.

 

[musicman1951]

I don't have any brass razors, but I have a lot of brass trumpets. They are plated on the outside, but the inside is where the moisture is, and I don't disassemble and dry them. Do what makes you happy, but outside of patina I wouldn't consider brass too fussy.

 

[Brian H Shaves]

I do what most do here, just thoroughly dry it off after each shave so I don't get any spotting. The razor is dark brass now, but gorgeous IMO. Also, I don't smell the brass near as much with it's patina. I wonder if I have just grown used to it or if the patina actually reduces the scent. I think my patina looks perfect and haven't wanted to polish it yet, but it's always an option. I am also going to purchase the aluminum Overlander when it's in stock, I got used to aluminum with my Henson. I assume the Karve Overlander aluminum will be a similar very high quality razor as the Henson is.

 

[Calyshaver]

I just had a nice shave with my Karve and really appreciate their fine build and fitment. I disassemble, wash, and dry it out after each shave. But because of my razor rack's proximity to the faucet, I get water splashes on it throughout the week, so mine is a little spotted but oh well.

 

[Ron R]

I have a Brass Gem Clog Pruf from 1945 and it looks nice after I cleaned it once about 3 years ago and it looks very nice with a patina to this day. I cleaned mine with glass stove top cleaner (Weiman) and it cleans brass well with a tooth brush, the previous owner must of used a pre shave oil because it needed some serious cleaning to remove this residual film.
All I do since major cleaning is just when done shaving everything gets rinsed and dried and into rack for next time.
The razor now has a nicer patina than shown in this cleaned razor cleaned about 3 years ago.

Today it looks like this more or less(poor photo my phone camera micro is damaged)

Have some great shaves!

 

[UncleBob59]

It's my first brass razor and I don't want to mess it up. What I do with my other razors is when I'm done shaving, I disassemble the parts, rinse each part with water, dry them as best I can, then let them sit on a towel for an hour or so, and then I reassemble the parts and put the razor away.

With the Overlander, (instructions attached--a little blurry sorry) for every day care, (I'm not talking about any of the Flitz or chemical stuff, just every day care) it says: "After shaving, completely disassemble your razor, wash each part, and dry them to remove any remaining water."

If it's wash, not rinse, wash them with what? Dish soap? A toothbrush? (I'm really hoping rinsing under the faucet is enough.)

I ordered the Karve Overlander in aluminum. I thought about the brass but waited instead 6 months for the aluminum to be stocked. Glad I don't have to think about polishing anything.