Mineral oil, 3 in 1 oil or another oil for lubricating adjustable safety razors?

[Shaveathon]

Merkur is going to exchange the bridge and top cap of my Futur as the blade can move after the top cap is snapped in, and there's slightly more bladed exposure on one side. Naturally, that side gives a closer shave with much louder feedback. Their instructions state that the threads have to be oiled with "thin machine oil". I've read that Johnson's Baby Oil which is just mineral oil and fragrance would suffice, but others state that 3 in 1 oil should be used.

This post from 2008 states that mineral oild will eventually "gum up" and shouldn't be used : http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...-lubricating-safety-razor?p=808874#post808874

This thread about lubricating the Merkur Progess seems to suggest mineral oil. Someone mentioned that Merkur's instructions state that adjustables should be lubricated regularly:
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/331471-lubricate-Merkur-Progress

The box in which your Merkur Progres came has instructions printed on the insert that holds the razor in the box, but I have my own bit to add. The instructions read as follows: "Clean the razor parts with EVERY blade exchange under warm water with a soft nail brush. Slightly lubricate the mechanical parts of adjustable razors regularly." I clean my Merkur Progress regularly with very warm water and liquid hand soap. Every so many months, I soak the razor parts in mineral oil which is messy, but at least mineral oil is non-toxic as it is taken internally as a laxative.

 

[dotKomo]

I have used mineral oil to lubricate my razor mechanisms - Gillette adjustable and Superspeeds without issue.

It's funny that there are "gumming" issues with that. Razor Emporium apparently use it when re-furbishing vintage razors.

 

[kevin a]

If you can handle the stench, Ballistol works very well

 

[malocchio]

Ballistol ,sewing machine oil or plain old clipper oil.

 

[lastcoyote]

Ballistol ,sewing machine oil or plain old clipper oil.

Is clipper oil any different from general white mineral oil?

 

[Shaveathon]

Is clipper oil any different from general white mineral oil?

I see Andis and Wahl's clipper oil on the barber supply sites. On Sallysbeauty.com, Andis is listed as being mineral oil with a proprietary additive. I'm wondering if it matters if I just get Johnson's Baby Oil as it's just mineral oil with a fragrance.
It's recommended to use light or white mineral oil and I'm not sure if the baby oil is considered light oil.

Andis is $1.99 at http://www.sallybeauty.com/clipper-oil/SBS-395330,default,pd.html and $1.50 at http://atlantabarber.com/andis-clipper-oil/


Merkur suggested sewing machine oil such as Singer Sewing Machine Oil here:
http://www.joann.com/singer-machine-oil-4-oz-squeeze-bottle/1024165.html
http://www.amazon.com/Singer-Machine-Oil-4-Fluid-Ounce/dp/B000YZ1Y06

In the Walmart Q&A area, it appears that a rep from Singer explained that it's mineral oil.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Singer-Sewing-Machine-Oil-4-oz/19398733

 

[malocchio]

The gist of it is that these oils are all highly refined ,very light ,and non gumming.As for the addition of fragrance in baby oil ,I don't think that makes much difference.I know some guys who are very health conscious ,and they have been using "light" olive oil on their hair clippers for years.I actually sent an email to Wahl about their clipper oil and was told it is "non toxic"....

 

[Shaveathon]

The gist of it is that these oils are all highly refined ,very light ,and non gumming.As for the addition of fragrance in baby oil ,I don't think that makes much difference.I know some guys who are very health conscious ,and they have been using "light" olive oil on their hair clippers for years.I actually sent an email to Wahl about their clipper oil and was told it is "non toxic"....

I'm just wondering if baby oil is thicker than the clipper oil. There's also food grade mineral oil in the drugstores which some recommend.
Here's two MSDS safefty sheets on Andis Clipper Oil. The 2nd one is interesting because one can conclude that Chevron is making their mineral oil!

http://datasheets.scbt.com/sc-395741.pdf

https://worldsgreatestshave.com/upload/file/download/Safety_Info_on_Clipper_oil.pdf

Here's the Wahl MSDS sheets (looks to be non-hazardous) and once again the 2nd one seems to indicate it's Chevron made mineral oil.

http://www.horse.com/ContentFiles/Associated_Content/SLT052131WahlClipperOilMSDS.pdf

http://www.northerntails.com/images/MSDS_Wahl_Clipper_Oil.pdf


Here's some nice pages that a bunch of cleaning and lubricant related MSDS sheets:

http://www.northerntails.com/msdssbyproduct.html

http://www.lovessharpening.com/productmsdss.html

 

[lastcoyote]

How about gun oil? Is it a light enough oil?

 

[malocchio]

I bet Wahl ,Andis and Oster all purchase the same oil from Chevron and bottle / label it themselves....

 

[Shaveathon]

I bet Wahl ,Andis and Oster all purchase the same oil from Chevron and bottle / label it themselves....

What a hoot it would be if Johnson's Baby Oil does the same thing with their baby oil! According to this MSDS. Section 9 - Physical and Chemical Properties states:

http://www1.mscdirect.com/MSDS/MSDS00010/62525787-20110708.PDF

Appearance: Low viscosity solution of light mineral oil and fragrance"

That should indicate that it can be used as a lubricant for razors, as long as you don't mind the scent for awhile.

 

[weekly]

I know this is a old thread but I have a
Question about oiling a Gillette Slim my
Question is do you only oil the door mechanism or does the adjustable mechanism have to be oiled and if so how
Is the best way to accomplish this ?
All replys are well appreciated..

 

[ColonelHogan]

A Depression era joke:

"If Two in One is shoe polish,
and Three in One is lubricating oil,
then what is Four and One?
Five."

 

[nav]

I've been using silicon oil on my razor threads. Just one drop every couple of weeks and everything remains nice and smooth (made a big difference to my Progress adjuster smoothness).

Silicon oil is known to repel water quite well, which gives me comfort for my zamak razor threads.

 

[cH3x]

I'm wondering if it matters if I just get Johnson's Baby Oil as it's just mineral oil with a fragrance.

Wait, what?! Peanut oil is made out of peanuts, olive oil is made out of olives, so I figured...

 

[Invicta]

Light machine oil is good and won't gunk up. It is also readily available.

 

[santamariasteve]

I believe oiling the internal mechanism of an adjustable razor is unnecessary. The only "lubrication" necessary is to keep the mechanism clean with an occasion soak in hot water or hot soapy water, and turning the mechanism several times while submerged.

A tiny dab of grease occasionally on any threads (such as in the head of the 2 piece Merkur Progress) is fine.

Probably over 90% of adjustable razors have never been lubricated and the razors are fine after decades of use.

Keep 'em clean, and don't drop 'em. That kinda says it all.