Oil for Straight Razor. What kind and when do you apply and remove.

[Alum of Potash]

I've been shower-shaving with my Wacker 15/16 all summer and have had no issues with rust or staining, even in the pivot area.

Last time I visited LA, I was under the impression that it rained 3-4 days out of the year. It may be okay to take a shower [while] shaving with your razor there (although I wonder about the water consumption involved), but in more humid environments, leaving water in the pivot area can be a real issue.

 

[cb91710]

Last time I visited LA, I was under the impression that it rained 3-4 days out of the year there. It may be okay to take a shower with shaving with your razor there (although I wonder about the water consumption involved), but in more humid environments, leaving water in the pivot area can be a real issue.

The humidity is part of why I shave in the shower.
I'm shaving my head already... when the weather is warmer, the AC dries the air to the point that I would be constantly relathering.
When it cools, I'll move back to shaving my face at the sink.

Anyways, the razor gets SOAKED. I don't even attempt to keep the scales or tang dry. I'll take a few swipes, rinse it under the shower head, etc...
When I'm done, I get out, towel off, lay on some Skin Food, and while that soaks in/dries, I dry the blade and outside of the scales with a towel, and "floss" between the scales with a piece of TP.
Finish up by stropping and it goes back into the rack.

 

[cb91710]

How often does it rain in LA?

More than 3-4 days.

We joke about the lack of rain, and it's certainly nothing compared to the PNW, but we do get a good marine layer in the morning which brings a decent amount of humidity with it. Sandy style rain? Never.
Pretty fair storms (enough to cause serious flooding)? Couple of 3 times a year... sometimes it'll go for over a week.

 

[Alum of Potash]

Sounds good Rich. I just wanted to stress that it is inherently drier in LA than in New England, so that plays to your advantage. Believe me, I have RH meters all over my ancient tiny house, which is built into an embankment. Street level/first-floor level ranges from 20 to 75 percent here (Jan vs. July), with top floor holding steady at around 20 to 45 per cent (Jan vs. July). Dehumidifier is running rampant during the summer on the first floor, so I shave and store my razors on the top floor! Thanks for mentioning to store the razors tang-down to let the oil migrate the pivot, and to "floss" in between the scales with toilet paper. I've learned a couple of things here. --Alan

 

[jordanalexearle]

Hello everyone!

Thank you for your help. After some research I have decided to go for the silicon sleeve since it doesn't require oiling of the blade. If it does not work or does not work to my satisfaction, I will defiantly start using oil. But I as am not in the most humid of places, I am hoping that it will be ok. Once I get it and my strop from the whipped dog site, I will be able to start shaving and I will keep a journal on here so keep an eye out for it and if you have any advice let me know!

Thanks everyone!

 

[cb91710]

Another thing to keep in mind with oiling is that the oils may seal in any moisture that remains on the blade.

Like I said, I will oil my blades if they are going to be unused for a while, but I do not do this immediately... I'll oil them after they've sat unused for at least 2-3 days.
If I were leaving on a trip and not taking my straight, I would give it a quick dip in alcohol, followed by gentle heating with a hair dryer before oiling.

I think the silicone sleeves are a great idea.

 

[Legion]

Personally, I don't oil blades that see regular use. Never had a problem.

For long term storage, or if you want to be super on the safe side, and are worried about the effects of the oil on your skin, use food grade mineral oil. You should be able to find it in your chemist, they used to give it to us as kids if we were "blocked up". It will be pretty cheap, and you can also use it on your wooden cutting boards, if you are so inclined. Just wipe it off the blade with some TP before your shave.

The most important thing is to make sure your blade is dry after the shave. As long as you do that, everything else is just erring on the side of caution.

 

[Daithi]

Hi jordanalexearle,
I'm also a new-to-straights, tight-for-cash-student, so don't take this as advice as anything close to expert, but for what its worth, I started using a pre-shave oil on my face before lathering, its cheap and I found I was getting smoother shaves with less burn. One of the bonuses I noticed was that once I started to use this, all the water began beading off my blade, making it easy to dry quickly with tissue paper followed by a quick post-shave strop. That's all I do to care for rust, living in damp old Ireland, and haven't had any issues, but like I said, only at it a month. I use my straight regularly though so would consider something more for storage.
Not to crash your post but would be interested to hear if any other members notice pre-shave oil to be preventative?

Hope you're enjoying the straight as much as I am. Fun learning curve.
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/member.php/55151-jordanalexearle

 

[pundi64]

I've been using "Singer" brand name sewing machine oil on my blades. I always dry blade after use, strop it, then apply this coating of Singer oil to blade, tang, spine, and pivot pin

 

[Slash McCoy]

I use baby oil, now that I know no babies are harmed in the making of it. I have also used motor oil. Clean motor oil. Don't need special oil. Gonna wipe the blade off, anyway. For long term storage, Vaseline.

 

[Mango]

Long term storage Rennaissance wax. Normal storage ...a dry closet
I use recyclable silica gel 500 gr bags to keep the environment dry. No oil and no camellia oil which tends to stick the blade to the scales on long term storage

My 2 cts....

 

[kohalajohn]

Someone said they use silicone sleeves rather than oiling. It's kinda the same thing though, I think. The sleeves have silicone lubricant in them and that's what protects the razors.

My question is about gold etching. I've heard that oil can damage gold etching on razors. But has that happened to someone? I can see penetrating oils like Ballistol, getting under etching and peeling it up, but just simple light oil? There are many types of clean thin oil out there. And we wipe it off anyway, just leaving microscopic film behind.

For now, I'm not taking any chances on my gold etched razor, but would like to hear what others say.

 

[Panagiwths]

Good evening Today I received the koraat purist 7/8 I shaved a while ago (I don't wet the razors with water, I wipe them with toilet paper so that there is no chance of them rusting.) Then I applied a Boker Camellia oil. I put 3 drops on each side and finger spread it all over the surface. The material of the Blade is: silver steel After 10 minutes the oil made the formation shown in the following photos. I would like to ask you if : Is it correct? Have I done something wrong? And if the blade is protected ?(What do you suggest I do)?

 

[silverlifter]

Too much oil. Wipe off the excess, you really only need enough to smear a film across the blade, nothing more.

 

[Panagiwths]

Πάρα πολύ λάδι. Σκουπίστε την περίσσεια, χρειάζεστε πραγματικά μόνο αρκετό για να αλείψετε μια μεμβράνη κατά μήκος της λεπίδας, τίποτα περισσότερο.

Thank you very much. What procedure do you follow after shaving? (That is, how do you take care of your razor)

 

[silverlifter]

I just strop and dry my razor before putting it in a drawer. I live in a low humidity climate. The only time I oil razors is if I am posting them overseas and I know they will be in transit through abrupt changes in temperature (which could result in condensation).

 

[Tomo]

Post shave I will

1. Rinse blade under running water and towel dry 2x
2. Dry blade and between scales with toilet paper
3. Strop on linen (6)
4. Strop on leather (60)
5. Oil with Balistol spreading with fingers
7. Wipe off excess oil with soft cotton rag
8. Store on a shelf outside the bathroom

Pre-shave
1. Wipe oil off razor
2. Shave

This routine prevents contaminating the strop with oil. The lather removes any trace oil with shaving. Balistol is also good for keeping horn and wood razor scales in good condition.

 

[Tanuki]

Keep hands (towel close by), scales, tang, pivot and tail absolutely dry during shave.
While shaving, I rinse the blade under a very thin stream of very hot water and avoid any splashing. I don't wipe the blade with anything.

Immediately post-shave:
Give blade careful final rinse.
Dry blade, avoiding edge, with clean, dry, light towel.
'Strop' edge on the towel (hanging over my forearm) once on each side.
Strop edge (just a few laps) on clean cloth and leather components of my strop.
Rub off any finger marks on tang and tail with the towel or a cleaning cloth.
Close razor using cloth or towel to avoid finger marks.
Store in a silicone sleeve from The Superior Shave, out of the bathroom, away from humidity.

I have camellia oil, Ballistol, light machine oil, mineral oil, vaseline and Renaissance Wax. With the storage sleeves, I no longer use any of that on an SR unless I'm shipping it.

 

[Loner16]

A few comments here. White petroleum is also known as Vaseline, and mineral oil is also known as Vaseline oil. Not all oils will work long term with steel, particularly vegetable oils, which risk to turn rancid. Camellia oil is a vegetable oil; so it is only recommended for light-duty, short-term protection with steel, rather than extended long-term protection, which calls for a petroleum-based oil, if oil is to be used. Of the petroleum-based oils, I believe only USP mineral oil is food-safe. For stones, Norton makes a lighter, food-safe mineral oil blend, but otherwise, I have heard that it is better to avoid using vegetable oils when honing, again due to the risk of their turning rancid.

I agree with this completely.

I'm in a fairly humid environment, and a light film of petroleum jelly has never let me down. And, while shaving, I'm careful to keep the pivot area dry. I tried camelia oil and was very dissatisfied. I suppose it would be OK if the razor was used frequently, but with a lot of straights, it would harden on the blade and become difficult to remove.

Honestly, the best protection I've found is the "vapor paper.."

Edit...

OMG... now I see how old this thread is...

 

[Alum of Potash]

I agree with this completely.

I'm in a fairly humid environment, and a light film of petroleum jelly has never let me down. And, while shaving, I'm careful to keep the pivot area dry. I tried camelia oil and was very dissatisfied. I suppose it would be OK if the razor was used frequently, but with a lot of straights, it would harden on the blade and become difficult to remove.

Honestly, the best protection I've found is the "vapor paper.."

Edit...

OMG... now I see how old this thread is...

Yes, it is an old thread. Over the years since then I've moved to a solution involving 4 parts alcohol and 1 part mineral oil. After shaving and stropping, the blade is left out to dry. Then the solution is given a stir to blend it, and the blade is briefly dipped in, avoiding the scales. Laid on its spine for about 10-15 minutes for the alcohol to evaporate, leaving a thin trace of mineral oil, the blade is then folded up and put away for the next shaving session, for six months, or two years.

Apart from thinning the mineral oil, an added benefit of the alcohol is that it acts as a solvent, removing any trace of soap scum on the blade.