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Safety Razor Day to Day Maintenance

I saw an article about safety razor maintenance in the wiki, but it dealt more with restoration than how to maintain a safety razor day by day.

After you rinse the head, do you simply let it air dry? Do you take it apart and rinse and dry the parts separately?
 
I saw an article about safety razor maintenance in the wiki, but it dealt more with restoration than how to maintain a safety razor day by day.

After you rinse the head, do you simply let it air dry? Do you take it apart and rinse and dry the parts separately?

You will get a thousand different answers here, I simply rinse off the excess soap, and put it in the stand to dry. No problems, no rust. Some people dip in rubbing alcohol, some take it apart. I tend to not want to handle the blade anymore than I have to. About once a week, or every few blade changes, I try to clean it with some scrubbing bubbles, makes it look like new again!
 

Luc

"To Wiki or Not To Wiki, That's The Question".
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You will get a thousand different answers here, I simply rinse off the excess soap, and put it in the stand to dry. No problems, no rust. Some people dip in rubbing alcohol, some take it apart. I tend to not want to handle the blade anymore than I have to. About once a week, or every few blade changes, I try to clean it with some scrubbing bubbles, makes it look like new again!

What he said...

I dissassemble the whole razor, clean it, clean the blade, pat it dry, reassemble and voilà!
 
Would you recommend reducing the tension of the blade, or do you leave it set at your prefered setting?
 
A question related to this thread,

I'm currently using a Red Tip. After a shave I rinse it off then I turn the knob to open the doors, then shake it out to remove excessive water. Yet when I come back 2 days later my blade and sometimes the underside of the doors have a spot of rust. I usually get annoyed and throw the blade away, but can i still shave with it? And any suggestions on avoiding the rust?
 
Every time I change the blade, I fill my sink with hot water, then just do some light scrubbing with a toothbrush under water. Loosens all the gunk and cleans it up pretty well without any chemicals or extreme buffing.
 
Is it necessary to store a safety razor in a stand? Am I going to damage the blade by simply laying it down?

Brian
 
Is it necessary to store a safety razor in a stand? Am I going to damage the blade by simply laying it down?

Brian

You don't NEED a stand, but it is somewhat convenient and tidy, especially if you get on with a brush stand and shaving bowl tray built into it. Some of them just look good, too. I keep my shaving hardware--brushes, razors, blades, and mugs and bowls--on a small shelf that rests under a cupboard (which holds all the software) that sits above my toilet bowl. I layed down a towel just to keep things from getting too wet, and to give the razors a good soft spot to sit, to avoid the unlikely to happen ding, dent, or bending of the saftey bar due to sitting on a hard surface. i would post a pic, but I am at work:frown:
 
I always remove my blade, place it on a towel and gently blot it dry (press on it gently). I rinse my razor with hot water and remove most of the moisture with a towel and leave it open to dry. This is a bit of overkill but I hate water spots! As others stated, I clean with scrubby bubbles or toothpaste every few weeks if the razor was regularly used.
 
Would you recommend reducing the tension of the blade, or do you leave it set at your prefered setting?



I don't believe that is necessary. I never have, no problems yet. The blade isn't bent when I finally remove it, so I don't see the point in reducing the tension. This goes for both adjustable and non. I think most adjustable users leave it at their preferred setting all the time.
 
I am not sure if it is right or not but I: rinse, remove blade, dry blade and razor and put back with the blade not in the razor.
 
Good morning from Greece guys,

I am totally new to wet shaving. Just yesterday I got my second wet shave.
I have read plenty of stuff regarding DE razor maintenance.
I would like to know though if lubricating my Muhle R89 twist with this oil is a good idea, particularly the twist piece in the bottom once in a month or so.
Unfortunately I could not get the Muhle maintenance oil direct from their website.

P.S. I know this is an old thread but seems to be the appropriate one for my question.
 
First, welcome to B&B.

I have had two of my razors since I bought them more than 5 years ago. I have never lubricated them and they work fine. If you want to lubricate your razor any light weight oil should work. However, once a month seems excessive to me. At most, I would do it once a year.

The only razor I ever lubricated was a Gillette Red Tip that I got on eBay. That razor was difficult to open and squeaked when I opened it. I used sewing machine oil that my wife had and put one drop on the bottom of the razor (where there is a hole) and one drop in the center section of the razor where the blade rest. That was about six years ago and I have never lubricated in again.
 
I just rinse the soap off mine, shake the water off and hang it up on my stand to dry. Once a week, I take it apart and clean it with a toothbrush and Dawn dish soap.
 
I would like to know though if lubricating my Muhle R89 twist with this oil is a good idea, particularly the twist piece in the bottom once in a month or so.
That oil is for clippers and it is okay to use. Light machine oil is more easily available and probably cheaper. I usually lubricate the threads weekly, just a small drop. Having said that I do dismantle the razor and dry the blade daily due to hard water issues so that puts greater wear on the threads as opposed to a rinse and let the blade dry insitu. The oil reduces wear and protects the threads at the same time.
 
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You will get a thousand different answers here, I simply rinse off the excess soap, and put it in the stand to dry. No problems, no rust. Some people dip in rubbing alcohol, some take it apart. I tend to not want to handle the blade anymore than I have to. About once a week, or every few blade changes, I try to clean it with some scrubbing bubbles, makes it look like new again!

This.
 
I take out the blade, take my trusty boar brush that i just rinsed (or the s-brush which is like a boar), put a little dish soap in the shaving bowl, maker "lather", add more water, immerse the razor, use the brush to rub the razor, put the razor to dry, continue washing the brush, dry the brush against a microfiber cloth, put it on the brush stand.

Result: razor's chrome shining after every shave, no special maintenance needed, no toothbrushes or other more abrasive instruments needed, since it's far easier to remove lather residue from the razor, while it's still fresh.

P.S.: Courtesy of the boar's backbone.
 
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