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Storage Question

I'm a noob to wet shaving. I jumped into the deep end and started shaving my face with a straight razor, but I'm also a head shaver. I'm not going to go at that with a straight razor - at least not at this point. So, I ordered a Goodfellas' Smile Bayonetta double edge safety razor. I read somewhere that it's advisable to disassemble and clean the razor after each use and store with the blade removed. It seems kind of reckless to me to have a double edge razor blade laying around. How do you store your razor and blade?
 
I only clean the razor and blade if it gets so much soap scum on it I get lots of drag -- I've kept blades in a razor for a couple years at a time.

There is no "rule" that says you need to remove the blade every shave, but you can if you wish. Use great care, it's easy to both cut yourself and to wreck the edge by touching something with it, which is why I don't usually bother taking it out.

A good rinse under running hot water is fine by me. I use an old toothbrush and some toothpaste to get the soap scum off when I actually change a blade.
 

Dave himself

Wee Words of Wisdom
Personally I remove the blade after every shave, it's rinsed with water and pat down with a tissue to dry. The razor ( if zamak ) is rinsed with water and rubbed dry with a soft cloth, once in a while it's cleaned with a soft toothbrush. My razors made of SS, Ti and Brass are cleaned with a toothbrush after every shave. The reason I only clean the zamak razors with a toothbrush less is to try and preserve the coating longer.
 
My blades only need to be cleaned, I've found, after I use a cream like Cremo or VDH Shave Butter or if I lay on some hair conditioner in the shower and add soap on top of that (a really slick combination, that).

Because that will often leave a ridge of the stuff on the underside of the blade edge that drys and hardens.

Otherwise, I leave the blade in if I'm going to use that razor again for my next shave or I take it out to use in the next razor I feel like.
 
I only clean the razor and blade if it gets so much soap scum on it I get lots of drag -- I've kept blades in a razor for a couple years at a time.

There is no "rule" that says you need to remove the blade every shave, but you can if you wish. Use great care, it's easy to both cut yourself and to wreck the edge by touching something with it, which is why I don't usually bother taking it out.

A good rinse under running hot water is fine by me. I use an old toothbrush and some toothpaste to get the soap scum off when I actually change a blade.
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I don’t remove my blades between shaves. I just rinse razor with hot water, puff them dry, and spritz with rubbing alcohol to displace remaining water and speed up drying. Only when I change the blade do I perform a quick toothbrushing of the razor.


I may be wrong but constantly bending (inserting and removing) thin brittle blades might be a detriment to the edges’ longevity (i.e. the micro-cracks developed during normal shaving might be increased by needless blade bending).
 
What Quaznoid said.

Just rinse it under the tap until you need to change the blade.

Maybe if you go a super long time with one blades like some of the members of B&B… dip the head in alcohol, like Ray said.

Disassembling a razor after every shave is unnecessary.
 
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I'm apparently going to disagree with the majority of respondents.
I disassemble and clean my razor after each shave, then I gently clean and dry the blade and reassemble the blade in the razor, ready for the next use. I've found that simply rinsing will not always get all of the crud off the blade,
 

Jay21

Collecting wife bonus parts
Disassembling a razor after every shave is unnecessary.
Tell that to my first stainless steel razor that had all kinds of black water spot stains between the baseplate and cap. I’m willing to not disassemble and dry my chrome plates zamac razors, but not my stainless ones. There’s nothing stainless about stainless steel.
 
For awhile I used to keep a jar of Barbicide and I'd leave a razor in there for a bit after shaving. For most razors, that worked just fine. I'd loosen the head on the razor so the fluid could get in between tight places.

You have to dilute Barbicide though. And I wouldn't put an aluminum razor in there. Perhaps not even a Zamak razor either. Stainless and any sort of plated brass should fine. I had one of those NOS British aluminum Techs and left it in the Barbicide overnight by accident. Really reacted badly.
 
After reading all these replies, I may have some sort of disorder. I do the full disassembly, clean, and dry routine. But to add to the madness, sometimes I wipe my Zamak-headed razors with spray-on car wax :) for the reasons mentioned above regarding corrosion and longevity.

All this, including brush rinse and shake, adds no more than 5 minutes to the shaving routine and keeps everything squeaky clean.
 
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Phoenixkh

I shaved a fortune
I’m a one and done guy. After the shave, the blade goes into a blade bank, but I rinse and pat it down. The blades all lay flat in the blade bank that way.

All the razors are thoroughly cleaned, dried and reassembled and are stored in their respective stands. I was keeping blades in them so they were loaded for the next shave. Two problems. 1. I choose my razors on a whim. I don’t know far into the future which razor I’ll choose. 2. I’ve managed to cut myself when reaching past a loaded razor. I’m a klutz so an ounce of prevention.. you know the rest.

My dad trained me to use a tool, clean it, make sure it’s dry and put it back in its place. I view razors as tools and treat them accordingly.

On the other hand, whatever makes you happy works for me.
 
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