Leaving a blade in your razor...?

Discussion in 'Safety Razors' started by btbill, Sep 24, 2013.

  1. Warhorse

    Warhorse Active Member

    Mine comes out, gets patted dry and then goes back in for storage until the next shave. I don't really have any place to safely store an exposed blade and don't want anyone getting cut. Haven't seen any rust problems yet.
     
  2. Mouser

    Mouser Well-Known Member

    I have four razors, and a blade in each. Sometime after my shave, I take out that razor's blade, clean off the razor with dish soap and a toothbrush, then put the blade back in. Soap scum shows on the razor as I rinse it by swishing it in standing water in the sink. When I rinse under running water I don't have the soap scum problem but it's noisier and I'm usually trying to watch either the news or an old Ali fight on Youtube. Either way, the blades stay in and I have no rust problem unless I'm using a carbon blade.
     
  3. Shaver X

    Shaver X Well-Known Member

    You will read a lot of things on the forums, some of it true and some of it much less than true. The recommendation to boil shaving brushes to sterilize them springs to mind, definitely in the "much less than true" category. One wonders how many brushes were ruined by following that sage advice.

    I never did understand the rationale behind removing a blade after each shave. Having to go through that nonsense would have made me switch back to an electric or cartridge razor a long time ago. I have never seen a stainless steel blade rust, and have only once seen any rust on a carbon steel blade. After each shave, I rinse the razor with hot tap water and shake it a few times to get the water out. Not sure how much difference that makes, though. There are different alloys of stainless steel, one would hope that a razor would be made from one of the more rust-resistant varieties. Has anyone ever stated that they saw stainless steel of any sort rusting in fresh water?

    In times past, I seriously doubt that more than a very few took the blade out of the razor between shaves. Otherwise, such a practice would have been common knowledge.


    I typically replace a blade when it needs replacing, as indicated by pulling, tugging, shaves are less close, an increase in irritation, or a combination thereof. Some folks automatically discard a blade after one shave, three shaves or some other fixed number. Discarding a blade that still has some good shaves left in it sounds like a total waste to me, and makes no more sense than trying to use a blade that is past its prime.

    Just my two cents.
     
    oldtech, 178-bplatoon and tuxxdk like this.
  4. Darkbulb

    Darkbulb Cookie Hoarder

    The only time I take the blade out of the razor is when it's been used 3-4 times and it's time to switch to a new blade.
     
    Doryferon, RaZorBurn123 and tuxxdk like this.
  5. RaZorBurn123

    RaZorBurn123 waiting hardily...............

    I just received a razor that had a blade in it for 23+ years. It has no markings that would indicate a blade was ever left in it. Now was it cleaned? Don't know. Was the blade used? Can't tell.
     
  6. ChiefShaver

    ChiefShaver Well-Known Member

    I take the blade off after each shave. And i clean my razor after each shave. No matter if i shave only sundays or if i shave my mustache area mostly every two days...the shave will be taken off. Don't know why...;)
     
    RaZorBurn123 likes this.
  7. Mouser

    Mouser Well-Known Member

    same here. some time that day after my shave, I take the blade out and clean the razor with an old toothbrush and Dawn. To get that dull soap haze off of it.
     
  8. frednb2b

    frednb2b New Member

    I take the blade out, rinse it in hot water while holding it by the end tab. I then place the tab end on a magnet on the top my bathroom mirror to air dry. I then clean and dry the razor and hang it in the stand. I remember my grandfather would wipe everything dry including the blade after he was done, but I think he dried the blade because back then they would rust because they were not stainless and would also rust if left in the razor and/or not dried. He was issued that razor by the US Army during World War I, and used that same razor for over 60 years everyday.
     
    brit and Enrico like this.
  9. Dansco

    Dansco Well-Known Member

    This is amazing. Laughing too hard
     
  10. Primotenore

    Primotenore missed opera tunity

    Article Team
    :signs011:
     
  11. preidy

    preidy Just call me Dino

    Since I only use a blade once then rinse and wipe dry after each use it's a moot point. However on the rare occasion I use a blade several times (vintage) it would bother me leaving a wet blade in there. But then again I've been accused of being anal about razor cleaning. Oh well guilty as charged....
     
  12. TobyC

    TobyC Well-Known Member

    I have a strong dislike for stainless steel razors, so my habits are meaningless. In my BRASS razors I have left blades in as long as three months of nearly daily use without drying anything with no ill effect. Three to five weeks is normal for me these days, I just rinse under running water and shake it off, with a tap or two on my jeans before putting the razor in the medicine cabinet.
     
    brit and kfbrady like this.
  13. Frijolero

    Frijolero Well-Known Member

    An injector makes the decision for you.

    There are injectors much older than me that didn't have the blade removed after each shave. I see no reason to fuss more over my double-edges.
     
    TobyC likes this.
  14. TobyC

    TobyC Well-Known Member

    Exactly!!! :happy096:

    Same goes for GEM type SE razors. :happy088:
     
  15. brit

    brit in a box

    i generally use a blade for three or 4 shaves.after use i just rinse them under the tap, loosen the tto or head and let them dry. all my razors get used so after a week the razor gets cleaned with dawn and a tooth brush and then put away.then i chose a new razor to use.
     
    kfbrady likes this.
  16. wchnu

    wchnu Duck Season!

    Your my fwording hero for tonight!!!

    Unless a carbon steel blade. Then everything has to be dried off.
     
    TobyC likes this.
  17. TobyC

    TobyC Well-Known Member

    GEM stainless for me!
     
  18. wchnu

    wchnu Duck Season!

    That's because your strange...in a nice way though. Just saying. :D
     
    TobyC likes this.
  19. Terry Williams

    Terry Williams Well-Known Member

    This is what I do as well. I even run a bead of mineral oil along the edge of the blade (read: overkill; but, it's a habit now). I think it matters much less with stainless steel blades. But, I think it would matter much more with carbon steel blades. But, it probably doesn't matter at all.
     
  20. HolyRollah

    HolyRollah BaconLord

    I posted that comment nearly five years ago when I was a daily DE shaver back before I made the switch over full-time to straight razors. SRs require even more scrupulous care when it comes to moisture exposure ( water in contact with steel is the enemy!) as the majority of vintage blades are made of carbon steel.
     

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