I notice many blades say "do not wipe blade." Is this a sort of disclaimer for those who will inevitably cut themselves while cleaning their blade? As part of my clean up, I take the blade out and rinse it under hot water, gently wipe any residue from the edge, and strop the blade on my forearm. I clean and dry my razor and replace the blade for the next day. I know many don't do anything at all, but because I have some Scottish blood in me, I tend to be thrifty (cheap). I generally do this for seven days and then change blades. What do you guys do? Edit: I forgot to mention: I have gotten into the habit of turning the blade over after each shave. Between cleaning, stropping, and turning the blade over I am hoping for better blade performance.
I leave it in the razor, rinse under hot running water, then dip the whole razor head into 99% rubbing alcohol to quickly dry it. I get 3-5 shaves out of most blades, which is a week's worth for me.
I take out the blade, rinse it, shake the beads of water off, put the blade back in the razor, put the razor back in its stand, and walk away.
I remove blades from razors post-shave. Everything get rinsed & dried. I place the blade in a safe spot for the next shave. Usually 2 shaves, 3 max before tossing. Since I may go several days not using a DE razor, I prefer to keep the blade separate.
I take mine out if it's TTO, rinse, shake, place in, and douse it & the razor in alcohol. For a 3P I expose the blade, rinse, shake, & douse both in alcohol. Then they go in a tub or stand.
I just loosen the TTO knob & run the head under water, put it back on the stand and call it a shift. The only blades I've ever really fuss over were carbon steel blades that I know would rust if I left them wet.
I take my razor apart if I use my Weber. If I use my Gillette Knack or my Birth Year Razor or my Red Tip I open it up rinse it in hot water. Take the blade out. Rinse it in "HOT Water" {and then rinse the Blade in Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol} I usually wipe the razor down with Alcohol Wipes, then let them air dry. It's kind of a pain in the backside but it keeps the blades from rusting,
I take the blade out wash it, gently dry it, then leave it in a safe place to dry out completely before the next shave.
Take it out of razor A, hand strop, put it into razor B. Fresh blade in on Monday, toss after Friday's shave.
I may be wrong but this hand and arm stropping sounds like a one strike ball game. One slip will most likely result in a trip to the ER. However, I respect each persons shaving technique. I may be overly cautious but the only time I handle a blade is to change it out. Over the years, I have always had excellent blade performance by just giving it a good hot water rinse after a shave.
You are not wrong. So far I am batting 1000. Right now it is something I enjoy doing. One strike, and I will be out.
I've stropped my blades dry on a towel for years and only cut myself once. It was quite the gusher so attention must be paid. Doing this gets me one to two more shaves out of a blade.
I remove the blade from the razor, rinse it and the razor head(TTO) under running water, and wipe the blade carefully with a clean towel. I then set it down somewhere clean and safe, and use that same towel to wipe the razor head, TTO doors, and the inside and underside, as well as the handle, clean and dry. Replace blade in razor and put away. I clean my straight razor after every use, and I don't see any reason not to clean the DE while I'm at it. I was taught long ago to "be good to your tools, and they will be good to you".
I just give it a good rising without removing the blade, shake off the excess water, then put it back on its stand.
For TTO, I remove the blade and hold it under running water. Both sides are brushed lightly with my shave brush. The blade is patted dry on a clean towel and stored in my safe area, which is up high and not easily accessed. The razor gets brushed under warm running water, shaken vigorously, and dried thoroughly using a clean towel. Two or three piece razors are disassembled, and the blade treated as above. Each piece of the razor is rinsed and brushed, then dried using a clean towel. Straight razors are brushed under warm running water, dried on a clean towel, then also dried all over using bathroom tissue. This makes sure that all moisture is removed from the blade, and from between the scales. My straight razors are not kept in the bathroom, which is a high humidity area on a regular basis. Rather, they are kept in my bedroom in a well ventilated and locked container.
