I had never really thought about it before, but browsing ebay last night I noticed a seller recommending you take out the blades in between shaves when using a vintage Gillette in order to prevent rusting on the actual razor. Is this actually necessary? I've got a vintage Travel Tech I just dug out of the closet and started using, but i haven't been doing this. Thoughts?
Unless you're using a carbon steel blade or have humid corrosive air that causes everything to rust I wouldn't worry about it. Most modern blades are stailess and coated, so rust isn't really an issue over the course of less than a week.
A nice trick I read in Leisureguy's book concerning this is to keep a lidded jar of 91% rubbing alcohol on the sink, and swish the razor head in it after cleaning and rinsing it off at the end of the shave. Doing this will displace the water, dry quickly, and help prevent rust.
I don't. Never had a problem. But then I've only used modern blades and they've never lasted more than a week of shaves (I rotate my blade from razor to razor throughout the week). Like Erik said, it may only be a problem if you're using vintage carbon blades.
I've actually had this problem--rusting in certain parts where the wet blade comes in tight contact with the razor. I've started taking out my blade for exactly this reason and am sort of paranoid about it. Even though the blades are modern, coated, and so forth, I think somehow the coating can get rubbed off microscopically, and combined with certain reliable contact points, can result in corrosion over time. It's not a big deal, but I don't like the idea of rust forming on the razor or having to remove it. I'd recommend taking out the blade if you can.
Of course 91% alcohol isn't available at the local Walgreens. I have some only because a local hobby store went out of bussiness and donated their stock to the Habitat for Humanity thrift store. Even at 50 cents a bottle, it's worth more to my job than to transfer it to a jar to leave on my bathroom counter.
A quick check of both the Walgreens and CVS websites show that it is readily available, and IIRC I purchased my 2 bottles at the local Krogers super market. As far as whether you want to uses it in your bathroom or not, that's a personal choice, but for me I consider it too cheap not to use it.
Today's stainless steel blades rust because they stay wet, which is what give rust an opportunity to form. A good shake or two of the razor after rinsing and storing it so that the head does not sit in any water that might drain off it is all that is needed.
Good point, JP. I always hand strop after every shave. The value of hand stropping can be argued elsewhere, but in effect it not only dries the blade, but applies an ever-so-thin coating of oil from my hand.
I've never had a modern stainless steel razor blade rust in any of my vintage Gillettes or in my modern Merkur HD. Those blades are stainless steel and platinum coated; they just aren't going to rust. I simply rinse my razor clean and shake off the excess water. Then it hangs on its stand until next time. The rubbing alcohol trick sounds good, if you want the extra assurance. But I think you would have to soak a modern stainless blade in salt water for a month to get it to corrode, maybe not even then. The old carbon steel blades (or even modern carbon steel blades, if any are being made) are another story altogether.
I use the rubbing alcohol only for carbon steel razors, such as the Treet Blue Special (aka "Black Beauty"). I find high-proof rubbing alcohol easily---in drug stores and at the supermarket. What I have now I bought at Safeway and it's 99% rubbing alcohol, and was quite cheap.
