And another…from an 1880 article on the value of proper equipment maintenance: "…if you put your razor away wet or with the edge ill-cleaned, you have no sort of right to blame any one but yourself when it fails to do duty next day."
I usually use a 3 piece razor(currently a DLC Weber and a Gillette "NEW" OC) and stainless steel blades....After my shave I loosen the shave head and rinse, then use my wifes hair dryer to blow dry the shave head inside and out some as well as the blade, retighten and then hang the razor in a wooden test tube rack that sits my vanity to air dry..I've done this since I began "traditional" shaving (over two years) and so far its worked "VERY" well, I usually get 5+ shaves from a blade...
Being Dutch (thrifty) *and* from Zeeland (thrifty even to Dutch stadards!) I do almost exactly as you (except that I hand strop in stead of arm strop ).
I use a three piece and I wash/dry everything after each shave. The blade I'll put under hot, running water and wipe the blade with my fingers from inside to the edged to get any leftover soap off. I dry everything off with my towel and pat the blade dry before I put everything back together. I'll use a blade for about three shaves before I switch out.
Steve............like the yet and wink. But hopefully you will never encounter the dreaded yet. Different strokes for different folks.....no pun intended.
I am speaking for my grandfather who died in 1945. This wonderful man lived with us for his last five years. I used to watch him shave then take the blade out of his razor which had a magnet in the end of the handle. He would rinse it, wipe it on a towel and then put it into an ordinary drinking glass. Then with two fingers he would rub it back and forth on the inner surface of the glass and put it back in his razor. The same routine every morning. Perhaps one of you DE'ers could try that. Then he would make his coffee in a little copper pot. No water. Just milk and ground coffee. What a wonderful aroma. Mickey (Rolls Razor man)
OK a little about my thinking on this. Right now I am using a "51" black tip SS. If I shave 3 times a week, and removed the blade each time that is 122 times that the TTO mechanism is opened and closed per year. I get about 5 shaves per blade, so leaving the blade in the razor is opened only about 25 times a year. Figure the less stress on a 63 year old mechanism the better.
I soak my blade and head in Barbercide for a few minutes and then rinse with water. I got the Barbercide because it looks cool on my sink but it has the added benefit of cleaning away all the film left by the soap. My razor is shiny like new when I put it up with no additional cleaning.
If I'm using a three or two piece razor, I loosen the cap so the blade gets a good water flow, and rinse the blade and components in hot water. Then I take the razor apart and towel dry each part. When I use a TTO, I rinse the bays and blade and towel dry them also. It may not be necessary, but it makes me feel that I am taking better care of my razors and blades.
