In my sample pack are a brand of blade called Treet Dura sharps. These blades are the older style carbon blades. My question to my fellow forum members is what is the proper procedure to care for this type of blade? Do I dip in alcohol and wipe down after every use or does wiping the blade down cause any damage to the blade edge? Also will a drop of mineral oil hold off corrosion?My apologies if this material has been covered already. I would like to get more than 1 shave per blade out of this pack. Thanks ahead of time for all the answers.
I don't take care of them at all. I rinse them with extremely hot water which evaporates quickly and then I store the razor in a dry room (not the bathroom). I've never had problems with rust this way. An alternative would be to take a marmelade-glass, fill the bottom with rubbing alcohol and store the razor with the head down in the glass.
I like the Treet Blue Special blades, also carbon steel, and I rinse the head in hot water and then swish it in a little jar of 91% rubbing alcohol. It then dries quite quickly with no water and no rust. Definitely do not wipe the blade. Just before you finish with a blade, inspect it for rust. If it shows rust and you haven't been using the rubbing alcohol trick, you can add that to the routine. (Makes sense to try first going without the rubbing alcohol.)
don't store blades in rubbing alcohol, although it is whatever percent alcohol, the other percentage is water. and sitting in water is a lot more moisture that sitting in the air. Rinsing in alcohol is okay because it evaporates quickly, but if you store them in alcohol you will rust the blade quicker.
You have made a good point about alcohol content when using it on razor blades. I will be sure not to store the razor itself in the solution. I suppose the higher the alcohol content the better. Does Barbicide work better in a case like this I wonder??I've never used this product or have any knowledge of it but I wonder if it would not be a better solution.:think002
I just take a Q-Tip dipped in mineral oil and lay a light film down on the exposed cutting edge after dabbing dry the blade with a towel.
Generally speaking, I would recommend against that procedure. In fact, many blades say explicitly on the pack "Do not wipe blade." It's easy to damage the edge. The rubbing alcohol rinse is faster, easier, and safer.
I think that is for safety and liability reasons only. If lightly, barely touching the edge of the blade with an oil soaked Q-tip will damage the blade, then what do whiskers do to it?
Barbicide is a disinfectant, and a good one. But it's not a good substitute for the alcohol in this case.
Actually, Barbicide also contains a rust inhibitor, and it can be used to prevent rust on carbon steel blades. You can pick some up at cachebeauty.com at a fair price. best, FH
Thanks for the feed back on the Barbicide. I've been wondering if it provided any protection against rust to the blade. I'm aware that it's a dandy germicide but a rust inhibitor would be a bonus.
I'm cool with the 3 shaves.....they ARE cheap but I hardly ever use the same razor 2 days in a row. Will they last a week - week 1/2 before rusting ? Ive got the rubbing alcohol ready.....just want to make sure it works before wasting ALL that time dipping
If you air it out then put her away dry I am sure it will. When I say I get 3 shaves that is with complete neglect. Rinse, the put in the medicine cabinet and most of the time I still get no rust.