If properly cared for a straight razor will last for generations,your children's children will be passing it down to their children's children!!, so let's get down to the fundamentals of caring for your treasured straight razor.
Do:
strop your razor before & after the shave, before shaving stroping realigns the edge to give you the smoothest sharpest edge, and after dries the edge so that corrosion can not happen. If you are unfamiliar with stropping I highly recommend checking out one of the excellent online shaving forums:
theshavingroom.co.uk
badgerandblade.com
straightrazorplace.com
After your shave rinse the blade off with hot water and thoroughly dry with toilet tissue (don't forget to dry the inside of the scales too) but be extremely careful of the cutting edge or your fingers will not thank you.
Your razor is made of high carbon 01 steel and while this is absolutely the best steel for a razor,water or any moisture in general does not agree with it. Rust is the biggest problem and even letting water sit on the steel for 30 minutes or so will cause watermarks and if left rust.
If you use your razor on a regular basis just drying properly should keep the dreaded rust away, but if you don't plan on using for a while you need to treat the steel with a rust preventive, mineral oil does a good job as does ballistol & camellia oil but I highly recommend Renaissance wax.
Don't:
Use for any other purpose than shaving, the edge is extremely fragile and using it to cut carrots or open boxes is a definite no no.
Store in the bathroom, as much as you want to show that beautiful new razor off the bathroom is not the place (it will rust!!).
Knock the edge on the bathroom tap or the side of the sink (the edge is so fragile a knock will put a chip in it and it will need to be repaired).
Do:
strop your razor before & after the shave, before shaving stroping realigns the edge to give you the smoothest sharpest edge, and after dries the edge so that corrosion can not happen. If you are unfamiliar with stropping I highly recommend checking out one of the excellent online shaving forums:
theshavingroom.co.uk
badgerandblade.com
straightrazorplace.com
After your shave rinse the blade off with hot water and thoroughly dry with toilet tissue (don't forget to dry the inside of the scales too) but be extremely careful of the cutting edge or your fingers will not thank you.
Your razor is made of high carbon 01 steel and while this is absolutely the best steel for a razor,water or any moisture in general does not agree with it. Rust is the biggest problem and even letting water sit on the steel for 30 minutes or so will cause watermarks and if left rust.
If you use your razor on a regular basis just drying properly should keep the dreaded rust away, but if you don't plan on using for a while you need to treat the steel with a rust preventive, mineral oil does a good job as does ballistol & camellia oil but I highly recommend Renaissance wax.
Don't:
Use for any other purpose than shaving, the edge is extremely fragile and using it to cut carrots or open boxes is a definite no no.
Store in the bathroom, as much as you want to show that beautiful new razor off the bathroom is not the place (it will rust!!).
Knock the edge on the bathroom tap or the side of the sink (the edge is so fragile a knock will put a chip in it and it will need to be repaired).