Thread: Wipe or rinse?

Originally Posted by Lynn

The key is not to get the scales wet.

I rinse the blade under running water during the shave and then wipe it off with a towel before the next pass.

When I'm done shaving, I wipe it off on the towel again and let it fully dry while dressing, before I put it up.

Have fun,

Lynn

+100

Since I we all have differences in the shave den I should
note that a wet sponge to wipe the blade off also works.
There are stories where folk ding their blade on the plumbing.
Having a damp (soft) sponge or a towel to wipe on is
a good thing for some. Years ago my barber would wipe lather
on the palm or back of his off hand. When done
he would wipe the razor on the towel, wipe the last of the
lather from me, then rinse and dry his hands and then toss
the towel in the hamper.

I always dry my blade on a towel or with
tissue paper. If I get water on the pivot I might
give the pivot a spray with WD-40 then a thin coat of
mineral/ Camellia oil then gently wipe it before putting it
away.

Originally Posted by knightwolf

Just wanted to make sure I was doing this right I hold it edge up or edge down?

Edge up! You can get a mild stropping effect that way.

After swishing the edge side up blade around in the basin of standing water, (i dont run the water while shaving) wipe dry with dry wash cloth, linen strop, and place in the rack to airdry any residual. The same basin water used through out the shave too, along with soaking my bowl and scuttle in it prior to shave. No kids or creatures so no worries about leaving blade open for the day. I tend to splash the pivot or counter top running the blade under tap.

Another tip regarding washcloth. Open it up on the hard counter, and place razor on it vs the hard counter top. When razor placed away, I'll cold water rinse my face with the cloth. If I cold water splash I make a mess always. When the cloth is done on the face, I wipe the sink down of soap and hair remainig in the basin.

I was having too hard of a time keeping the pin dry so I started just wiping the blade. After I clean, dry, and strop the blade, I then store it in a box that has 3 desiccant bags in it.

i usually just give it a quick rinse and then flick the excess water off into the shower behind me (i know that one day the razor will slip out of my hand and hit the shower wall but not yet) sometimes i will use a towel and wipe but then the towel gets all full of shaving cream and stubble

-dan-

rinsing it under the tap will not harm it in anyway as long as you make sure to wipe off ALL excess water....as far as wooden handles go though u may want to be careful about getting them wet just incase they dont have any kind of protectant...

I wipe (on a folded tissue), because the barbers who shaved me wiped on a neck tissue and, also, because running water tends to round the edge (or some I am told).

Like most, I do both. Rinse with running hot water, then wipe with a dry towel. I leave it out for 15-20 minutes to dry while I get dressed and ready, strop on linen and leather (low laps - 10-15 each) and leave it out to dry for the rest of the day. I strop one more time (low laps) and put it away. If it's not going into rotation soon, I coat it with mineral oil and put in in a case until it comes out again.

I'm a huge fan of the sponge. I've tried just about all approaches to the wipe but the sponge gets the job done more efficiently than anything I've tried. Also, related somewhat to this, if I need to cut a large sponge into smaller ones, nothing beats an old straight razor. I can't help but think of the old Seinfeld gag about Elaine considering someone "sponge-worthy."

My shaving mirror is directly over my towel rack. So I usually wipe my razor on a facecloth drapped over that rack during the shave, then rinse after.