Thread: Cleaning off the oil

I've been bitten by just about every sharp thing out there including paper and cardboard so don't feet bad at all. What I do to help reduce the tendency is just what someone else described... I place the blade between thumb and forefinger with the spine toward the web of my hand and with decent pinching pressure then starting from heel to toe slowly wipe out and bring the spine into the web of my hand. I make sure to purposely make contact spine of the razor to the webbing of my hand just for the purpose of avoiding cuts.

But, it's always when I think I'm doing well that something happens... I was shaving last night, almost done, and finishing up around my jawline under my earlobe at the same time kinda feeling with my other hand what a good job that one pass had done and thought to myself, "Man, I'm getting pretty good at this!", S L I C E... Opened a nice flap right in the crease of my neck... Would NOT stop bleeding... Styptic, toilet paper, direct pressure... Nothing worked... Finally left a large square of TP on there and it eventually dried like a bloody little potatoe chip... Took it off and the sucker started bleeding again! Not really painful but just a humble reminder.

Damn... Now I can't stop thinking about Eucalyptus Oil! Is that stuff more pure or cheaper in OZ? Probably not enough to offset s/h. Gonna have to diaper a Koala at the zoo and wait it out.

Originally Posted by Prahston

I place the blade between thumb and forefinger with the spine toward the web of my hand and with decent pinching pressure then starting from heel to toe slowly wipe out and bring the spine into the web of my hand. I make sure to purposely make contact spine of the razor to the webbing of my hand just for the purpose of avoiding cuts.

Thanks - this is exactly what I was doing and somehow it got my index finger. I try to get the oil off the entire blade before I strop (I use mineral oil btw).

I am going to try the hot water / towel suggestion. I can't imagine a problem with that. Thanks everyone!

Originally Posted by Grazor

hold razor so sharp edge faces away from you, with other hand grasp tissue between thumb and forefinger, so the spine is facing toward you, clean blade and try not to cut tissue with blade, because even that can be a detriment to the edge ( oh, and i don't mean body tissue)

+1 Very good advice here and good luck to you sir.

You may also be able to just cut a corner off of a sponge that is about the same height as the tallest razor and use a spine down pull through a slice that you've created in the sponge. ?? With the sponge on the counter/table/whatever that should nearly eliminate risk to soft tissue yet still give you good results. I don't know if it is just condensation/fog on the blade but when I do a rinse under even very hot water I still see 'something' on the blade that tells me wiping is a good idea.

conducting a formal test on the eucalyptus oil theory... I brought a massive bottle of the stuff for constant use on my Straight Razor Stable... will report back as to what I have learned. Great thread. With these blades...been there done that to my thumbs!

In regards to Eucalyptus oil, you don't need to worry about wiping it off at all as it's so light. Make sure you get 100% Eucalyptus oil, sometimes it's sold mixed with water.

I never rinse my razors in water, I figure the less water around them the better. I wipe the shaving soap or cream off them after shaving with a bath towel, and during the shave on a face cloth lain folded on the sink. The Eucalyptus oil is wiped on from a tissue; I just take the lid of the bottle (it's got rather a wide neck) place the folded tissue over the neck of the bottle, up-end once and wipe on.

BTW, in regard to price, it's pretty cheap here; 4.50 for 50ml which lasts me quite a while. I did try to send some to someone from the forum to try a month or so ago, but I wasn't allowed to post it as it's flammable.

may I add do not sniff too close to the blades after application of "neat" Eucalyptus oil as you get a bit teary eyed. I am currently into day 4 of the oils application and find that on particular rusty spots it seems to remove oxidation as well as keep a wonderful clean metal sparkle.