Humidity and rust prevention.

[Shaun asleep]

I oil mine with Wahl Clipper oil. But I noticed some oxidation on the edge of my Bismarck yesterday. Which is odd, because I dry, strop on canvas and leather, let them airdry for a day and then apply the mineral oil. What am I doing wrong? The extra "airdry" time before oiling them up? We have had a couple of extremely wet months here, Windows are always open and we dont have AC.

Sorry if this feels like a thread hijack. But I am making some mistake, I'm guessing we can all learn from it.

I'm going to look for a Tupperware and silicabags.

 

[Legion]

I oil mine with Wahl Clipper oil. But I noticed some oxidation on the edge of my Bismarck yesterday. Which is odd, because I dry, strop on canvas and leather, let them airdry for a day and then apply the mineral oil. What am I doing wrong? The extra "airdry" time before oiling them up? We have had a couple of extremely wet months here, Windows are always open and we dont have AC.

Sorry if this feels like a thread hijack. But I am making some mistake, I'm guessing we can all learn from it.

I'm going to look for a Tupperware and silicabags.

Yeah. Honestly, if your razors are used semi often, the humidity is not such an issue if they are in Tupperware with a couple of silica packets.

My environment is not super humid, compared to many places (I actually rate a seaside environment more dangerous than just humidity, and that is an unspoken danger for many in Australia)

I just oil stuff that I know are not going to be used for months or years. But almost all of it is kept in a sealed container of some sort. Silica in most of them, but not with the ivory and horn.

 

[Legion]

If you need silica go into your local camera shop, and be nice and make friends with the staff. Camera bags are usually made in humid countries, and they are shipped with a ridiculous amount of silica that just gets chucked out. Camera stores sell it, but if you are nice the salesperson will probably just give you a handfull of packets.

Shoe stores, probably the same.

 

[JPO]

If you need silica go into your local camera shop, and be nice and make friends with the staff. Camera bags are usually made in humid countries, and they are shipped with a ridiculous amount of silica that just gets chucked out. Camera stores sell it, but if you are nice the salesperson will probably just give you a handfull of packets.

Shoe stores, probably the same.

Do these silica bags need to be dried properly from time to time?
If they soak up moisture wouldn't they sort if get saturated and be less affective?
I have a bunch of them which I have collected over the years. I was just wondering if there was a smarter way to use them, like drying them and using them in sealed containers.
I was planning to buy a few cheap and small hygrometers to put in sealed containers to see for my self. I am just curious.

 

[Legion]

Do these silica bags need to be dried properly from time to time?
If they soak up moisture wouldn't they sort if get saturated and be less affective?
I have a bunch of them which I have collected over the years. I was just wondering if there was a smarter way to use them, like drying them and using them in sealed containers.
I was planning to buy a few cheap and small hygrometers to put in sealed containers to see for my self. I am just curious.

Put them on a baking tray in the back window of your car on a hot day. They will dry out. In winter, lowest heat in the oven. But the car is best.

Some commercially available ones have coloured crystals that change colour when they need drying, but just heat em, and dry em, and the free ones will keep going.

 

[Legion]

We bought a couch a while back that had at least ten sachets that were bigger than hacky sacks. save them up.

 

[Gamma]

Typically, many silica gel products are re-charged at 250-300° for a couple hours. Best done in an oven and put into a sealed container afterwards. Too much heat will kill the stuff.
Absorption rates vary depending on RH and Temp, max is 40% by weight. I think it's adsorption actually. I always get them confused.

I use SG for some things but not razors. Bone dry environments can cause some materials to crack, wood for example.
VCI paper and camphor blocks work well. Mineral oil is good when it's cleaned off and reapplied semi-regularly.

Condensation from warm air hitting cold surfaces is a related concern. I keep VCI in the box with my razors, I change it out regularly.

 

[Frank Shaves]

I bought a bag of these. Considering you can recharge them in the oven, they are pretty cost effective.

 

[JPO]

I am no corrosion expert. However, if you protect the razor in a sealed container, and have some type of anode, like a magnesium wire or block in contact with one part of the razor. Will this be enough to stop corrosion from developing?
Any corrosion that starts to develop in the anode will also use up the oxygen in the container, and thus reduce the corrosion process.

 

[Shaun asleep]

I just transferred my lot to a zip bag with uncooked rice in it. If it works on a submerged smartphone, surely it can keep my straights dry? Also easily swapped out when saturated.

I hope using food like this doesn't make me a food wasting western capitalist? (I only used a little)

 

[Frank Shaves]

Always strop your razors after use to remove any moisture from the edge. I do 25 to 30 laps on linen followed by 25 to 30 on leather. If you see a small spot on the face of the blade, a little dab of metal polish like Mothers should clean it up.

 

[Wombat ESQ]

I oil mine with Wahl Clipper oil. But I noticed some oxidation on the edge of my Bismarck yesterday. Which is odd, because I dry, strop on canvas and leather, let them airdry for a day and then apply the mineral oil. What am I doing wrong? The extra "airdry" time before oiling them up? We have had a couple of extremely wet months here, Windows are always open and we dont have AC.

Sorry if this feels like a thread hijack. But I am making some mistake, I'm guessing we can all learn from it.

I'm going to look for a Tupperware and silicabags.

In days of old, back when the bears were bad, as a younger person I was learned that steel will form microscopic rust in 4 hours, hence if painting a car and bare metal exposed, undercoat it within 4 hours.

 

[Wombat ESQ]

Last week it was time to change the egg cups.
uhuh the egg cups! they contain that moisture absorber stuff you put the big tub in yer cupboards stuff and huck it out when full of water
6 out of 7 egg cups yielded 50cc of water from 6 cases, the 7'th was relatively dry and funny it is in the blade draw
It's winter, not raining, so boiling the kettle and me breathing are mostly the source of water vapour, yet all 6 cases are glass doored so not a high volume of air flow

Like the toothpaste ad, the chalk dipped in blue liquid, ''oooooh it does get in''

 

[Legion]

Like the toothpaste ad, the chalk dipped in blue liquid, ''oooooh it does get in''

I'm not sure many here will get the Mrs Marsh reference.

 

[Wombat ESQ]

I'm not sure many here will get the Mrs Marsh reference.

Thats her, I couldn't think of her name

bit like "Not happy, JAN!!!"

 

[Gamma]

I don't think I would want my razors in a bag with rice - too much dust, starch powder, etc...prob going to cause issues. Not convinced it's all that good as a desiccant either, tbh.
For a lot of natural materials, RH of 50%-ish is recommended.
When it is too dry, stuff shrinks and cracks. Ivory, for example... bone and woods too. Not sure about plastics but I might guess that some polymers are susceptible to humidity to some degree.
If RH is too high, mold can form.

If I was putting razors in a sealed container with a dessicant, I'd include a hygrometer to make sure things weren't too dry.

 

[Eastcoast30]

After allowing the razor to dry, I wipe it down with a microfiber cloth that has added spots of mineral oil (not too much). Then a VCI paper wrap in the original paper container. When using a larger paper container I add desiccant packs. No problems so far. And I do not store my razors in the bathroom or other humid areas.

 

[Legion]

I don't think I would want my razors in a bag with rice - too much dust, starch powder, etc...prob going to cause issues. Not convinced it's all that good as a desiccant either, tbh.
For a lot of natural materials, RH of 50%-ish is recommended.
When it is too dry, stuff shrinks and cracks. Ivory, for example... bone and woods too. Not sure about plastics but I might guess that some polymers are susceptible to humidity to some degree.
If RH is too high, mold can form.

If I was putting razors in a sealed container with a dessicant, I'd include a hygrometer to make sure things weren't too dry.

Ivory is the worst for cracking if things get too dry. If you live in a dry area and have ivory items in a display case you are supposed to keep a little open container of water in the bottom of the case to increase the RH a bit.

I don't do that with razors, but I don't keep desiccate in the boxes with the ivory scales.

 

[ebonysw45]

We had a very wet couple of years recently and so I decided to store most of my razors in a case. That was after I filled up my barbers box.

 

[sexy beast]

I live in Florida and use Japanese Camellia oil. I use a soft nylon cloth and apply coat of oil on the blade and pivot pin and scales. I rinse the blade clean before I strop and after a shave session. Dry the blade with cloth and cloth strop it after every use to edge in peek shape. Then put the razor in an "open Thiers Issard wooden case" after making sure razor is completely dry. I have not had any issues and its second nature at this point of my life. If wanted to take to another level. You can always use museum wax and should a extra portion of protection. You won't have to reapply museum wax for a while. Some carbon blades are very reactive due to their high carbon content and water marks can appear quickly. It's good to have some Flitz metal polish if that happens, and it bothers you. All other suggestions listed here are valid. Just my 2 cents.

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