Does anyone else soak their razor before shaving?

I got into the habit of doing this when i was using the Mach3, and i still do it today.

I dont know if it makes a difference or if its just a placebo effect, but if i soak my razor in hot water, it seems to shave better.

you think i'll have to do this with my DE razor thats coming Tuesday?

i dont know if the metal expands just a little and that makes a difference or what, but i can definetly tell the difference if i shave with a non soaked razor, compared to a soaked one.

bear in mind that ive been using a mach3 since i was 18 when gillete sent me one for free, and i just switched to a Fusion when they sent me one of those for free 3 months ago.

My all metal Futur and HD get "freakin burning hot!!!" if they sit in hot water.

So...nope.

I don't let mine sit either - I can't imagine long exposure to water is good for the blades. That, and like Lucien said, all metal razors get pretty hot. I run mine under hot water for a few second prior to use just to get it warm, but that's it. On the other hand, soaking your brush is good with warm (not hot) water.

I usually at least run my razor under hot water before proceeding to blade those whiskers down. I don't know if it does anything or not. I certainly wouldn't want to burn myself, but I don't want a cold piece of metal to shock me awake either.

Like most , I just hold my razor under the hot water tap to take the chill off.
Few things worse than a cold razor!!

I've got my hot water tank set at 140*f so my hot water is hot, (two teenage daughters, wife and me taking showers in the morning and I don't run out).

On my first DE shave, I ran my Vision under the hot water for way too long and branded my self when I place the razor against my neck. Believe me, a cold razor couldn't be anymore of a shock than that 1st degree burn was that day! LOL

I used to let the blade soak, but after getting some good lathers the razor would drip water and disturb the precious foam. Now I don't. However, there's a lesson there: shake it before shaving.

I rinse my razor in the hot water but never soak it. Scotty

I place the razor in the sink while I lather. Lather up, retrieve the razor, shake it out and do the pass. Rinse razor as necessary during the pass. Repeat until done.

Warm Lather. Warm Razor. Smooth face.

-- John Gehman

No need to soak as razor blades are very thin pieces of steel that heat up very quickly. I just hold the razor head under the surface for five seconds.

flippantfig said:

I used to let the blade soak, but after getting some good lathers the razor would drip water and disturb the precious foam. Now I don't. However, there's a lesson there: shake it before shaving.

Click to expand...

Shake it more than once and... ah, fergit it

Josh

Hawkeye5 said:

Like most , I just hold my razor under the hot water tap to take the chill off.
Few things worse than a cold razor!!

Click to expand...

+1

I dip my razor in water for a few seconds before using it.

I let it soak with the brush @ the same time.


Marty

yes, i dont soak it in HOT water, but i soak it with my brush, and by the time its time to shave, its a little bit more than room temperature.

maybe i dont rinse the razor off enough and the soap scum makes the razor pull?


i'll see what happens when i shave with my new merkur classic that JUST NOW came by UPS, now i just gotta wait for my C&E brush to get here, anytime now.

I find that if I don't rinse it off before using it, the vestiges of yesterday's shave are a bit sticky and the razor head sticks to my skin. I do the best I can to clean it off, but short of using a scrub brush, I don't think I can keep the razor head clean.

Another one for soaking the razor. I soak it while I lather to warm it up. Then I shake it dry and get to shaving.

Soaking the blade in warm/hot water may not actually help in the shave itself but I have read that soaking the razor in antiseptic before and after shaving can help in minimizing the infection and reinfection of any razor bumps or irritations that may occur during the course of shaving. That will most likely help the end shave more than the soak in hot water will. Might be worth thinking about for those who have to deal with razor bumps.

I swish my razor a few seconds in the sink full of hot water that my lather bowl is sitting in but do not let it sit for any expended period of time.

Run hot water over it briefly at the start, then again during the shave as required to remove the accumulated lather.