Razor cleaning?

Good morning gentlemen!

I hope this finds you all well. I'm recently new to wet shaving (about a month in) and am absolutely loving it so far. I'm using a fantastic EJ86bl and am experimenting with different blades to settle on what I like. That being said, I've found that my soap seems to leave a bit of a residue on the beautiful finish of my razor. I may be a little OCD on this, but I like my razor to be sparkly clean, so to date I have been using rubbing alcohol to clean the residue off the razor each time I change the blade. This helps, until I shave again!

Do any of you have suggestions on better ways of maintaining the finish of the razor, and also if using rubbing alcohol is the proper way to go. If there is an easy way to do this then I'm all for it, after all, I'm all about easy.

Thanks in advance for your advice!

After my shave I break the razor down and wash each piece. Then I pat dry the blade and dry all of the pieces. Reassemble it with the blade in and wipe off any fingerprints or smudges with a towel and it goes back in the stand for tomorrow. I like to keep my razors shiny too so you're not alone. This worked fine with my EJ DE89L and it works fine with my Above the Tie Atlas M2.

+1 on this. No need to do anything other then wash and dry. Daily or weekly cleaning will prevent any build-up and keep your tools sparkly clean.

Bloozepicker said:

After my shave I break the razor down and wash each piece. Then I pat dry the blade and dry all of the pieces. Reassemble it with the razor in and wipe off any fingerprints or smudges on with a towel and it goes back in the stand for tomorrow. I like to keep my razors shiny too so you're not alone. This worked fine with my EJ DE89L and it works fine with my Above the Tie Atlas M2.

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Bloozepicker said:

After my shave I break the razor down and wash each piece. Then I pat dry the blade and dry all of the pieces. Reassemble it with the razor in and wipe off any fingerprints or smudges on with a towel and it goes back in the stand for tomorrow. I like to keep my razors shiny too so you're not alone. This worked fine with my EJ DE89L and it works fine with my Above the Tie Atlas M2.

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+1, except that I leave the razor unassembled for at least a few hours so that any moisture left on the threads can evaporate.

After each shave I just loosen the head of my EJ DE89L a bit, rinse the razor, and pat dry (not wiping the blade)--which is the traditional manufacturer recommendation. Maybe once a week I use a soft toothbrush and toothpaste to give it a quick cleaning. There's no need to do anything fancy.

Get yourself a microfiber cloth for cleaning up.

They are no longer expensive and do a remarkable job on everything they touch.
They may be laundered and reused over and over.

I started with them years ago for my camera lenses. Now they are used on everything including cutlery, glassware, windows and, of course, the kitchen sink and my precious Rolls Razors..

Mickey

Highly recommend the microfiber towel. I take my razor apart after each shave. Rinse and allow it to air dry before my next shave. Once a week I take a old tooth brush and clean all the pieces. I also apply petroleum jelly (Vaseline) to the threads.

Dish soap.

Mandina said:

After each shave I just loosen the head of my EJ DE89L a bit, rinse the razor, and pat dry (not wiping the blade)--which is the traditional manufacturer recommendation. Maybe once a week I use a soft toothbrush and toothpaste to give it a quick cleaning. There's no need to do anything fancy.

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+1 here. Using the toothpaste is a great way to clean any metal, and it won't damage the finish.

You should, of course, do whatever makes you happy. Personally, I don't handle the blade any more than I have to - which means putting it in when new and throwing it out when old.

I rinse the razor with a blast of hot tap water and dry it on a soft towel - obviously wiping from the middle of the head gently across the business end of the exposed blade. It takes me about 8 seconds for the whole procedure. A couple of times a month - while changing blades - I clean the parts with a toothbrush and a bit of hand soap.

This is what it looks like when it hasn't been toothbrushed in a while:

I remove the blade after each shave as I use a different razor every day.

I towel dry my razor which removes any and all residue after each shave.

Rinse well in hot water, towel off and to the rack it goes. When I change the blade a quick shot of Scrubbing Bubbles, set for a few minutes, hot rinse and polish with a towel. Once in a while a trip through the ultrasonic gets it real sparkly and the gunk out of the corners.

Wow guys! Thanks for all the responses! I had honestly never thought about toothbrush/toothpaste but that makes sense. I hadn't thought about the microfiber cloth either. In reading through this however I do have a question. For those who take their razor apart to clean each day, do you notice any affect on your blade life?

Thanks!

I would be cautious of using a really abrasive toothpaste, I would stick with some of the gels. The idea is to clean and polish, not to dull the nice finish full of micro scratches. Likewise, I wouldn't use the ultrasonic on a lacquer finished item either.

Toothpaste is completely unnecessary. A quick rinse and dry daily is all you need. If you get some soap scum build up just use warm soapy water and an old toothbrush for a quick cleanup.

ShawnsEdge said:

Wow guys! Thanks for all the responses! I had honestly never thought about toothbrush/toothpaste but that makes sense. I hadn't thought about the microfiber cloth either. In reading through this however I do have a question. For those who take their razor apart to clean each day, do you notice any affect on your blade life?

Thanks!

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This is how my father taught me to take care of my razor. Remove the blade and pat it dry, then towel dry the razor.

I doubt that it adds longevity to the blade but I am still using a razor I bought in 1970 and it looks the same today as it did when I bought it because of how I have taken care of it over the years.

I rinse my razors out with clean hot water from the tap. I disassemble each one and wipe each side of the blade with an alcohol wipe. Every blade change--about every 3rd day--I clean the razors parts with mild soap and water.

Good job. Good dedication. Look after your tools and you'll get more pleasure out of the whole experience

All I do is rinse the razor in hot water and set it on the stand. Other than Treet blades getting corroded I haven't noticed any issues with my Merkur HD.

Mike

musicman1951 said:

You should, of course, do whatever makes you happy. Personally, I don't handle the blade any more than I have to - which means putting it in when new and throwing it out when old.

I rinse the razor with a blast of hot tap water and dry it on a soft towel - obviously wiping from the middle of the head gently across the business end of the exposed blade. It takes me about 8 seconds for the whole procedure. A couple of times a month - while changing blades - I clean the parts with a toothbrush and a bit of hand soap.

Click to expand...

Same thing I do. I also give the razor head a quick alcohol dunk after I dry it and before I return it to it's stand. And since it's a Fat Boy, I leave the doors cracked open to help it dry.