How important is it to keep hinge dry whie shaving?

I have been using a straight for a little while now started with shavette in March and have been using the real thing every morning for a little over a month. I fell like I am doing pretty well on the actual shaving, a few little cuts and nicks here and there. One pretty good one early on but getting less and less frequent.

My only real issue is trying to keep the hinge dry while keeping enough lather on my face and switching hands. By the end there is always some soap in the hinge. After I finish shaving I give it a quick rinse, dry it off, move the scales dry it again, set it down, and clean the sink. After that I pick it up dry it again and put it on the table wile I get ready for work. Before I leave for work I check it again and finally close the blade and put it away.

So I guess what I am asking is as long as I clean the soap off and make sure it is dry before putting it away is it that bad to get it a little wet?

My tang hardly every sees lather, let along the pivot. Maybe your lather is on too thick or you need to rinse/wipe more often? But to answer your qeustion, as long as it is dry when you put it away, you should be fine.

I see more gunk and rust in the pivot than anywhere else, I think it is nearly impossible to completely dry out the pivot area, water gets inside the actual hole and creates rust.

Make sure your lather is thick enough not to run down the blade when shaving.

Compressed air in a can for computer keyboards works well for drying S.R. pins/scales.

I just blow the excess moisture out with my breath and let the blade & scales dry in the open position then strop it, close it and put it away. I cannot keep water off of the pivot while shaving. I have tried so hard that its spoiled my shave, so I quit trying. I haven't encountered any issues in the last couple of years.

You guys must rinse your razor while you're shaving. I wipe the lather off on a towel, and only rinse when I'm done. I'm sure water must get in there now and then, but it can't be very much.

Two part answer. First, I believe it is important to try to keep the hinge dry whenever possible. Two, humans being human, once in a while you are going to get some water in there. Here is what I do anytime I even think I might have gotten any water in the hinge. I dry everything carefully. Blow the hinge out with a can of compressed air. The cans for cleaning computer keyboards work great for this. I then put a drop of tuff glide rust preventative on both sides of the hinge and work it back and forth a couple times. Back to my can of compressed air to blow out the excess. Wipe things off and store as usual. There are undoubtedly other methods, but this has worked well for me for several years even here on the gulf coast where our climate is rough on high carbon steel.

I use a sponge to wipe lather and whiskers. Toilet paper to clean and dry. Works well. About once a week I place a drop of oil on pivot. I store in silicone sleeve. Seems to work well. But I am a rookie.

after i dry it off with a towel, I use a hair dryer on medium heat and high air

This is the part of straight shaving I most dislike. I understand that I need to learn to shave better. But the constant concern over not getting water in the hinge or having to wipe off with a towel is unpleasant, at best. I like having water running and rinsing off. I can do without, but it makes for a fussier, less enjoyable experience.

I actually take a few sheets of toilet paper, place one over the towel and wipe (the razor!) on it until there is no more space, at which time it is thrown in to the toilet and a new sheet put on the towel. Saves having to wash the hair out of the towel afterwards and I use the toilet after the shave anyway - so I don't think it is more wasteful that way.

To each his own I say, BUT!
I hear guys that restore allot of razors say just what Alfredo said, that the razors that they un-pin have allot of rust and gunk in there around the pivot pin. So obviously getting water & lather in there and not being able to get it out-dry is causing this.

Now I have honed more than a few razors and quite often I am sent a razor by a fellow with damage to the edge, how did this happen?
The story is always the same "I dinged it on the faucet while rinsing it off."

I know from experience how much work it takes to putt a great edge on a razor so I don't let any of my edges anywhere near a faucet or sink, have wiped lather off on a sponge since I started shaving with a straight.

The last thing I want to do is have to un-pin an ivory scaled beauty because of rust around the pin that can easily be avoided by just not getting water in there in the first place.

I don't think people are going to quit getting lather-water in the pivot or rinsing their razors off in the sink anytime soon so I guess there will be plenty of work for those that repair the damage.

These are tools that are meant to get wet. I try to keep things dry, but rust happens, and is easily fixed.

I don't worry about water getting on the pin at all.
I've rescaled some very old razors, and yes there is always gunk and rust in there, but it doesn't seem to hurt anything.
Once I have had to fill the pivot hole in order to fit a smaller pin, but I don't think this was due to rust. The pivot hole just seemed to be drilled to big.

When I resale razors I try to use brass pins, but I don't think the water is so bad even on steel.
This could just be a feature of storage though.
I store my razors on end with the pivot pin at the top.

I don't use running water to rinse my razors. I just dunk the blade in the filled sink while shaving. I also occasionally wipe on a towel. I try to keep water away from the scales, and I dry the razor as well as possible after shaving, but yes these are tools. All tools receive damage during use.

To be fair though, I don't own any truly expensive razors. I think 40 bucks is my most expensive one. I don't think I want a more expensive one either. I don't want to protect an investment, I just want to shave.

jez foster said:

stop rinsing the razor off and get into the habit of using a towel or sponge to wipe away the later and whiskers, if you rinse your face between passes, dry your hands before picking up the blade again.
works for me.

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Yep! What Jez said works for me as well.

Well I think I can manage to just rinse the blade off without getting water all over the place lol!

jez foster said:

stop rinsing the razor off and get into the habit of using a towel or sponge to wipe away the later and whiskers, if you rinse your face between passes, dry your hands before picking up the blade again.
works for me.

Click to expand...

This works for me also. When I shave the only thing that is not dry is my face and the damp washcloth that I wipe lather on. Oh yeah, and the bristles of the brush.

I just shave. I try not to get water in the pivot, but it happens sometimes, and when it does, I don't worry. I just dry it when I'm done. Too much worrying about that kind of thing ruins the experience imo. I do however oil my razors before storing them.

Thanks everyone for the replies. I do usually dip the blade in a full sink of water, probably a bad habit I picked up while using my $8 all stainless shavette that I am really not that worried about. I will try to use toilet paper or a sponge and see how that goes, but if it becomes to tedious and ruins the experience I will probably go back to my old ways. None of my razors are beauty queens any way and they all look cleaner and less rusty than when I got them.

Personally I never wet the pivot when rinsing the razor. I wet it when the lather runs down the tang because its a bit runny and/or I should've cleaned it earlier. I guess I should be more careful...it does happen more often with some razors than others depending on the shape/size of the blade.