Thread: Paranoid about rust/corrosion - will mineral oil damage the strop if I oil daily?

Should I oil the blade after each shave? As the title says I'm worried about corrosion. I live literally a stone's throw from the North Atlantic, you can smell salt in the air here. I do dry everything off completely after each shave but I am a bit OCD about some things. Anyone else live that close to the ocean? Ever have problems with an un-oiled razor? I can oil it daily, it only takes a few seconds, but I also worry about not cleaning off the oil completely and getting it on the strop. Would mineral oil cause any problems to the strop?

If you clean the oil off your razor before every use then the answer is no. Excessive oil of any kind will definitely affect the finish and draw of your strop. Thoroughly wipe and rinse all oil from the blade before stropping; I use toilet paper pinched between my fingers and rinse with hot water.

I also use mineral oil for rust prevention, it's cheap and in the 3+ years I've been doing this have yet to discover a rust spot on any of my razors. It also doesn't hurt that I live in the prairies where it's as dry as a desert...

Wanna go over the top for protection, and look bad-a$$ at the same time?

My shop is very humid, and it's in the basement. Taking razors from the second floor of the house down to the shop daily to work on them, only to bring them back up lost its lustre pretty quick.

Here's my fix: In the shop I have a Pelican Case from Mountain Equipment Co-Op. It's completely waterproof when closed. Any moisture that's inside came from when the box was opened to remove a work in progress. Inside the box there are 2 silica packs. I think it's probably the driest place in the city of Toronto.

No problems.

Originally Posted by Ryan82

Thoroughly wipe and rinse all oil from the blade before stropping; I use toilet paper pinched between my fingers and rinse with hot water.

I never thought to use hot water, I was just wiping with a tissue. Doh!

Originally Posted by Maxi

Pelican Case from Mountain Equipment Co-Op

Great idea! I have an MEC membership already, I'll have to order one or two. Good place to put them while camping/hiking/cycling as well. I mentioned in another thread I'm planning a month long hike this summer and a 3 month bike trip in the next 2 or 3 years not to mention all the weekend excursions I'm always doing.

I live between the Atlantic and the Gulf, South Florida. I coat the blade with mineral oil and wrap in a cheap handkerchief, the leave on the counter top. Wipe the oil off with the towel, then shave, then strop, then re-oil. 1 year with no rust on my razors.

FWIW --

I concur with Hirlau. I just wipe off the oil with a tissue before stropping. So far (1.5 years) my strops are fine, and so are the razors.

Charles

Sometimes I forget to wipe the mineral oil, but I don't put that much on it. My strop is not ruined yet...

In the Great North Wet, oil is a must. I've had issues w/ mineral oil beading up and leaving some areas unprotected. The honorable Gerritt (also in the PNW, who's screen name I can never remember the spelling of) suggested melting in some bee's wax. It works very well. Now if I'm not mistaken, that's all there is to making vaseline petroleum jelly. So, it should be the case that a little vaseline could be thinned out w/ mineral oil to get the same affect. I tried it - and it works fine. Oil stays in place, easy to wipe off. If you have no trouble w/ mineral oil staying put - there's no reasone to fuss further.

wow i have yet to oil or blow dry or any of those precaustion on my razor and i havent had a spot of rust ever. it helps i live in Pa not next to a ocean

I used to live on the windward side of a small Pacific island, right on the beach.
Anything metallic was subject to severe corrosion because of the high
humidity/salt water environment, including my razor.

For a long time, I applied a touch of gun oil to the razor after each shave.
Then I tried camellia oil. Both worked, but applying oil always seemed a
bit messy and inconvenient.

Finally...thanks to information found on this site...I now use two things:

1) I dip the razor in a mixture of mineral oil and isopropyl alcohol, as suggested
by Utopian. I can't find his original post, but the ratio he used was 1 part
mineral oil to 200 parts alcohol. Put "a little bit" of mineral oil in an 8oz jar,
then fill it up with the alcohol; let it sit for a day or two, shake well before
each use, and simply dip the razor in the mix. Shake off the excess and
store the razor.

2) Another "find" on this site is the "AlembiCase" Alembic Products
The AlembiCase is much like the Pelican case, but it is designed especially for
storing and transporting straight razors. They have a dedicated "slot" for holding
a packet of desiccant. I have used them for nearly a year now, and they are
an excellent piece of equipment for guarding against corrosion.