07.27.07
The rubbing alcohol solution
It looks as though I do not need to keep the razor head immersed in the rubbing alcohol. Just rinsing the razor after use, shaking it as dry as possible, and then swishing it in a little rubbing alcohol (a 91% alcohol solution, which displaces any remaining water) and putting it in the rack where the alcohol quickly evaporates is enough to keep the rust away from the carbon-steel razor blade.
The photo shows what I’m using: a small (one cup, I think) jar with the usual lid-and-ring top. The ring I don’t use at all, though it’s shown in the photo for the sake of completeness. Instead, the lid by itself forms a tight enough seal to keep the alcohol from evaporating and from absorbing water from the air. And it’s easy just to lift off the lid, swish the razor head, and replace the lid.
Now I’m going to see how many more shaves I can get from a 11.5¢ blade. (Eat your heart out, you guys using the disposal $3.50 Fusion cartridge. For $3.50, I get 30 blades. Yep, DE shaving is the way to save ever so much money. 
)
Eric said,
27 July 2007 at 11:47 pm
Hi. Interesting to see you using carbon-steel blades. I have some ‘Apollo’ carbon-steel blades that I got from muehle-pinsel.de. They look nice but they don’t shave me that well … the reason being, I think, that I chose a variety that are far too thin (o.o6 mm!). It’s almost as if I can feel the blade bending as I shave. And my stubble is not hard. I once stored one in a rubbing alcohol solution, as I was scared of rust … to my surprise, the blade rusted in short order, meaning my solution wasn’t strong enough. But I’m certainly going to try your idea here for the carbon blades.
Other than that I used to use Merkurs, but now I just use some cheap stainless ‘Astra’ blades that I can pick up at the local chemist (or drugstore, as you guys call it). DE blades are not easy to find where I am - you take what you can get. Approx. 20 US cents a pop, too. I pamper myself by chucking the blade out after using it once or twice.
Thanks for the great site.
LeisureGuy said,
28 July 2007 at 8:22 am
So far the rubbing alcohol works great—but it’s a 91% solution, which fact I’ll amend the post above to include.
I wonder whether a blade as thin as the Apollo blades you’re using are intended for a specific razor.
Are you in the UK?
Thanks for your kind remark about the site.
Eric said,
30 July 2007 at 4:18 am
No, actually I’m in Hong Kong. I started out ordering blades over the Internet, but I’ve never ordered enough to actually justify the shipping expense. So I’ve been tracking down whatever I can find locally. Good for two shaves for the price. That’s okay, considering that even with a Merkur I won’t go more than four shaves.
My first DE shave was with the complimentary Feather that came with the razor that I had shipped from Germany … whoops. That razor was from Muehle. It’s a kind of clunky, plastic-handled silo-type razor, apparently a leftover from when they were still in the then DDR. Yes, my very own piece of Ostalgie! But actually it works very well for me. It did take me many months to figure out DE shaving, and I nearly gave up. I wish I had stumbled on your site before I started. Truly, you put it all together very well. I think you shorten the learning curve by about six months …
I also have a kind of replica 1904 three-part razor (screw everything in place), but the Apollos give the same results in those.
As you say, maybe they were intended for a specifc design, and I don’t have it.
By the way, I left one in the razor and it rusted (the blade was dry, but the razor head still had a drop or two of water). I’m paranoid the rust will somehow get to my beloved razor. I think it’s nickel-plated. Any suggestions about removing rust?
LeisureGuy said,
30 July 2007 at 7:05 am
The best thing is Maas polish—but I don’t know that they have it in Hong Kong. Jewelry stores will have a polishing cloth, generally with one side containing jeweler’s rouge, the other side just plain cloth. That should work. You don’t want to use an abrasive. Another possibility: Bon Ami polishing cleanser, which uses feldspar and calcite as the abrasives, too soft to scratch things. You can also try rubbing the rust with a vinegar-soaked rag: the mild acid will probably remove it, and then you can rinse the vinegar off.
Eric said,
5 August 2007 at 1:00 am
Excellent. Thanks a lot.
AJ said,
7 August 2008 at 2:51 pm
I usually take the blade out of my DE after a quick dip in rubbing alcohol, and put it back in the blade’s wrapping paper which I then keep inside the medicine cabinet. It takes a few seconds to replace it before the next shave. Definitely extends the blade usability by at least another 5 shaves.
LeisureGuy said,
7 August 2008 at 4:24 pm
I’m using 99% rubbing alcohol now—found it at my local supermarket, quite inexpensive.
So far as taking the blade out: I don’t like to handle the blade once it’s in the razor, but I’ve heard also that some find that flipping the blade after each shave also extends the life.