Field guide · 04
Care and
storage.
There is very little to it, which is rather the point of a replaceable blade. The little there is matters.
After every shave
- Rinse the razor under the tap, open, blade in. Lather and hair sit in the hinge and the holder.
- Shake it out and pat it dry — a towel against the flat of the plate, never along the edge.
- Leave it open to air-dry before it goes back in a drawer. Water sitting in a closed handle is how a razor gets ruined.
Putting it away
If it is going more than a few days without use, take the blade out. A blade left in a damp holder dulls and marks the plate. Store the razor closed, dry, somewhere a child cannot reach.
Never
- The dishwasher. Heat, detergent and a loose blade in a rack: bad for the finish, dangerous for whoever unloads it.
- Sharpening the blade. It is a consumable. Change it.
- Loose blades in a bin. They injure whoever empties it.
Spent blades
Into a blade bank — a small sealed container with a slot, sold for exactly this — or a sealed rigid tin. Many barbers and some pharmacies will take a full one. A blade wrapped in its own paper is safer than a bare one, but still not for the household bin.
Travel
Not with a blade fitted — razor blades are not permitted in UK cabin baggage. Unload it, bank the blade, and carry the handle in a case. Airline rules on the handle itself vary, so ask before you fly.
Also in the field guide: loading a half-DE blade · your first folding razor. Wrong or missing? cutthroatcarteluk@gmail.com