It is not for nothing that you have purchased an open razor. You probably know very well what benefits such an open razor entails. It is your secret weapon during your shaving routine and that is why it is such a valuable product. However, you have to treat this secret weapon in the right way. If you do this, your open razor will glide over your skin like a warm knife through the butter. In addition, chances are that it will last your entire life! So if you open yourself razor Treated well, you are ultimately a lot cheaper than when you have to purchase a new one every so often.
Cleaning and storing your open razor
We will go deeper into the details of aiming, polishing and sharpening your razor, but we start with the basics. This step should certainly not be forgotten! It is extremely important to open your open razor, so one Shavette or Straight Razor, after cleaning every shave in a good way. Your razor is full of junk after a shave, think of hair, dead skin cells and shaving soap, transparent shaving gel or shavering. Of course you don't want this to stick until your next shave.
After every shave, wash your open razor with lukewarm water under the tap. If your water is too hot, it can cause stains on the blade, and of course you don't want that. When you have cleaned your razor, you have to dry it with a clean and dry cloth. Do this via the back of your razor so that the shaving surface itself does not have to be touched. Then save the knife on a dry and well -ventilated place. Preferably do this in a razor holder, so it remains neatly stored.
Use a shaving belt
A shaving strap is a belt that you can focus on and polish your open razor. This shaving belt has a leather side and a canvas side. A shaving belt is important for the preservation of every open razor. You don't have to apply this step after every shave, but do this especially when you start to notice that your razor is no longer sharp enough. This differs per razor and therefore we cannot tell you exactly after how many shaves your knife bone starts to become. Of course you feel the best.
The maintenance of your open razor consists of aiming and polishing with the shaving belt. Later you will read how you can best tackle this. First it is useful to know what targeting, polishing and grinding means exactly.
Align
You can focus your open razor with the canvas side of your shaving belt. This is easy to distinguish because the other side is made of leather. Target is specifically intended to set up all the metal particles of your open razor in the same direction. All miniscule damage is subtly removed in this way. The sharpness is improved again by aiming because all metal particles will be in the right place again.
Polish
After aiming it is just as important to polish your open razor. You do this with the leather side of the shaving belt. Your razor will be a lot softer and more comfortable after polishing. You can polish your open razor about 20 to 25 times over the leather side in the right way. You will experience that your razor will slide over your skin again like a warm knife through the butter.
Sharpen
An extra option is to sharpen your knife once in a while. This could be with a strap or a sharpening stone. Just like the shaving belt, a tension strap also has two sides. A brown and a colored side. The colored side is, depending on the color, to be used for silver steel, carbon or stainless steel open razors. These colored sides must be smeared with a pasta that is specially made for this. The tensioning belt can be used in the same way as a shaving belt. Let the pasta dry for a while and move your knife about 10 times over the tension strap.
A sharpening stone is advisable when the cut of your open razor is damaged. In many cases, the cutting surfaces can be restored with a sharpening stone. This way, grinding open razor is occasionally essential to keep it sharp.
How do you use a shaving strap?
To use a shaving belt, first hang it in a handy place. Make sure it is a place where you can get well because you have to tension the shaving belt with your other hand. If your shaving belt hangs well, you have to tighten it tightly with the power of your other hand. Make sure that the shaving belt does not bend, your knife will be able to move less smoothly over the shaving belt.
Hold your knife between your index finger and thumb and put your knife flat on the canvas side of the shaving belt (the other side is leather, so it is easy to recognize). Place the back of the knife up and move upwards without putting pressure. When you have arrived upstairs, turn around around the back and move down again. Repeat this about 15 times to make sure that all metal particles are well focused.
Then it's time to turn the shaving belt so that you can use the leather side. Repeat the same actions on this side about 20 to 25 times to polish your open razor. The leather side will ensure that your knife becomes flexible, smooth and comfortable again.
Tip: in the article How do you use a shaving belt We go deeper into the use of a shaving belt.
When should you apply this maintenance?
As we already described, it is important to maintain your open razor. You can apply some maintenance after every shave. This includes cleaning, drying and storing. It is up to you to feel when you should focus your razor, polish and/or grinding. Once you have created a skill in this, you will be your own barber in no time!
We hope to have helped you a lot further, but if you still have questions, please feel free to contact us. We are happy to help you create the most comfortable shaving routine.
Good luck!
Your friends, The Alpha Men