Waterproof finishes for razors?

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
bliorg

bliorg

Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2024
Messages
70
Location
NW Philly, PA
Hi, all -

I have a razor kit left over from Christmas. I shave my head, in the shower, daily. I HATE the soulless Gillette that hangs in there. Would love to use some of the red maple burl I have and make a proper razor to use (some of this stuff). My guess would be that the most appropriate finish for living in the wet would be a good CA finish; however, I'm not sure how water resistant/proof/impervious that really is. I know it won't last forever there - even the metal and polymer Gillettes only last so long - but I'd like to maximize lifespan. Would some kind of epoxy finish be better? Or even possible?

Thanks for your thoughts.
Scott, staying inside for today (garage/shop is 96F currently...)
 
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
Finding a finish that will handle living in the shower over something that is wood will be really darn tough. I've used CA (GluBoost) on razors that live near the sink but never in the shower.

If you want it to live in the shower you might want to think about using your favorite resin blank so there's less of an issue
 
No personal experience with something in this environment, but I would think that stabilized wood with a CA finish would do best. You would want to make sure that you sealed any ends and/or inside parts where the kit parts glue in with thin CA so that even if water gets between the hardware and the wood, that the wood is still protected.
 
I have found in my experience with making handles for razors, I use either acrylic blanks for women and deer antler for men. I one for myself out of antler and have used it for several years I made one for my wide and daughters out of acrylic. I will not use wood for razors. It is just my preference.
 
I made mine out of trustone. Had to replace the hardware twice now, the trustone still looks like new. I think I turned them 7 or 8 years ago. I learned the hard way that it's not a good idea to let the metal get wet the plating gets damaged.
IMG_3064.JPG
 
bugradx2 said:
Finding a finish that will handle living in the shower over something that is wood will be really darn tough. I've used CA (GluBoost) on razors that live near the sink but never in the shower.

If you want it to live in the shower you might want to think about using your favorite resin blank so there's less of an issue
Click to expand...
Yeah, fair points. The kits aren't too expensive (though I should see if anyone (McKenzie?) makes a stainless one) - I may use a less dear blank and see what the longevity is. Thanks for the reply.
 
d_bondi said:
No personal experience with something in this environment, but I would think that stabilized wood with a CA finish would do best. You would want to make sure that you sealed any ends and/or inside parts where the kit parts glue in with thin CA so that even if water gets between the hardware and the wood, that the wood is still protected.
Click to expand...
Good points - thanks!
 
keithlong said:
I have found in my experience with making handles for razors, I use either acrylic blanks for women and deer antler for men. I one for myself out of antler and have used it for several years I made one for my wide and daughters out of acrylic. I will not use wood for razors. It is just my preference.
Click to expand...
Fair enough - thank you for your input.
 
mark james said:
Resin blank. Or spar Urethane if going with timber (stabilized). I'd also treat the inside of the blank and the ends before assembling.
Click to expand...
I was wondering about spar. It doesn't form a hard finish when cured, correct? (Meaning hard/brittle, like CA.). As a softer, flexible film, I'd think it wouldn't polish nearly as well. Though it is gloss to begin with. Hmm...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom