Corking Blades, but different than you think.

Are we talking about corking with a real cork, or a piece of styrofoam? 
I consider both of them to be "corking", as "foaming a blade" just sounds wrong.

I use a real cork, first drawing the edge lightly through a corner of the cork from around the middle to the far end, flipping it end-for-end, and then drawing it from the middle to the far end.
Repeat with the other edge of the blade.

I do exactly as John has described. Takes the moisture and soap residue of the blade and evidently I learned, the fluoropolymer comes off as well. I use wine corks and store them corked in until the next shave.

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Why on Earth on people corking, stropping, etc., a new blade? It defeats the purpose of the coating that will gradually 'push back' on its own as it gradually wears down. 

If you are getting pulling/tugging with a new top tier blade then something else is wrong, most likely your prep.

Reality vs patents ( < coming from people that they also are claiming that five-blade vibrating cartridges give the best shaves,
right ? )



(...)Cross-section of a Feather Super Pro Artist Club blade, often considered to be the “sharpest” commercial razor blade. The blade is coated with a fluoropolymer that is removed with the first use. The Apex width is approximately 50nm, keener than any of the commercial blades shown above. The width at 3 microns is 1.4 microns, due to the 19 degree final bevel angle.(...)

https://scienceofsharp.com/2014/05/28/a-...ed-blades/

The unused edge #1 ,
of a Feather New HI-Stainless razor blade ,
as seen under the electron scanning microscope :

What you see is actually the Fluoropolymer ( PTFE ) coating .

Now ,the other blade edge ( #2 )used JUST for a SINGLE PASS :



Over 99% of the coating has left the building,before even Elvis did .
Bye-bye coating .
So much for the "comfortable shave" ! 

Do not let patents or false claims fool you :Fluoropolymer coatings are there to protect the blade's edge from corrosion ,
for long term storage and until the blades reach their final destination,their user that is.Nothing more ,nothing less.
There is not silica jel inside the blade's tuck in order to absorb moisture.Neither the blades are covered in oil,grease,wax or Cosmoline.But razor blade "stainless" steel alloys DO oxidize ( leave a blade on a DE razor after shaving ,without drying and see with your own eyes how  "stainless" a razor blade is ).


Furthermore, since any coating whatsoever widens the edge's apex ,thus increasing the force 
required for the blade to push-cut through 
facial hair strands ,it's kinda false to claim that the x or y coating will add comfort to shaving ,just because the blade will supposedly have less friction with the hair strands being cut.
Think of this : 
A sharp knife ,but say with pretty rough blade surfaces will cut through a material, multiple orders of magnitude ,better than a dull knife with an anti-friction coating deposited on it's blade surfaces.

Fluoropolymers are not there to make 
the shave more comfortable.
That's a myth that should have been busted long ago .Like the one that claimed 
that 5x razor blades will provide a better shave than a single blade razor.
Yeah,right...

... nFluoropolymers are not there to make 
the shave more comfortable.
That's a myth that should have been busted long ago .Like the one that claimed 
that 5x razor blades will provide a better shave than a single blade razor.
Yeah,right...

But ... what about blades coated with Irium? 

I've never corked a blade(though I feel I'll have to give it a go here soon) but I do occasionally use this little hone if I feel a blade has excessive pull right out of the wrapper,  sometimes it works wonders sometimes just a slight improvement. Probably due to blade composition and geometry. It's definitely worth the small space it occupies.

I read this old thread with some fascination.  I ruined the strop fro m my 1940's vintage Valet Auto Strop razor years ago (it simply deteriorated).  As a result, I had to move to Feather SS blades rather than the original carbon steel blades that could be stropped.  I have l  toyed with the idea of having a custom strop made (it is very thin) but never got around to it.  I am wondering if "corking" the carbon steel Feather blades would have an effect like stropping? 

BTW, watching the old Auto Strop mechanism working was a little bit  Mesmerizing.  Interestingly, the carbon steel blades shaved better after about two shaves and some stopping rather than new.

KAI makes carbon steel Blades for the Valet.... just a heads up.