Thread: hygene and straight razors

Hi all

my question is two fold are used straight razors hygienic ? I am assuming so based upon the fact that they are steel and can be bleached or sterilized different ways the wife differs and thinks a used blade will pass on all sort of evils.

second part of my question is about buying second hand what questions should i ask?

the razor I am looking at is a zwilling from the seventies the seller says i cant see the blade in the picture because it is displayed closed.

I am sure the seller has little or no knowledge about this product but want to try and dont really want to be ripped off after all he is asking 800 rmb about 120 usd i think. is that sounding like a good deal?

if you cant get a good picture of the blade forget it
the value is something you have to decide for yourself...

clean steel is hygenic, rust and pitting can trap moisture that allows microbes to survive more then 24 hours

The razor: If you can't see the blade. DON'T BUY IT.

A final word on sterilization - Straight Razor Place Forums

The Wiki also have lots of good info.

Do not put bleach on your razor unless you want to destroy it with rust.

Soap and water will be fine to clean the blade with, no problem. Dont bleach it as that can really damage the blade. The link Otto provided is a good article to read on the subject..!

And I also agree that you shouldnt buy the blade if you cant see it. If the seller wont provide the pictures you want that should ring alarm bells. Definately avoid.

As Stubear mentioned, soap and water is the way to go. Also, think about it, you use soap and water to clean your hands in the restroom, so why wouldn't it clean something else, say, a blade? Also, if you're still unsure, use an antibacterial soap. Your face likely doesn't carry anything that will harm you, but even if it does, odds are it will be rinsed down the drain before you ever knew it was there.

And yeah, don't buy a razor for any price if you can't see it, ESPECIALLY if you suspect the guy doesn't know much about the stuff.

Chances are it hasn't been used in decades, so it should be fairly germ free. Unless the blade has a gold wash on it, I give it a once over with Blue Magic metal polish then soap and water then onto stones and leather, nothing on the edge should be able to survive that.

Like every one else said, if you can't see the whole blade don't buy it.

I was on a trip to Vietnam last year and the guys I was with found a barber shop with a gal giving straight razor shaves. They were falling all over themselves to get a shave - I held back for reasons I couldn't have articulated at the time. Sure, I went and watched and even had a beer or two while these guys got the full treatment (um, ok, well not the *full* treatment...).

The gal used a real straight razor - not one of those with a disposable blade. It occurred to me later that night that the gal and her mom and her grandmother have been probably shaving people in Hue with that razor for the last 50 years. Hmmm. The first thing that came to mind was hepatitis.

So... something to think about...

Originally Posted by shayne

Hi all

my question is two fold are used straight razors hygienic ? I am assuming so based upon the fact that they are steel and can be bleached or sterilized different ways the wife differs and thinks a used blade will pass on all sort of evils.

Bleach WILL kill darn near everything, but it's a heavy oxidizer and will damage your blade, so stay away from it. HIV isn't a concern since it wasn't around when the blade was used last. HBV will be destroyed within a few days of exposure to air. Everything else will succomb to 90% alcohol available at your local CVS or Walgreens. Besides, after cleaning the blade and honing, all the potential pathogens are honed away from the edge.

When I bought razors and wasn't sure how long it had been since they were used I bought a bottle of barbicide. Go talk to a local barber, and get them to get you a bottle, or enough to sterilize your blade in.