Thread: Str8ts: Health Hazard?

I got a small nick shaving my upper lip today, and I started thinking about this.

How do you clean your razor after you get a nick or otherwise draw blood? Do you do anything differently, or just rinse with hot faucet water as you do after shaving?

How do you clean the used razor you bought through the BST or ebay?

HIV is less of a concern, since the virus really does not survive that long outside of the host. Hepatitis C is more durable, and more concerning. Many Americans with Hep C contracted the infection by sharing needles for IV drug use, or simply by using used hypodermic syringes and needles. More often than not, these were "sterilized" using modalities available at home. Same thing with tattoo parlors years ago, before the scare from these infections led to more attention to health concerns.

When I buy, say a used DE razor, I boil it for a certain amount of time, and that is usually sufficient. Alcohol alone is not. Then again, that's the DE razor. I don't think I'd be comfortable with a used DE blade (assuming it is still sharp, hypothetically), which really would have come in contact with blood, rather than the razor itself.

Unfortunately, most straights cannot be boiled, since the scales will get destroyed. Autoclaving and hospital grade disinfectants like Cidex are not really generally available. Other than that, the kill rate on the Hep C virus is not 100%.

4.1M people in the US today are positive for Hepatitis C. Most are in the 40-49 y.o. age group. Many more are undiagnosed.

Just in case, you may say you've been doing this for years, and have had no problem. Or don't know any who've had one. Remember, the latency of Hep C infection is 20 years.

Don't mean to stir the pot, but just thought I'd throw this in, and see what others' think, and do.

I use my Lysol wipes on everything in my bathroom once a week. No one else uses my stuff, so I don't worry too much.

Plus I get a full blood workup twice a year to make sure nothing shows up to the party.

That's a very good question.

I have a bottle of BARBICIDE that i purchased at a local Sally's Beauty Supply.

I have used Barbicide to "sterilize" DE razors that I have purchased at antique shops, ebay etc.

But I am worried about soaking scales in Barbicide.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/showt...hlight=alcohol

Thanks, for the link, Doc. I agree with your post about alcohol. I will try to get some cidex at work tomorrow, and will use that to disinfect my razors.

Cleaning/sterilizing old razors is a good common sense practice; it's an unknown regarding the measures necessary and time lapse needed for any potentially harmful virus, etc to die and be rendered harmless.

For those that are worried about the potential for transmission of illnesses from old razors (personally I think the possibility of transmission from an antique razor not likely used for years is nil), I don't mean to post this to keep you awake at night, but if anything, shouldn't the worry, if you have worry be about prions rather than bacteria or viruses? CLICK HERE

To kill prions (the cause of Mad Cow, in humans known as CJD) you need a pressurized autoclave to be able to keep the instrument at 274 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 18 minutes. I don't have one of those.

Personally, I'll clean my blades as I normally do and I'm not going to worry about it. Others certainly might though. We're all different.

Odd.....it is a bit contradictory for me to say I'm not worried about prions and my old razors when I haven't eaten beef in 10+ years.

Chris L

After I draw my own blood, I don't do anything, I ain't gonna get anything I ain't already got.

When I get a used razor I usually treat it first with a water and soap wash. Then I coat it in a chemical cleaner strong enough to eat rust and tarish right off (MAAS). then it gets scrubbed with a mild abrasive untill a mirror finish is achieved. At this point it is again cleaned with soapy water. Then as a final sterilization step I grind off the old cutting surface and replace it with a fresh one. After this is done the razor is cleanied again, this time with rubbing alcohol, then mineral oil and put into use.

After this entire process I doubt anything will survive.

Seems like people are getting a bit obsessive about this.

Worried about Prions?

Put on some serious surgical gloves when you pick up the package from your mailbox. Open the package outside, near a fireplace, and drop the package, razor box, and any other paper or packing that came with the razor in the fire.

Now, take your razor and drill out the pins and toss the scales in the fire after the packaging materials.

Now drop your razor in a pressurized autoclave at 274 degrees fahrenheit.

Be sure to strip off the gloves and throw them in the fire after the scales.

Oh, you'll probably have to toss your drill press into the fire because it won't fit in the $25,000 autoclave that has an interior cavity that is 12" wide.


Okay, once the autoclave shuts off, you are probably safe--or did you touch the outside of the autoclave with your gloves?

If you did, you will need to put on another pair of gloves before touching the autoclave, and then open the autoclave.

Then remove the gloves and throw them in the fire with the drill press.

Then remove the razor (or what is left of it) and place it on your bathroom counter.

Now put on a 3rd pair of gloves and throw the autoclave in the fire, since you touched the outside of it with the gloves you used to open the razor box.

Now throw the 3rd pair of gloves in the fire with the drill press and the autoclave.

Viola, a completely safe razor.

Now where are you going to get replacement scales that you can be sure have no prions on them?

Hmmm, I'm stumped by that one.



There is more junk floating around in the air, on your bathroom surfaces, in your clothing and your bedding than would be on a razor you just washed in hot water and put away.

Think about it.

Clean it. Sanitize it by removing any clinging soil and loose corrosion when it arrives. Rinse it for several minutes under your hottest tap and then dry it. It will radiate heat for several minutes and all water will be off the surfaces.

This alone will reduce bacteria and viral counts to background levels, which is good enough.

If you are unfortunate enough to encounter prions on the blade, and you get them on you, well, you are probably f*cked.

You and Howard Hughes.

$.02

Originally Posted by toolarts

There is more junk floating around in the air, on your bathroom surfaces, in your clothing and your bedding than would be on a razor you just washed in hot water and put away.

Think about it.

Think about it. Sure. There's a significantly lower chance that someone else (or at least someone I don't know intimately) has bled on my bathroom surfaces, my clothing or my bedding. A used razor has a pretty high chance, and even old traces of blood is a cause for concern. So if you think about it, giving it more treatment than just washing it in hot water is a warranted precaution.

Sure, if you wash it (which, incidentally is not the same as sanitizing) you're probably safe. Some people would like to make that probably closer to definitely and there's nothing wrong with that.

Originally Posted by They Call Me Blockhead

Some people would like to make that probably closer to definitely and there's nothing wrong with that.

Except that it's obsessive and fails to recognise that there are more significant risks we face everyday without a second thought.