Thread: A final word on sterilization

Originally Posted by Zwaplat

Of course it would melt the scales mate. Unless they're metal. It might even melt goldwash, for all I know. The stuff is so thin...

I'm not very worried about endotoxins. I can imagine you're a bit nervous if you're using that much in a needle syringe, but anywhere else they're pretty harmless to humans. That's what you've got an immune system for.
Why were you afraid to get those cells on you ? They're not human, so I don't see much problems...and like I said, the LPS isn't that much of a problem as long as you don't inject them straight into your body.

It'll definitely melt goldwash. Gold leaf is 24k film and since the wash is even thinner I imagine it would go even more easily than leaf, which is quite easily to melt.

Oh and about the cells, that was more of a grossness standpoint, I mean it was like chunks of pig knee...not something I want accidentally flung onto my arm. Besides the reason I was scared was b/c even if you rinsed it the concentrations were quite high of LPS...so if you accidentally shook the tweezers while rinsing the tissue you could (theoretically) fling it into your eye or something...which would be a bad outcome. And LPS is definitely pretty bad...because even if you didn't inject it, if you got it on your hand and then ate, even a small concentration wouldn't be so good for you.

Right, now I get your point.
The only time I really looked into LPS endotoxin was when I was trying to get it out of a nanobody production run. Suffice to say I never succeeded (just got it purified to a pretty decent level, then quit my job).

I have discussed this with 3 doctors and this is what I was told. Germs don't live on surfaces very long, but some have a longer life span than others. Most germs are killed with just soap and water or sanitizers of some kind. Aids is a weak virus and dies quickly, like within a day. So the only real threat is hepatitis which can live on surfaces where there has been blood contamination for a longer period of time, like a week or 10 days. They all told me that the best protection was to give things time to die. On old razors that no one has used in years and you are sure that no one has cut themselves with, no problems. 0n razors that have been restored and test shaved with, or sent out for sharpening there is more risk. Ask yourself, would you feel comfortable using a tattoo gun that had been used on someone you did not know and then wiped down with alcohol? I am not trying to alarm anyone as this is not a topic that should cause alarm. It is a topic where good information and common sense will make it a no brainer. The routine that I came up with, with the help of my doctors is that I soak my blades down with chlorhexidine( this is a solution used by physicians to sterilize their cold pack surgical instruments) for 20 min., then wipe them down with Clippersol to make sure they don't rust, and then I give them a rest for a couple of weeks before I add them to my rotation. A lot of you guys will probably consider this overkill & maybe it is but I sleep well at night & have enough razors that I can wait 2 weeks for a little piece of mind. Take this for what it's worth it's just the best information I could come up with. My suggestion to everyone is that you get information from your doctor on your next visit, so you can make an informed decision.

Absolutely fascinating! Thanks so much for all the info, its a great resource!

First off singlewedge, how many people who read this have access to an autoclave, I mean I do but I work day in day out in a biochemistry lab.

Also just to add to sterillization techniques. A nice UV light (Germicidal Irradiation, lies in the spectrum between 100 and 280 nm and is used for purification of air, water and surfaces) once overnight for each side of the razor. Nice because there are no chemicals, or it could be a extra/final step for the uber-paranoid. But it may cause a problem from bakerlite scales.

Of course you'll need a really well polished blade for effective UV sterilization since its ineffective at penetrating crevices the size some of our rougher hones might leave effectively.

*Warning All Germophobes Do Not Continue Reading*

New microbes continue to be found all the time like this neat little new thermophilic endospore former, Alicyclobacillus acidocaldarius, whose spores were estimated by classical linear death kinetics to have 10% remaining viable following 4 hours of treatment at 120 degrees C (Autoclave is 121...) So if there were 1000 spores by that theory one could remain viable following 12 hours in the autoclave...


of course the likely hood of them ending up on a razor you havn't brought to an extremophile loving microbiologists lab or dipping it in a hot spring....

Not to mention they need an environment warmer than the human body to germinate into vegetative cells. So no worries.... I just think their pretty neat....

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

A non wet shaving co-worker of mine told me that he cannot remember where he read it (of course) but more people die from infections caused by shaving then by rattlesnake bites or lightning strikes. (it was one or the other, not both together)

Ummm, I'd want to see the rest of it. Hard to tell how many of those infections were due to bugs on the razor or simply because the razor nicked and then the exposed wound was infected by bugs from somewhere/something else? Usually not an over abundance of bugs where rattlers live. People also usually treat rattler bites pretty aggressively. Razor nicks not so much. Sounds like they didn't match up the numbers too well either. How many people get bit by a rattler compared to how many nick themselves with a razor. And lightning strikes are self sterilizing

Not straight razor shaving or DE specifically but shaving in general by whatever means. I googled "shaving deaths" and came up with the fact that surgeons are beginning to avoid shaving patients' in pre-op.

You can count on a super high concentration of bugs in a hospital environment...

Originally Posted by Quick

How many people get bit by a rattler compared to how many nick themselves with a razor.

I don't know how many get bit but there are only about 5 deaths from snakebite yearly in the US

Originally Posted by hoglahoo

I don't know how many get bit but there are only about 5 deaths from snakebite yearly in the US

That's 'cause they first had their sidekick suck out the blood and poison, poured whiskey over it and then went directly to the hospital . When they knicked themselves with their razor that morning they just stuck a bit of tissue paper on it and let it clot.

The point is that those sorts of comparisons are totally meaningless. First you're comparing apples to oranges, then you're leaving out the numbers, omitting the conditions and actual cause, etc., etc.

1) total number of people killed by space travel vs. total number of people killed by razors --> using a razor is way more dangerous than space travel.
2) percentage of people killed by space travel vs. percentage of people killed by razors --> space travel is way more dangerous than using a razor.

Originally Posted by ndw76

It looks like all the baddies I'm worried about can be killed with my usuall soapy water and a tooth brush followed by lots of alcahole.

I would go out and get Ethyl, but as a whiskey enthusiast/collector I have more than one bottle of a dud lying around--not really worthy of drinking. So why not put 'em to good use?

My question is if it would be strong enough (they're at about 80 proof--40% ABV). Also would the whiskey damage the blade and such?