Thread: How do you steralize a used razor

I just got a Geneva razor off ebay and I wnat to steralize it; what do you recommend? Alcohol, boiling water, which could affect the temper?

Tom

Originally Posted by tombuesing

I just got a Geneva razor off ebay and I wnat to steralize it; what do you recommend? Alcohol, boiling water, which could affect the temper?

Tom

Do not use boiling water you will ruin the scales. Use the alcohol that will work fine.

I use Barbacide, and a Barbacide jar that has a basket for submerging your razors (I think it looks cool sitting on my bathroom counter).

I've heard a lot of people say, "Don't use boiling water, or you'll ruin the scales!" Not necessarily true.

One of the key things to remember if you're using boiling water to sterilize your razor is to not submerge the scales. If you toss the whole razor in the water, you're obviously going to warp them. Simply wrap a dish cloth around the handle and dip the blade for a few minutes. I'd probably be a little hesitant to expose a razor with gold engravings (or something similar) to that kind of temperature change, but it's fine for pretty much everything else.

As for the scales -- clean them out with a soaped up piece of butcher's twine, a toothbrush or a Q-tip --- or a combination of your choosing.

Depending on your scales, you can also dip it in this mix that Nenad posted elsewhere: 1:1:1 Alcohol:Water:Bleach. I did that with 2 of my razors and didn't get any diseases off'em yet. However, before you do that, scrub the blade and the the scales (inside and outside) with an antibacterial soap or alcohol to remove the dirt/grime that may protect germs from the mix.

Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT

Depending on your scales, you can also dip it in this mix that Nenad posted elsewhere: 1:1:1 Alcohol:Water:Bleach. I did that with 2 of my razors and didn't get any diseases off'em yet. However, before you do that, scrub the blade and the the scales (inside and outside) with an antibacterial soap or alcohol to remove the dirt/grime that may protect germs from the mix.

I wouldn't bring bleach anywhere near a carbon steel blade. Chlorine is very hard on steel, even in miniscule amounts. Alcohol should be fine. It's not like you're sterilizing a sponge, with lots of places for germs to hang out. If it works for you, outstanding...but bleach will never come near my blades if I can help it.

It's perfectly fine with stainless and I never had problems with 2 of my C-steel blades. I'd rather use that stuff than Barbacide, which is (according to hair care professionals I discussed this with) only to be used on combs and other plastic items.
However, if your blade has lots of pitting, then Joe's admonishment is certainly valid and I'd use another way of sterilizing it, like clippercide.

I agree with Joe; bleach pitted a nos dovo I had. Made a grown man wanna cry.
Rex

I didn't sterilize anything really...... guess I'll die from some horrible disease now huh? I just cleaned the beast with soap and water...besides, I use soap and hot water on it everytime I use it. I feel it's safe.

Tom,

After plenty of anti-bacterial soap and water, I use rubbing alcohol with a Q-tip on the scales (especially inside), then I soak the metal part of the razor in Barbicide. This is the version of Barbicide that's for metal tools (like a manicurist would use) so it has rust inhibitors in it. I soak it for about 15 minutes and then a good rinse. It's worked well for me so far.

Ed