Autoclaving a used razor(?)

whats good.

i was gonna post this in the newb section but i figured i might have better luck here since my question is kinda technical...

i've been shaving using a straight razor with disposable blades and finally got my technique down to where i can shave anywhere on my face/neck with confidence and more importantly the patience to do it right. so i did my research and saw that it might be smart to get a used razor and practice with that on the strap rather then spend $150-$250 on a nice razor and ruin it before i even get to enjoy it.

being that i was a body piercer for some years and get tattooed almost bi-weekly the first thought that came to my mind was crosscontamination when buying a used razor. i have access to an autoclave and thought i could use it on the raozr to kill any and all germs and microbes that might be on it (lets face it, you never know if someone had something or cut them self when testing). if the razor sits in a machine that produces 400-1200 degrees in heat and 30lbs of pressure, is it going to get messed up?

Probably. Think thin warpable plastic scales. Any other scale material I can think of would fare worse except the few stainless scaled razors out there. I don't know if it would do anything to the blade, as far as dull it or anything.

THe good news is that a couple of days in the open air will kill most microbes. Then soap and water will get most of the rest, add an alcohol wipe down and I think the chances are great anything on there is well decontaminated.

If there are enough nooks and cranies on the blade to support life by the time you have polished and honed the razor back to usefulness you have probably scraped the life off along wih the layer of steel removed in the polishing process.

I've done a fair amount of research on autoclaving razors. First of all, there are three types of autoclaves: steam, dry heat and dry heat with quartz balls. A steam autoclave operates at about 275 °F, the dry heat autoclave at about 375 °F and the dry heat with quartz autoclave is the hottest at about 475 °F. All the autoclaves will melt plastic scales. You could remove the scales, sterilize the razor in a steam autoclave and repin them. In my opinion, the dry heat autoclaves are too close to the tempering heat of steel and I wouldn't recommend them.

Now, I really don't think a used razor needs to autoclaved. I think that dipping the blade in boiling water for a few minutes ought to be enough. The only time a razor would need to be autoclaved would be if it were used in a barbershop to shave the public.

Be careful with boiling water......I did it to two razors I had honed by somebody and in just a few minutes, rust appeared on them and the edges were damaged.
I would just run boiling water over them and dry them immediately.

And from the "how to straighten warped scales" experiment that gssixgun did, you'll have to clean the scales pretty well if you boil them because the minerals in the water will turn them chalky white!

I agree with Tim - no need to go crazy here - just soap and water, and then a little rubbing alcohol. Also, as mentioned, the honing will probably remove most anything anyhow.

Mark

...and just in case you're interested, here's the link:
http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...ed-scales.html

just remember that this is what happens after just a few seconds in boiling water - so while you can straighten them, I'd also say the reverse is true (i.e. they can warp in boiling water).

Mark

There are plenty of things that will survive open air or alcohol... that being said I took the risk with my first razor assuming it had sat in a case for a few years and went with free radicals from partially combusted butane followed by rubbing alcohol.

Now that I've chipped my razor having dropped it I'm kinda in the same boat. I would feel more awkward about a used razor that has been used more recently. Also note that steam autoclaves employ pressure in addition to the heat which makes a drastic difference in its kill properties.

The real worry of course would be viral contaminants like Hep C which can be stable on a surface for seven days. Or the possibility of heat stable spores.

Personally for ease of use and its designed for the purpose looks damn cool and while some may consider it overkill damn those quarternary ammonias are deadly...

I might invest in a bit of barbicide to treat my razor with.

Barbicide - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


*hopes he has not brought more mysophobia into this world*

A quick search for barbicide brings up many topics on these forums regarding razor sterilization.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/newbi...ng-razors.html

for instance.

I agree that "germ" phobia is overblown however I also agree with the person who started this topic that it is reasonable to be prudent regarding a new razor.

I would be happy to debate the topic of decontamination at greater length and am particularly curious regarding the broken link to an article suggesting barbicide was ineffective (found in the "sterilization" link above)...

I've always used barbicide to clean my razors, just a 10 minute dip and air dry per the instructions works fine. It also cleans off any residue left from the shave soap during the shave without any scrubbing. I just keep a bottle like you see in barber shops near my sink and after my shave while I clean up I hang the blade inside the jar over the edge so the cutting edge is totally immersed. Razors received from a honing service get cleaned prior to use and I clean my razors after each shave in the barbicide too. Blades usually come out of it pretty shiny.

There may be some pathogens that survive open air and alcohol:shrug:NOT BETADINE though:D

I'm not 100% sure, but I think about 450F is the tempering heat for razors, so that would rule out the dry heat with quartz autoclave that Chimensch talks about above.

I don't have any worries about microbes being killed by leaving the blade in the open air (I suppose dessication and UV rays play a part) but what is 'in the open' at a microscopic level? Even mirror finished steel has plenty of nooks and crannies in it at a microscpic level, so well-used and pitted razors must have enormous fall-out craters in them as far as microbes are concerned!

The tang pivot area is another problem. I routinely repin razors, and even those that have been dry for years and look pristine have an enormous amount of oily/watery/rusty crud in this area.

FWIW, here's a link to a page about Barbicide.

Regards,
Neil.

A little research shows there are a ton of high level disinfectants (US FDA/CDRH: Sterilants/High Level Disinfectants Cleared by FDA in a 510(k) with General Claims for Processing Reusable Medical and Dental Devices) for use on critical items (stuff that breaks skin) in medical facilities for use on heat sensitive items. Looks like a bit more steps in cleaning and more care in the process, but there are a bunch some available easily such as Cidex.

Here's the definition for a HLD (high level disinfectant) as:

High-level disinfection (HLD) refers to t the destruction of all microorganisms with the exception of high levels of bacterial spores (Rutala, 1996). High-level disinfectant/sterilant refers to a chemical germicide that has been cleared by the FDA as capable of destroying all microorganisms, including all bacterial spores. When used at a shorter exposure time it destroys all viruses, vegetative bacteria, fungi, mycobacterium and some, but not all, bacterial spores (Rutala).

I don't have any experience with these, just got to looking around a bit on the web.

Here's one: http://www.vitalitymedical.com/Produ...tion-2786.html

Although sterilization temperatures in autoclaves never go beyond 200 C, I would stay away from autoclaves. I am not sure that sterilization of blades is required or even desirable, particularly if you are a single user of the razor. There are some chemical methods that are used by the food industry that may be appropriate for "sanitation" of razors. One thing to bear in mind is that steel is not flat at the molecular level, which means that there are places where such chemicals would not reach unless a surfactant is added.

Al raz.