Hi,
How can I sterilize vintage straights? Should I try barbicide? Thanks.
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Hi,
How can I sterilize vintage straights? Should I try barbicide? Thanks.
They usually have been laying around so long that any possible bugs are long gone. All I do is clean them with scrubbing bubbles if they need it and hone them, strop and shave. So far so good with a couple of hundred of them. :)
When I get a vintage the first thing I do is wash with antibacterial soap. If that doesn't kill everything then all the polishing and metal cleaners will do it.
what they said and if your really extreemly worryed leave them drying a week or two after cleaning
You can disinfect the razor, but unless you have access to an autoclave or are willing to soak your razor in Glutaraldehyde for 24 hours, it's not going to happen.Quote:
Originally Posted by ferroburak
To disinfect, all you need to do is wipe off any bioburden and apply alcohol.
Barbicide is a hostpital-grade disinfectant. I highly recommend the stuff, if you're worried about sterilizing, but I do not see it as necessary. I keep it around to sterilize razors I sell, as a point of sale and guarantee against legal *&@^ that might come up if I sell a razor to someone who then wants to blame me for their new hepatitis.Quote:
Originally Posted by red96ta
put it in alcohol 96% for about 10 minutes, available at your pharmacist.
In a laboratory, you would 'flame off' the alchohol, DON'T do that with your razor, it would affect the heat treat
Lately i have been using miltons sterilizing liquid, its used to sterilize babies bottles etc, very cheap for a 2 litre bottle, which you then water down, if its good enough for babies hygene, its good enough for my straights.
What about a simple honing? The only part that touches your skin is the very edge, and honing removes the metal that was there before. Sanitary! I really don't care much about germs, though, so take my advice with a grain of salt.
If you want to sterilize them, then you will need to take them apart (remove the blade from the scales) and boil or autoclave the blade. You can disinfect the blades using alcohol.
Is this a bright shining vintage or a rusty old classic blade?Quote:
Originally Posted by ferroburak
Anything that will seriously sterilize a blade will cause corrosion.
That corrosion must be managed and eliminated.
Barbicide will sanitize a blade quite well.
It like all other chemicals needs to be rinsed off
and the blade oiled. Read the directions.
When sanding a blade that is pitted and rusty
all crud needs to be cleaned off. Sanding with
soapy water and relentless rinsing is a good thing.
Fine sanding with bleach and peroxide is sterilizing
and rust promoting. Once you get down to bright steel the surface is
gosh durn clean. A rinse in alcohol or barbicide followed by a
light oiling to prevent rust is always the last step.
One of the saving graces with old blades is shelf time.
Viruses and bacteria do not stay viable on surfaces
for weeks/ years (except down in the crud). Some
razor found in a dung pile out back of a farm house
needs to be cleaned if only of tetanus. No eBay auction
will tell you a history like that...
Because steel is not a terribly porous media and because of
abrasion when stropping and honing combined with
the soap and water of a good shave prep
razors are cleaner than one might think.
I am of the opinion that hepatitis alone is too big a risk
to not fully sanitize a new to me blade.
Do not share kit.
The only way to sterilize a blade is to use an autoclave - sterilization is an exact process that uses controlled temperatures way above the boiling point of water and will do scales made of anything but stainless steel no good at all.
To DISINFECT a blade, as said, use Barbicide. Milton is OK for what it'sintended for but it is basically a weak bleach containing Sodium Hypochlorite - the same stuff you put down the loo. Honest! Trouble with bleach is that although it is an A1++ bug killer - it'll kill just about anything - it is also corrosive in strong solution and cause oxidization i.e. it rots things.
Don't forget dwell time with any disinfectant - that is, the time it's actually in contact with the blade. Barbicide recommend a ten-minute immersion in a full-strength dilution, which is 60ml. product to one litre of water - and don't forget to use fresh dilutions.
The best thing to do (IMO) is to take it apart. You dont need to "restore" the razor or scales. But I would reccomend cleaning everything. after you are done use a little bleach and then be sure to rinse with hot water, and wipe down. Im not a chemist but I would assume bleach is bad for metal, but a quick sanitising exposure will not hurt. If you are not comfortable with dis/reassembly then use a q-tip to clean. this way your razor will feel and look good. :) as stated a metal polish will also remove gunk & junk. you always want to try and clean it up though. aint no tellin what kind of stuff is in there and better safe than sorry these days. the last razor I picked up sitll had hair on the blade! yuk!
Ok.........we know that disinfectants won't hurt a blade especially if it's rinsed and wiped off. What about scales? Does anyone know if soaking scales in disinfectant has harmful effects? While I'm sure some scales will have no problems, there's too many types of scales to actually test. I'm willing to test my stainless steel scales for obvious reasons......but my Otto Deutsches are out of the question! The inlays would survive, but I'd shoot myself if those hard to find transparent green scales started to deteriorate because they spent 15 minutes in hydrogen peroxide or alcohol.
Thoughts?
I would only worry about the blade, not the scales, and only if you are getting a razor that has been used by someone else or has been somehow else exposed to blood.
Hepatitis B and C are your major concerns, as they are easily transmitted by sharing razors. HIV transmission is possible, but unlike HEP B/C, HIV does not last long when exposed to open air. Hospital grade alcohol will kill Hep and any lesser pathogens. I'm sure barbercide will do a good job too.
HIV dies within minutes of being outside the body. HBV only lives for seven days. Barbicide isn't necessary unless you want a disinfectant with a tuburulocidal claim. If you want to kill only HIV, HBV, and HCV, you need an isopropyl alcohol containing at least an 80% concentration...Quote:
Originally Posted by markevens
This is all you need to get of nasty bugs:
Buy CVS 91% Isopropyl Alcohol online at CVS.com
All the various "cides" in Barbicide makes me feel all warm and fuzzy and clean. Can't go wrong with it - and many laws around the country mandate Barbicide use for commerical hygiene. I'm sure in many cases it IS more than necessary, but so what?
I bought one bottle of barbicide at last. I will put my razors(2 shave ready vintage straights, 1 kampfe, 1 gillette gold tech razors) into glass filled with barbicide. Then I will put them into boiling water for 10 minutes. That process will not harm vintage razors, I hope.
you should *definitely* not put the straight razors in boiling water. it can ruin the temper of the steel and make it unable to hold an edge.
Barbicide Wipes are available and I find them quite convenient. Opinions might vary as to whether your should sanitize, and nobody doubts that the autoclave is the ultimate. But for most purposes, if you want to sanitize, Barbicide wipes are tailor-made exactly for razors, scissors, etc.--our stuff.
Unfortunately, while an autoclave may be the ultimate it is also totally impractical for straight razors. Barbicide is an option. I've also used iso propyl and peroxide (not mixed together though), soaking the blade for at least 10 minutes. It must work, as I'm still alive to tell the story, and my razors show no signs of ill effects.....
Vintage straights can generally be sterilized with a standard vasectomy, but they're liable to pee and moan about it.