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How should you clean a safety razor?
Would water, a toothbrush, a pipe cleaning brush, liquid dish detergent, liquid disinfecting dish detergent, liquid hand soap, liquid disinfecting hand soap be enough?
When do I need to use toothpaste and Scrubbing Bubbles?
I was also told by Leisureguy to mix a solution of 1 part vinegar and 4 parts water and place the razor in the solution.
Tooth brushes can be hard on the finsh of old DE razors. Along with polish so be careful and test. But id say cleaning depends on if its your razor or something you have recently picked up. One will just need a little cleaning. The other you might want to go farther. Also it depends on what razor it is. Some can be taken apart.
I will let the more experianced DE users give details.
Yup, depends. Some soap can turn to near cement and will gum up the working action. The problem is the Nickle is very thin, so if you use harsh cleaners you can strip the Nickle.
I have disassembled adjustable that the handle is packed solid with years of soap. It can take day of soaking and ultrasound to remove. If the soap is that bad it usually takes the finish with it.
Hot water, Simple Green and Dawn dish soap works well if you soak overnight. Dawn dish soap is an Enzyme soap, there are also different concentration of Dawn dish soaps, read the labels. Be careful with vinegar, it will strip the nickel it is very thin.
Simple Green or scrubbing bubbles will remove the dirt and some soap but soaking and ultrasound is the only safe way to remove stubborn caked soap. Be careful soaking in simple green or vinegar. Short soaks are ok, but if you forget it, it can remove the nickel.
I would start with Dawn dish soap soak and scrub lightly with a brush. Finish with a lite paint brush scrub with 91% alcohol and buff with a microfiber. Alcohol will brighten up the Nickle without removing any.
Old dried soap can be hard to get rid of. A method I have used in the past is boil the razor in a pan of water for 20 - 30 minutes adding water when needed. Follow up with Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish and oil any moving parts with mineral oil.
I think once a week I'll use a toothbrush, a pipe cleaning brush, dish detergent, toothpaste and finally I'll soak it in the vinegar and water solution. Would this be a good routine?
If it's routine maint. I would stop at the dish detergent. Even better save your pennies and get a new all stainless razor. They really do shave better than the vintage types though many here won't believe it.
That all depends on if you want performance or romance. I hear.people say all the time, "they just don't make cars like they used to." Not only are they right but it's a good thing they don't. I just retired a service van with nearly 330,000 miles on it and it was still running...on the original engine, trans, front end, rear end...hell I could have driven it indefinitely. I drove it to the place I donated it to. When I was a kid at 100,000 a car was either headed for a major overhaul or for the junkyard. What cured me.of old cars was getting a new car.Quote:
Originally Posted by thebigspendur
On the other hand, the last old car I had was a 1963 Buick Riviera. It had the 401 Nailhead and the Dynaflow. It wasn't as snap and pop as the wife's brand new Explorer nor did it have all the bells and whistles but it sure was cool...if you don't mind working on it all the time.
It just depends on what you want.
I think once a week I'll soak the razor in a vinegar and water solution and then I'll scrub it with a toothbrush and liquid dish washing soap.Would this be a good routine?
The Vinegar is overkill unless you have really hard water and you let it air dry. Normally the dish soap and toothbrush should be all you need.
A toothbrush is too hard on the nickel. Buy a ½ or 1-inch boar chip brush and cut down the bristles to about ½ inch and use that with dawn dish soap, follow up with alcohol and another paint brush.
Cleaning is much different from maintenance. A lot depends on your soap. Canned soap is the problem with most vintage razors. If you are not using that, maintenance is much easier.
The key is to preserve the nickel, harsh, abrasive cleaners and polish will strip it. Vinegar is an acid.
I've also been told to never use vinegar on a safety razor. What do you guys think?
Maybe I should use the 1 part vinegar and 4 parts water solution once a month only.
I agree vinegar is an acid a m d as such is really to strong to be used just to remove some soap scum. There are plenty of alternatives like the dish soap and toothbrush. And Scrubbing bubbles non bleach alternatives since your location doesn't have SB.. I think it was CIY ?
CIF is the product's name.Quote:
Originally Posted by jaro1069
Did anyone try acetone? I know it's pretty strong, and it stinks, but evaporates completely and will cut through anything with grease or oil in it (like soap, I assume)
If your talking about anything plated keep it away from any strong chemicals like acetone.
OK I decided to take one for the team and tried acetone on my Merkur DE razor. I applied it with an old artist's brush (one of those for oil painting). It worked. It softens the soapy material and smudges it around, but after applying the acetone you can easily wipe it off to a nice shiny polish. In some areas I had to brush it on a bit harder, the rough areas of the metal are a bit tricky. Keep in mind that I have not tried it on gold plated razors yet, but it does not seem to any damage the metal at all (and, to be honest, I suspect that acids like vinegar, are more damaging to metals than this. Acetone mainly dissolves oily/fatty residues). I recommend doing this outdoors because of the fumes.
I keep mine well rinsed so I don't get soap build up if I need to disinfect a new one or if I pick up a used one I wash it in water and soak in denatured alcohol then wipe with a soft cloth soaked in denatured alcohol.
The alcohol cleans and disinfects well without damaging the finish.
I've cleaned up a few nasty ones, before.
I hose them down with Ala"s Totally Awesome, and give um a scrubbin. Dry them off, and go at it with a soft bristled tooth brush, and a bit of 3M metal restorer for the nastiest stuff.
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Years ago I experimented and dumped a Merkur Vision in a glass of Hydrogen Peroxide. About an hour later when I took it out it cleaned the thing better than anything I ever used before. Unfortunately it totally removed the finish and turned the razor into rusty object never useable again.
I'm careful with cleaning these days.
H2O2 and ultrasonic cleaning device.
I just use an old toothbrush and HOT water about once a week on my Merkur DE. (Not vintage).
I have a mason jar of cleaning alcohol, after I wash the razor I swirl it around in there for a few seconds then wipe it clean with a small microfiber towel, like the ones for glasses. Been doing that for almost 2 years, with no issues.
Scrubbing Bubbles here, at the end of the weekly shave cycle with the chosen razor for the week. Coupled with a light scrub with a soft bristle toothbrush, the Scrubbing Bubbles keeps the razors happy. Butterfly doors flap freely, adjustable features crank merrily, three-piece designs mate together easily, toggles toggle enthusiastically and various exterior finishes stay put. A thorough rinse and a dab dry with a tissue and replace razor on its spot in the cabinet for next time.
An older thread but still important.
These days my go to DEs are all 3 piece stainless so plain old soap and water and they look as good as new.
