Thread: sterilising antique razors

hello,

Im new to using a straight edge razor and am wanting to get an antique one from a shop down the road.. what is required in regards to sterilising the blade?

Are you going to sand and polish the blade and then hone? If it is not shave ready you may need to have it honed. I use Lysol Disinfectant spray. I spray the blade well and let it sit 10 minutes or more. If you want you can repeat again as insurance. If you are sanding and polishing then honeing you will be removing enough metal that you should be good to go.

I use a product called Barbicide.

Be very careful not to get the Barbicide on the scales. Use on blade only.

Straight up rubbing alcohol.

Off the wall but it works:
Wash with "Dawn" or a citrus liquid.
Then rinse well and ;
Dip it completely into 190proof Vodka ( Much cheaper than "Everclear!"
Open and close it while wet with alcohol and use a blow-drier to dry it. At a distance!
JMO
YMMV
~Richard

Welcome the SRP. Guessing sense you are new the SR Shaving, that you dont know how to hone. Id recommend finding someone that is willing to hone both your razors first. When they do the honing, most will disinfect them before sending back. Learning to shave with a used vintage or even a new razor, the first step is to send them out for a proper HAND honing.

Although ethyl alcohol and isopropyl alcohol are slightly different chemically, they are quite similar in their disinfectant ability. For this application, the most effective concentration is 70% (140 proof in the case of ethanol). Higher concentrations evaporate quickly and my not have sufficient time to do their job. Lower concentrations may not be strong enough to do the job. If you subscribe to Geezers suggestion of using 190 proof vodka, be sure to soak the blade for at least 10 minutes before drying.

Neither one of the common alcohols are effective against fungal or bacterial spores, but with a steel blade, scrubbing the blade with a toothbrush and soap should remove any spores.

Others have recommended Barbicide. It is a high-level disinfectant used in hospitals to kill a variety of bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc. Even some of the tougher candidates like MRSA are killed. Since a small bottle of Barbicide is inexpensive (less than $10 for 16 oz), it is a bargain. Furthermore, you dilute 2 oz of Barbicide with 32 oz water before using. Thus, a 16 oz bottle is enough for eight batches at a cost just slightly over $1 per batch. If it is good enough for hospitals and barbers, I figure it is good enough for me.

Thank you,

yes I intend to get it honed, however I'm in Australia in Queensland I'm still in the process of trying to find someone that will hand hone it. The razor already feels pretty sharp, and I'm wondering how it will come up after just being put on a strop..
I don't understand how a strop works? if you get the razor honed, what use is putting on the strop?

Thanks for the advice

First of all welcome to SRP!

Second, read everything here https://shavelibrary.com/w/Shave_Library

Third, when you get your razor, PM onimaru55, im sure he'll help you if he can.