Fighting the evil germs

My baby just got shipped out from England and I wanted to make sure it was sanitary to use. Therefore I need a way to kill all the germs on it, without damaging the metal or the celluloid handle. I don't want to boil it b/c that may damage the handle and my hair-stylist friend told me not to put it in barbicide b/c it may damage metal implements (they only use it on plastic combs in the salon). What else can I do to make sure I don't get the mad cow disease or a sudden craving for crumpets and stake & kidney pies after my first shave? :D

P.S. The razor is used and will require some edge-work, but I already got that part covered, so I won't be bothering you guys until I decide to mount the blade on a new Dovo handle that I've been eyeing for a while now :P

To be honest with you I usually just pour alcohol over it. I haven't died yet or gotten any major infection. Steel is not a good breading ground for germs. :shrug:

Firestart

It looks like some of the Dial handsoap and hot water
should do just fine. The stuff is suppose to be anti - bacterial.
Of course germs are totaly different but rinsing the blade
under running hot water should wash them away.


Terry

Thanks for the tips guys. Even though I don't usually use antibacterial soap, I do have some antibacterial counter spray (high end, gentle on all surfaces), left over from the days of working @ UCS. I'll use that and a bit of alcohol as a redundant measure.

Here’s what I do and I have found this to be simple and effective.

Every new/used razor gets a quick spritz of Lysol disinfectant spray.

Then I dunk the razor in kerosene to neutralize the Lysol.

Then another dunk in unleaded gasoline to cut the kerosene.

Shake off the excess gasoline and put a match to the razor to burn off any remaining fluid. Note here: Most celluloid scales burn quite dramatically so enjoy the show.

Let everything cool and put it in a pressure cooker for about 20 minutes at 15 pounds pressure.

Remove carefully when done.

Then I spit on the blade and wipe in dry on my pants leg.

I hope this helps,

LG Roy

Here's what i had in mind then:
1) Clean the blade/tang and the exterior surfaces of the scales with the antibacterial counter spray.
2) Tie a rag-strip to something, soak it with the spray, and use it to clean b/w the scales.
3) From your post, I'm assuming that the pressure-cooking won't warp the scales, so that would be the final step. I have a pressure-cooker but no pressure adjustment that I'm aware of. I guess I'll just leave it in there for 20min. Do you put it directly on the bottom or do you put something non-conductive on the bottom, the razor resting on it and then cover it with water and cook?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Library Guy

Here’s what I do and I have found this to be simple and effective.

Every new/used razor gets a quick spritz of Lysol disinfectant spray.

Then I dunk the razor in kerosene to neutralize the Lysol.

Then another dunk in unleaded gasoline to cut the kerosene.

Shake off the excess gasoline and put a match to the razor to burn off any remaining fluid. Note here: Most celluloid scales burn quite dramatically so enjoy the show.

Let everything cool and put it in a pressure cooker for about 20 minutes at 15 pounds pressure.

Remove carefully when done.

Then I spit on the blade and wipe in dry on my pants leg.

I hope this helps,

LG Roy

---

LMFAO :D :D :D

Dude, just wipe it with rubbing alcohol before and after until you can get some Barbacide.

X

I have access to it (a friend who's a stylist and willing to do this for me) BUT...
She said that it can damage metal implements. Therefore they only use it on plastic stuff in the salon. I don't wanna use it if it's gonna corrode my blade or ruin the temper. Have you used it before X?

OK, here's a tip from Mr David Uthe, known expert here (BTW, anyone know what happened with him?)

1/3 alcohol
1/3 water
1/3 bleach

it should kill anything alive on the blade. Just don't soak it too long and monitor the progress...

have phun
Nenad

Yeah and I know I should give it a good rinse with water afterwards b/c bleach isn't too forgiving on dyes or metals lol. But thanks bro.. Easier than making 2 special trips to Ivana's place just to have her disinfect my razor.

Haven't seen David in a long time. Still love the Böker he sold me with the pakkawood scales.

I've seen Brian dip his razor in Barbacide after the shave for just a few seconds and wipe it clean. Can't see how that would damage it. Others use Clippercide arosol spray which they leave on as a mineral oil substitute as well. I'll be doing the Barbacide thing myself soon I think.

X

I use Barbicide with my razors and it will not harm them if you don't keep it in too long. Don't put the scales in, just the razor. I open the razor up to a little past 3/4 open and then hang it over the jar so the blade is in the Barbicide (the spine is touching the side of the jar). I let it soak for 10 minutes, then I take it out, rinse it off and dry it off. If you read the instructions for Barbicide, it says it is safe for most metal tools and also has a rust inhibitor compound in it.

I think i'll follow Nenad's advice for now. If a combination of alcohol and bleach doesn't kill those germs, then we would have all died from them centuries ago. In any case I won't leave it in there for too long and I'll give it a good water rinse before doing anything else with it. It seems more reasonable than putting myself and my friend through a big hassle, especially since I'm not planning on building up an immense collection.

Unless your talking about Anthrax spores or something like that just the selling time and transit time is enough to kill just about every bacteria and virus known. Who knows when that blade was last used. Personally when I get an Eboy special I use an antibacterial soap and some hot water. Between all the honing and polishing of the blade nothing could survive.

I live by the good ol' "better safe than sorry" (unless I'm driving, and then it's "Jeronimooooooooo"). Therefore, if I can make SURE no microbial life survives on the razor, without damaging it, I might as well do it. I'll use an antibacterial counter-spray for the initial cleaning of the blade and b/w the scales (to remove surface contaminants) and then give it a quick dip in that killer cocktail. If a germ survives that, then it has my respect and permission to reside in my body :D

I'm sure alcohol and bleach will work, but the Barbicide bottle says it kills Hepatitis C and HIV. It doesn't mention bird flu or Mad Cow disease though. Who knows, the previous owner could have used it to carve up his imported dead Chinese chickens or for doing dissection in his basement medical lab. :eek:

I work in a hospital and believe it or not 5-10% Bleach solution is what we use to clean up blood. It KILLS HIV, HEP B, and HEP C. In fact we have wipes that are like those Clorox Wipes that we use for small amounts of blood, etc. (Ya' really DON'T want to know what the etc is, Trust Me) :D Hope this helps...

Good Luck,

Jim

If I remember it correctly HIV dies on its own if it spends like 5min outside of a host lol. I am buying it from a guy who deals in antiques and sells lots of razors. Therefore, it's fairly certain that the blade hasn't drawn any blood in ages. I'm just making reasonable precautions.

Thanks JM. I was fairly certain about it as well. The reason I didn't wanna use it was b/c it can damage certain surfaces and it can bleach (hint hint) color out of certain materials. However, when Nenad told me it would be safe for relatively quick dips, I decided to use it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jmcamp54

I work in a hospital and believe it or not 5-10% Bleach solution is what we use to clean up blood. It KILLS HIV, HEP B, and HEP C. In fact we have wipes that are like those Clorox Wipes that we use for small amounts of blood, etc. (Ya' really DON'T want to know what the etc is, Trust Me) :D Hope this helps...

Good Luck,

Jim

---

On the DE forums, a 10% bleach solution is often recommended, but no more than 10%. A short soak, otherwise, welcome to Tarnish Town.

RT

And that's why I don't put any bleach-based cakes into my toilet tank. Totally disintegrated an older assembly. Fortunately that was just before I started renovating lol.

Edit: If I get some minor surface tarnish, I'm sure I can polish it out in short order. The feeling of safety will be well worth the effort.

Shit you only live once. Go for it and don't worry. I 'd worry more if it was sharp enough and am I paying too much.:D

Since I only live once, I'd like to squeeze at least another 5 decades out of it. Meeting my maker at the age of 76 sounds about right :D

Come on Firestart if my math is right your 26. You know nothing hurts twenty year olds.:D :D

Your math is correct. However... I drive a little Jap as if it was a go-cart, smoke like a chimney, can outdrink a guy twice my size and I'm a loudmouth. Therefore there are already too many strikes against me for me to be shaving with a used blade that hasn't been thoroughly disinfected ;)

Speaking of which, it survived a 10min dip in the bleach/alc/water mix without any issues. The two small nicks will take some time to polish out, but after a brief initial honing it's already sharper than the Pakistani blade. However, I may have to grind away some of that edge and re-sharpen it before I hone it again. It won't take much b/c the nicks are tiny but I don't wanna shave before I do it.

I use barbicide and it never has hurt my blades, the un-dilluted barbicide is corrosive but once dilluted down to the correct ammount (very light blue) it is fine, I only submerge the blade though.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by jmcamp54

I work in a hospital and believe it or not 5-10% Bleach solution is what we use to clean up blood. It KILLS HIV, HEP B, and HEP C. In fact we have wipes that are like those Clorox Wipes that we use for small amounts of blood, etc. (Ya' really DON'T want to know what the etc is, Trust Me) :D Hope this helps...

Good Luck,

Jim

---

X2. Should be damp for 3 minutes.

Tim

Wipe her down and SHAVE! ....get it on...Tom

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT

I have access to it (a friend who's a stylist and willing to do this for me) BUT...
She said that it can damage metal implements. Therefore they only use it on plastic stuff in the salon. I don't wanna use it if it's gonna corrode my blade or ruin the temper. Have you used it before X?

---

Barbicide is cold; it can't ruin the temper.

Recent Barbicide formulations have an "anti-rust" additive -- check eBay for sellers. It's probably safe for blades, but I don't know if it's safe for scales.

Myself, I give the blade and scales a good wipe with rubbing alcohol. But I haven't done enough razors to know -- for sure -- that that's enough to kill _everything_.

A while ago, a BC hospital was having problems with "prions" -- the cause of mad cow disease -- contaminating their surgical instruments. Very tough to kill! But I'd only worry about them in a hospital environment. See this piece in Wikipedia, especially the section "Sterilization":

Prion - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I've never heard of anyone subjecting razors to that kind of treatment.

Charles

Wait... Are you telling me 100 year old razors aren't sterile! Never cleaned a single razor beyond restoring, honing or shaving. As of yet no smallpox. :-)

I find it interesting when guys start with straights and are worried about this. When they shaved with multiblade disposables, they just rinsed them off and threw them in the soap dish! Talk about harboring germs!:dropjaw:

When i get a razor i simply hone it up (if needed) and shave im not saying it the rite thing to do but thats just me

I wouldn't want to shave with an unhoned 100 year old blade, but I'd be more worried about tetanus, or whatever it is you get off rusty nails. And getting a really bad shave. I've read posts by people doing that, shaving with a unhoned ebay beater.

And yes, I know this is a 5 year old thread.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by FiReSTaRT

My baby just got shipped out from England and I wanted to make sure it was sanitary to use. Therefore I need a way to kill all the germs on it, without damaging the metal or the celluloid handle. I don't want to boil it b/c that may damage the handle and my hair-stylist friend told me not to put it in barbicide b/c it may damage metal implements (they only use it on plastic combs in the salon). What else can I do to make sure I don't get the mad cow disease or a sudden craving for crumpets and stake & kidney pies after my first shave? :D

P.S. The razor is used and will require some edge-work, but I already got that part covered, so I won't be bothering you guys until I decide to mount the blade on a new Dovo handle that I've been eyeing for a while now :P

---

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) has been largely eradicated in Blighty old boy, it is even safe to eat our beef.
A sudden craving for crumpets and steak and kidney pies plus an irresistible urge for cream tea, Earl Grey, and HP sauce leads to stage two of your affliction which will be putting the 'u' back in colour, neighbour etc, walking on the pavement, going up in a lift, and taking your water from a tap.

You will wear Saville Row suits, Turnbull & Asser shirts and John Lobb shoes, drive an Aston Martin DB5, and become a member of the Cavalry and Guards Club, in fact you will have become a proper 'Chap'

Pip Pip

Sir Ostentwhistle Chucklebutty III

Everything new (metal or plastic) goes into Barbicide overnite. I'd be careful with wood or horn.
It is costly even a small bottle but it's similar to the disinfectant used in hospitals.