Correct procedure prior to use of vintage razor

AussieTanker

AussieTanker

Member
Joined
May 1, 2020
Location
Adelaide
Hi Folks...

I have a "small" number of vintage razors incoming over the next few weeks. I am really keen to try some of them out so that i can compare them to my trusty 1955 superspeed.

I've read a whole bunch of possible options to clean and disinfect / sterilize etc prior to use. But i'm really keen to hear what you guys recommend that i do before using a vintage razor (and blade) ... and i'm sure that everyone has their own particular "version" of what they feel is needed before that old razor and blade gets used on their face....

So please, fire away and let's hear what you do to prepare a vintage razor (and maybe why!) ... and of course i also have a couple of very specific questions about the correct protocol!

> Is it safe to put a vintage razor into the dishwasher to clean / sterilize it
> Some say to soak it in a detergent/rubbing alcohol/mineral oil etc ... but which Aussie brands are most popular on here? Is pinoclean OK?

Let's hear it :)
 
Al I do is a long soap in warm soapy water with dish detergent, then a scrub with a toothbrush and more detergent. I've had no issues with doing nothing but that, although you could finish off with a barbicide dip or something like isocol.
 
If you want to disinfect then isocol or better yet methylated spirits. To clean either a toothbrush and a bit of soap or an ultrasonic cleaner if there are no inset coloured numbers etc. I put my 3 piece Gillette through a cleaner once a year.
 
Ebonysw45 said:
To clean either a toothbrush and a bit of soap or an ultrasonic cleaner if there are no inset coloured numbers etc.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the replies everyone. I do appreciate the responses. These are Fatboys and Slims so they do have the numbers on them.

Is it still OK to do the detergent bath and then the alcohol?
 
@JohnJohn321 > Thank you. I will give that a try. So a long soak in warm soapy water, and then a short dip in an alcohol bath.

Ebonysw45 said:
If you want to disinfect then isocol or better yet methylated spirits
Click to expand...


Why is metho better than isocol? I am curious as to why.

I don't have any isocol, but i do have heaps of 100% isopropyl alcohol from work. I was going to use that. On the bottle it says to disinfect an object to fully submerse it in a bowl of isopropyl alcohol for 5 minutes. Does that time frame sound about right?

One of the DE razors squeeks when the TTO bottom turn thing is rotated. I have read that sometimes you can just put a drop or 2 of mineral oil down either the top or bottom of the handle. Is either some or all of these > Johnsons baby oil, singer sewing machione oil or something like 3 in 1 mineral oil from Bunnings OK to use for that purpose?
 
Metho is not better but it is cheaper and more readily available . Isocol is basically isopropyl alcohol so it would be fine as a matter of fact I use it as part to of the process of cleaning watch parts. Singer oil is good, easily available, I use it to wipe down some of my straights after adding a little clove oil.
 
More information then actually required. upshot dilute

Why Is 70% the Most Effective Concentration of Isopropyl Alcohol for Disinfection?
Isopropyl alcohol, particularly in solutions between 60% and 90% alcohol with 10 – 40% purified water, is rapidly antimicrobial against bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Once alcohol concentrations drop below 50%, usefulness for disinfection drops sharply. Notably, higher concentrations of alcohol don’t generate more desirable bactericidal, virucidal, or fungicidal properties.
The presence of water is a crucial factor in destroying or inhibiting the growth of pathogenic microorganisms with isopropyl alcohol. Water acts as a catalyst and plays a key role in denaturing the proteins of vegetative cell membranes. 70% IPA solutionspenetrate the cell wall more completely which permeates the entire cell, coagulates all proteins, and therefore the microorganism dies. Extra water content slows evaporation, therefore increasing surface contact time and enhancing effectiveness. Isopropyl alcohol concentrations over 91% coagulate proteins instantly. Consequently, a protective layer is created which protects other proteins from further coagulation.
Solutions > 91% IPA do kill bacteria, but sometimes require longer contact times for disinfection, and enable spores to lie in a dormant state without being killed. In this analysis, a 50% isopropyl alcohol solution kills Staphylococcus Aureus in less than 10 seconds (pg. 238), yet a 90% solution with a contact time of over two hours is ineffective. Some disinfectants will kill spores, which are classified as chemical sterilants. So why do higher alcohol solutions yield fewer results for bactericidal and antimicrobial outcomes?

excerpt from.
https://blog.gotopac.com/2017/05/15...tration_of_Isopropyl_Alcohol_for_Disinfection
 
AussieTanker said:
Thanks for your reply. What is clove oil (i mean i know its a dental / toothache thing, but why for razors) end why do you use it?
Click to expand...
That’s it, it’s an essential oil. I add it to a machine oil like singer to make a Choji oil which is used on Japanese swords for protection.
I would not put the razors into a dishwasher. It would probably also strip the numbers etc. Sometimes doing things by hand is the only way.
 
One last question. When using these adjustables is the idea to simply turn the dial to the regired number for the shave until it clicks? I thoight that i read somewhere that you need to turn it until it clicks and then continue to turn the dial until there is no resistance at that number. Or did i just make all that up in my head!
 
All good information!

AussieTanker said:
And what about the idea of putting the razors in the dishwasher on the minimum cycle to both clean and (heat) disinfect?
Click to expand...

NO - very alkaline in there which will emphasis any breaks in the plating and take the numbers off.

AussieTanker said:
One last question. When using these adjustables is the idea to simply turn the dial to the regired number for the shave until it clicks? I thoight that i read somewhere that you need to turn it until it clicks and then continue to turn the dial until there is no resistance at that number. Or did i just make all that up in my head!
Click to expand...

I think you just made that up in your heard :)
 
If you are worried about Covid, I believe the current knowledge says, 70C water kills it in 10sec so boiling water should do the trick

As of the other usual nasties HIV, Hep, etc.), I believe they can't survive outside the the bloodstream longer than 2 days - AusFarce has def taken care of that for you :D

So boiling water and mild detergent should be plenty (y)
 
Thank you everyone for all your advice. It has been very helpful and i appreciate the contributions and everyone's patience with all my questions. To most ppl that have been wet shaving for ages and may have cleaned up heaps of vintage razors the process is probably very obvious. But when you are starting out it can get a bit confusing and sometimes there is too much advice "out there" ie like the "just put it in the dishwasher" advice.

I'm going to have a "first shave" with these two beauties tomorrow morning. One is a slim, the other is a FatBoy. Nothing particularly special about either of them - other than the fact that they are significantly more beautiful, more economical (if you only bought one or two!) and much more fun to use then a modern cartridge razor! But I wanted to make sure that i understood the process right from the start as i have a large number of vintage razors incoming and some are close to mint so i don't want to risk messing any of them up or affecting the plating or numbers etc.

I'm also intending to get some custom plating done on a couple of razors and am trying to work out which of the two styles that i prefer to use as a daily. So I'm going to use an Astra blade in both of these razors as I am most familar with it. It's the blade that i have been using with my superspeed ever since starting this DE shaving journey a few months ago.

Just to clarify, here is what i did. Some steps may not have been necessary, but I'm slightly OCDC and wanted to record exactly how i did it.
1. I first cleaned both razors all over and on all possible surfaces with a soft (possibly too soft) toothbrush and some nice minty Aldi toothpaste. I was quite amazed at how just that simple step seemed to take them from slightly grungy to almost sparkling in about 5 minutes flat

2. Soaked the razors in very warm tap water that contained a generous blast of Aldi dish washing detergent so that it was very "foamy" for approx 30 minutes.

3. Removed razors and gave them a second clean with the soft toothbrush and toothpaste. I don't think that this step made much difference to the condition of the razors as they were reasonably clean to start with - but it made me feel better!

4. Returned the razors to the detergent bath which i had topped up with hot water. I then left them to soak in that overnight. Again, I'm not sure that this step made any difference to their "cleanliness" as they looked pretty reasonable to start. I think it would make a difference if the razors were quite grungy to start.

5. In the morning i removed the razors from the detergent bath, rinsed them well with hot tap water and then placed them into a bath of 100% isopropyl alcohol so that they were fully immersed into the alcohol bath for 5 minutes as per the disinfection instructions on the bottle of propyl alcohol.

6. Let them sit out in the sun and fresh air on a nice soft cotton cloth for a couple of hours.

I will have my first shave with them tomorrow.

I did discard the isopropyl alcohol after removing the razors. But i did wondered if i could keep it in a separate bottle just for cleaning razors and then reuse it on another batch of razors the next time? Does anyone know or have a considered opinion on this?
 
Mark1966 said:
I think you just made that up in your heard
Click to expand...

hahaha ... You are probably right. Sometimes i read too much and it can get a bit confusing! And that is why i love this forum. It's got some VERY knowledgeable members who are happy to share their aussie advice and perspective ... and more importantly it's local with reference to aussie situations, aussie shops / sources / products

alfredus said:
If you are worried about Covid, I believe the current knowledge says, 70C water kills it in 10sec so boiling water should do the trick
Click to expand...

Thank you. I wasn't actually thinking if that in particular but that is very good to know. Can rolling boiling water damage the plating or the numbers at all?

alfredus said:
So boiling water and mild detergent should be plenty
Click to expand...

In the end this is pretty much what i did. My tap water comes out pretty hot. I think that the iso bath and a couple of hours of sun and fresh air will take care of anything else!

again, thanks for all your help :)
 
AussieTanker said:
Hi Folks...

I have a "small" number of vintage razors incoming over the next few weeks. I am really keen to try some of them out so that i can compare them to my trusty 1955 superspeed.

I've read a whole bunch of possible options to clean and disinfect / sterilize etc prior to use. But i'm really keen to hear what you guys recommend that i do before using a vintage razor (and blade) ... and i'm sure that everyone has their own particular "version" of what they feel is needed before that old razor and blade gets used on their face....

So please, fire away and let's hear what you do to prepare a vintage razor (and maybe why!) ... and of course i also have a couple of very specific questions about the correct protocol!

> Is it safe to put a vintage razor into the dishwasher to clean / sterilize it
> Some say to soak it in a detergent/rubbing alcohol/mineral oil etc ... but which Aussie brands are most popular on here? Is pinoclean OK?

Let's hear it :)
Click to expand...

Correct Procedure is as follows:

Place razor on a silk cloth. Bow from the four compass points of N,S,E and NW. (Don't ask me about the last bit - best to just do it). Then small cut on the ball of the thumb and put ensuing blood over the head of the razor. Close your eyes and imagine BBS shaves.
If you have performed the rituals (or procedures ) correctly you will have years of happy shaving. Unless of course your razor is not a Gillette Slim in which case you are on your own,
 
If the razor is one of my own and getting it's bi-monthly clean, then a simple soak in hot (not boiling) soapy water for about 20 minutes.
Then a good scrub with a toothbrush and more soapy water.
Rinse, dry, enjoy.

If it's a second-hand razor that needs a decent clean;
As above but may also require a 7-10 minute soak in 1:1 diluted vinegar to help soften up any grime or years of shaving soap scum.
A 5-10 minute soak in isocol to disinfect at the end.
 
~Spyne~ said:
...
As above but may also require a 7-10 minute soak in 1:1 diluted vinegar to help soften up any grime or years of shaving soap scum.
...
Click to expand...

The potential problem here comes if any cleaning solution is too acidic or alkaline and there are breaches of the plating which protect the underlying materials. Even small pinpricks you would not normally notice can become very noticeable if the underlying materials oxidise.
 
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