A couple of questions regarding my new (old) Gillette (+hygiene of its box)

[Balthazar]

Spent a couple of weeks in Denmark earlier this month, and came across an old Gillette in a antique shop. I'm not quite sure what razor it is, but the bar says "PAT. JAN. 13, 1920". Does that mean that the razor was made in 1920, or just that it was patented that year?

Here are two pictures:

I did a google search and it seems like there's a couple of different razors with the same patent date. Couldn't find the one i have, this (the top one) was the closest.

I'll probably clean it up a little tomorrow. (And from what I hear I should be real careful because of the gold plating?) But the box it came in looks pretty worn out (not surprisingly). And seeing how I plan to use it (if it's any good), I was wondering if keeping it in the box would be a potential disaster hygiene-wise, considering how it's probably chocked full of bacteria. I'm guessing yes.

(Edit: It's probably this!)

 

[Den]

Looks like a Gillette New to me. That's all I know about those. I can recognize them and that's it. It's even labelled THE NEW on the inside of the lid.

 

[Oldguy]

You have the long tooth "New" razor with ball end handle. Most were made gold plated and the plating is fairly thin. The 1920 is a patent date. The razor itself made sometime between 1929 and 1940 or so. I wouldn't keep the razor in the box unless you give it a hot water rinse and a quick soak in alcohol before using.

Len

 

[midniterambler]

I was wondering if keeping it in the box would be a potential disaster hygiene-wise, considering how it's probably chocked full of bacteria. I'm guessing yes.

(Edit: It's probably this!)

you think it has more potentially harmful bacteria than your mouth or colon?

 

[Balthazar]

you think it has more potentially harmful bacteria than your mouth or colon?

Not necessarily, but I probably wouldn't use my mouth or colon to scrape off facial hair either.

I'm guessing there's a reason why most people disinfect their razors when buying used, so my question might be a bit stupid (seeing how I'm aware bacteria can travel from a razer and onto the box it's laying in).

Thanks for all the replies, I thought the "New" was a descriptive word, and not a part of the series name.

 

[apino]

you think it has more potentially harmful bacteria than your mouth or colon?

I understand his concern. I don't think you can actually catch anything from it but I would never keep a razor I use regularly in a box like that. Bacteria is ok as long as I know it originates from me.

 

[Go West Young Man]

The razor can be cleaned with any of the usual methods detailed in the wiki. It won't sparkle, but it'll clean up nicely.

The box is nice, but I agree that I wouldn't store my razor in it. Use it for display purposes or keep it in storage for if/when you sell the razor though - cased sets are worth a lot more than razors by themselves.

 

[midniterambler]

Not necessarily, but I probably wouldn't use my mouth or colon to scrape off facial hair either.

I'm guessing there's a reason why most people disinfect their razors when buying used, so my question might be a bit stupid (seeing how I'm aware bacteria can travel from a razer and onto the box it's laying in).

no offense meant- my point was not to suggest stupidity, but to suggest that their is some irrationality to our fear of bacteria and maybe to examine it's roots. when you think about it- any disease you might transmit is more likely to come from the blade rather than the razor itself; the idea of sterilizing razors is, to me, just one of the examples of germophobia that has been fostered by madison ave. if you think about it, what is it your worrying about getting? about the most infectious bacteria- mrsa, can live for months under optimal conditions on surfaces; you cleanse off the bacteria on the surface with soap or other cleanser and water; which is exactly how you are going to clean your razor. no razor in use is "sterile" on a day to day basis. we don't live in a sterile world, my point being that our bodies themselves are full of bacteria. if you took cultures of the surfaces of razors after sterilization, you would probably find rising bacterial counts on them, depending upon how long after sterilizing them that you obtained the culture. unless you sterilize your razor everyday, right before use, you're not going to have a sterile surface on your razor. as far as viruses are concerned; none of the really worrisome viruses- hiv, herpes, hepatitis b or c, can live on surfaces for more than a few minutes-hours, in optimum conditions and unless your razor has blood on it from prior users the chances of it transmitting anything to you is infinitesimally small. so sterilizing razors is probably treating your head more than anything else. you are probably exposed to more bacteria when you engage in open mouth kissing than when shaving with a razor that has been cleaned.

 

[Balthazar]

None taken. And I think your point is valid, it's probably an irrational fear more than anything else.

 

[apino]

Not to hijack Balthazar's thread but I'd like to comment to midniterambler: I think you're absolutely right in that it's not necessarily a rational "fear" but a psychological one.

For me clean usually equals peace of mind. If I have the option to disinfect, I will do it 'cause doing so won't hurt anything. But then again I'm probably more in the "OCD territory" than most. Whether it's the hysterical Western hygiene culture or genetically inherited susceptibility to neuroticism, I don't know.

 

[Radar O\'Reilly]

Well, if you want to go to a point where it's free of any bugs it may ever have had, and start anew in your home with all the bacteria you have lived with, you could Barbicide the razor, and perhaps spray the inside of the box with Lysol. Even if it doesn't kill all the baddies that it had, it will knock them down to a point that your local fauna will bully it out. In the medical world, we call it, "Three Stooges Syndrome."

Here's the door to your body, see?

Here's what happens when they all try to get through the door at once. Woo-woo-woo-woo-woo-woo-woo! Move it, chowderhead!

 

[apino]

Even if it doesn't kill all the baddies that it had...

...it will give me a feeling that it did.

 

[midniterambler]

it's how you've been programmed to react by madison ave playing on your genetically inherited susceptibility to neuroticism. you're behaving just the way they want you to to sell more ridiculous "antibacterial" products. you understand that clean and disinfect are different. clean = free of dirt; disinfect= free of infectious agents. actually all the "disinfecting" that's going on might be/probably is contributing to the emergence of resistant bacteria. you can't f... with mother nature. she will always figure out a way to bite you in the ***.

 

[midniterambler]

Even if it doesn't kill all the baddies that it had...

the question is- what baddies would it have that are going to infect you? how would the baddies get to you to infect you?

 

[apino]

actually all the "disinfecting" that's going on might be/probably is contributing to the emergence of resistant bacteria.

They might be, if they are non-alcohol based.

 

[Go West Young Man]

The question wasn't about the razor, it was about the fabric-lined box that has had god knows what sitting on it for 70 years now.

 

[Oldguy]

it's how you've been programmed to react by madison ave playing on your genetically inherited susceptibility to neuroticism. you're behaving just the way they want you to to sell more ridiculous "antibacterial" products. you understand that clean and disinfect are different. clean = free of dirt; disinfect= free of infectious agents. actually all the "disinfecting" that's going on might be/probably is contributing to the emergence of resistant bacteria. you can't f... with mother nature. she will always figure out a way to bite you in the ***.

Madison Avenue has nothing to do with it. I just don't like living in crap, if you can see it or not. I wash my hands frequently, keep anything that comes close to food clean and even use the anti-bacterial wipes at the super market. It has been over 10 years since I had a bout of the flu and 7 years since I had a cold. It works for me and that's what counts. Keeping your razor clean certainly can't hurt.

Len

 

[midniterambler]

It has been over 10 years since I had a bout of the flu and 7 years since I had a cold. It works for me and that's what counts. Keeping your razor clean certainly can't hurt.
Len

you don't get the flu or colds from touching things.

 

[Oldguy]

you don't get the flu or colds from touching things.

Doc,

You're going against one of the items the CDC says to prevent the spread of germs. This is from their web site and is one of three things you can do to prevent getting the flu.

Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.*
Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Germs spread this way.
Try to avoid close contact with sick people.

In any case whether it works or not I feel better about it.

Len

 

[apino]

Edit: Oldguy said it...