Cleaning DE razors

[pjones11]

I've recently purchased a Gillette Super Adjustable which I believe is a 1970 model and a Gillette gold Aristocrat with box that from all appearances is from 1946-47. The Aristocrat razor was dirty, lost platting on the butterfly flaps and the working and locking pretty good if not a little loose. I cleaned it with Dawn "power clean" dish soap and a course tooth brush and now it looks pretty good. I then soaked it in a Barbicide-clone per instructions and buffed it with a soft cloth...it's looking pretty good. The Super Adjustable seems to be a bit worse off...I cleaned it up the same way but there are some places that just won't clean up. I've seen some people say they use a copper wire brush, but, wouldn't that mar the chrome that is still in good shape (otherwise it seems to be in good shape).

Also, does anyone have a suggestion on cleaning and restoring the original Aristocrat box the razor came in? It's pretty dirty and the outer layer of "leather" is peeled off in some places and it looks like it's completely gone on the bottom. The interior is a bit thread-bare for the underside of the lid and the red velvet is really, really dirty and water stained. The hinges are in very good shape.

I'm not looking to bring the case back to 100% factory, but, more presentable would be nice.

 

[zygalski]

Peek is an amazing polish that I can recommend to anyone.

 

[alex2363]

I've recently purchased a Gillette Super Adjustable which I believe is a 1970 model and a Gillette gold Aristocrat with box that from all appearances is from 1946-47. The Aristocrat razor was dirty, lost platting on the butterfly flaps and the working and locking pretty good if not a little loose. I cleaned it with Dawn "power clean" dish soap and a course tooth brush and now it looks pretty good. I then soaked it in a Barbicide-clone per instructions and buffed it with a soft cloth...it's looking pretty good. The Super Adjustable seems to be a bit worse off...I cleaned it up the same way but there are some places that just won't clean up. I've seen some people say they use a copper wire brush, but, wouldn't that mar the chrome that is still in good shape (otherwise it seems to be in good shape).

Also, does anyone have a suggestion on cleaning and restoring the original Aristocrat box the razor came in? It's pretty dirty and the outer layer of "leather" is peeled off in some places and it looks like it's completely gone on the bottom. The interior is a bit thread-bare for the underside of the lid and the red velvet is really, really dirty and water stained. The hinges are in very good shape.

I'm not looking to bring the case back to 100% factory, but, more presentable would be nice.

Here is a thread ,

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showth...tte-NEW-De-Luxe-Norfolk-Tuckaway-Case-Restore
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/103367-New-Standard-Case-Restoration

 

[Redzone]

I have a glass spray bottle of Ethanol that I am considering using for my razors. Just a quick spray and leave for a few minutes and then rinse off in hot water?
I would do this after each use to keep razor free of soap scum.
Good idea or not? I have some gold plated razors in exc condition so I dont want to do anything detrimental to their condition.

Thank you !

 

[pjones11]

Awesome....not sure how I missed these, but, they look very promising. Thanks.

 

[keepcalm]

Guys this is great, thanks for all you have taught me, including how to properly disinfect, clean, and polish a vintage razor!!!

Here is my 1956 Red Tip B1

 

[BeSharp]

-Put the razors in an old pot/pan lined with aluminum foil

-Mix about 2 TBs of powdered Borax and about a teaspoon of salt in almost-boiling water

-pour the very-hot water over the razors, completely submerging them, and let soak for about 30-45 mins. Once the water gets somewhat warm you can go to work with an old toothbrush to get a lot of surface junk off, then put back in the water to finish the soak

-rinse the razors and work each one over with the old toothbrush and Barkeepers Friend, preferably the liquid version b/c it's possibly gentler on metals than the powdered form, however I've used the powdered kind with no ill effects

-rinse the razors in hot water

-place back in the pan and repeat the hot water / Borax / salt treatment for another 30 minutes

-dry them off

At this point the razors should be looking really good, and if you have an ultrasonic cleaner pop them in for 10 minutes or so, just watch out for razors with painted surfaces as I've heard the ultrasonic can strip the paint off - in the case of the colored tip SuperSpeeds, you can prop up the razors so that the handle sits above the surface of the water.

After all of the above I find that you almost don't even need the Maas polish, but you can if you like.

Enjoy the process, it's a lot of fun!

+1-- this did the trick. I followed it almost exactly with the following exceptions: (1) during the cleaning step with the Barkeepers Friend I used a brass brush to get some green crud out of the nooks and crannies of the handle, (2) soaked in Hydracide for 30 minutes at the end to disinfect, and (3) finish off with some Flitz metal polish (nice and gentle).

I now have 2 new(ish) looking razors - a 1959 Fatboy and a 1962 Slim that I'm looking forward to enjoying for many years to come.

Thanks for the great advice.

 

[Nape92075]

Has anyone tried CLR to clean their razors?

 

[gearchow]

Has anyone tried CLR to clean their razors?

I've heard folks using it, but I think, in general, it's too powerful. Scrubbing Bubbles is darn near to powerful.

\Welcome to the B&B


-jim

 

[rxonmymind]

Has anyone tried CLR to clean their razors?

Don't use it.
NO overnight soak in Chlorox, vinigar, battery acid, CLR, butter, coffee or anything else that seems out of the ordinary. It's REALLY SIMPLE to clean a razor.
Scrubbing bubbles or dish soap in an ultrasonic cleaner or using an old toothbrush will work.

 

[Motonut]

Don't use it.
NO overnight soak in Chlorox, vinigar, battery acid, CLR, butter, coffee or anything else that seems out of the ordinary. It's REALLY SIMPLE to clean a razor.
Scrubbing bubbles or dish soap in an ultrasonic cleaner or using an old toothbrush will work.

+1. It ain't that complicated.

 

[Aschecte]

I used to 100% of the time and still support it use scrubbing bubbles , rinse, then barbacide for 10 minutes. Period. for the last 10 or so vintages I've used SB only with a tooth brush and guess what I'm alive the razors look great, I'm starting to move away from the barbacide unless the razor is really funky or has internal mechanisms.

 

[Jeff_H]

I once shaved with an old razor that I forgot to clean. I went to the doctor straight away. He examined my skin closely and said "nice shave, keep doing what you're doing". I'm still alive. With the delicate finishes of vintage razors, less is more.

Wait until you ruin a razor that you spent months trolling evil bay for, and ended up paying too much for, just because you're worried about 50 year old bacteria. I'm not saying throw caution to the wind, but don't throw out common sense either.

 

[Aschecte]

I once shaved with an old razor that I forgot to clean. I went to the doctor straight away. He examined my skin closely and said "nice shave, keep doing what you're doing". I'm still alive. With the delicate finishes of vintage razors, less is more.

Wait until you ruin a razor that you spent months trolling evil bay for, and ended up paying too much for, just because you're worried about 50 year old bacteria. I'm not saying throw caution to the wind, but don't throw out common sense either.

+1 to common sense and btw I did the same thing but nic'd myself with a 80 year old blade. He was safe; the doctor. Hep test &HIV test etc........ even he said "I doubt anything is wrong but I'm only 99.9% sure". Like you guessed; ALL negative and I'm alive, and writing this post.

 

[nuclearblast]

+1 to common sense and btw I did the same thing but nic'd myself with a 80 year old blade. He was safe; the doctor. Hep test &HIV test etc........ even he said "I doubt anything is wrong but I'm only 99.9% sure". Like you guessed; ALL negative and I'm alive, and writing this post.

My knowledge is that no bacteria/virus or whatsoever can survive outside its host's body for long...a matter of hours,top most few days...so as stated above I don't think it is worth to worry in excess and end up ruining something like a vintage razor.

 

[Go West Young Man]

My knowledge is that no bacteria/virus or whatsoever can survive outside its host's body for long...a matter of hours,top most few days...so as stated above I don't think it is worth to worry in excess and end up ruining something like a vintage razor.

Nasties can live in surface dirt on the razor, so you need to clean it enough it knock all the gunk off the surface and in the nooks and crannies you might not be able to see.

Soap and hot water is more than able to take care of that.

 

[nuclearblast]

Nasties can live in surface dirt on the razor, so you need to clean it enough it knock all the gunk off the surface and in the nooks and crannies you might not be able to see.

Soap and hot water is more than able to take care of that.

Yes,totally agreed.
I just meant it is not necessary to be drastic about it,and use some radical method that may ruin the razor.

 

[Aschecte]

Yes,totally agreed.
I just meant it is not necessary to be drastic about it,and use some radical method that may ruin the razor.

you mean we don't all have UV irradiation lamps and auto-claves ? LOL

HIV can live minutes- hours

Hep A-C - Actually certain strains a few weeks

other less "harmful" bacteria - a really long time that's why you clean them !!! Scrubbing bubbles is king

If you want to worry about anything worry about a shave brush thy can and do harbor stuff they are a different story but hard surface metals with no rusting (carbon steel) don't sweat it !!! shave on.

 

[whittjt3]

I picked up this badly corroded NEW SC today. There is a razor installed in the head and it's corroded to the point where the exposed edge is no longer completely intact. It appears that the cap and base plate are almost welded together due to the amount of corrosion. At the moment, I am unable to remove the handle, it too is corroded to the base plate. Any suggestions on how to loosen the handle? It looks as though I'll need a penetrating oil, any suggestions on what to use? What about suggestions on what to avoid? I'll be surprised if the cap and base plate retain their integrity. If I can salvage the handle I'll be happy because I picked up a NEW SC a couple of weeks ago that had the wrong handle with it; this handle is the correct handle for that head. Salvaging anything beyond the handle will be a bonus although for now I'm not counting on it being usable.

 

[mmbcastle]

I picked up this badly corroded NEW SC today. There is a razor installed in the head and it's corroded to the point where the exposed edge is no longer completely intact. It appears that the cap and base plate are almost welded together due to the amount of corrosion. At the moment, I am unable to remove the handle, it too is corroded to the base plate. Any suggestions on how to loosen the handle? It looks as though I'll need a penetrating oil, any suggestions on what to use? What about suggestions on what to avoid? I'll be surprised if the cap and base plate retain their integrity. If I can salvage the handle I'll be happy because I picked up a NEW SC a couple of weeks ago that had the wrong handle with it; this handle is the correct handle for that head. Salvaging anything beyond the handle will be a bonus although for now I'm not counting on it being usable.

I've had very good luck with S'Ok if you can get it. WD-40 would probably work too.

Either way, you'll have to give it a very good cleaning after to remove any residue.