How do you sterilise a second hand razor?

[TonyGold]

How do you sterilise a second hand razor? I decided to give DE shaving another go and bought a couple of second hand Gillette razors from a disreputable looking junk stall in the hills to the north of Melbourne.
To sterilise each one I (1) scrubbed at it thoroughly with fine steel wool to get the gunk out of the handle knurling, (2) swamped it with ethanol (methylated spirits) to hopefully dissolve off any fats lurking in the mechanism, then (3) boiled it for an hour in weak detergent solution. For extra measure I then flushed off the detergent with hot water from the kettle.
I've been using them for about six weeks now and nothing disgusting seems to be breaking out on my face.
Was all this overkill? Would a quick swill under the hot tap in the hand basin have sufficed?

 

[Luc]

Welcome to B&B!

Have a look at this page: http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php/Safety_Razor_Maintenance

I would probably clean with an old toothbrush to get any junk out, ethanol could kill some stuff, boiling it too, an hour might be much...

It depends also if it's a silver or golden plated razor...

 

[Geeno]

I agree the steel wool might have been a bit much, but I understand you wanted to be extra sure.

I use boiling and scrubing bubbles in combination on any old razors I get, unless they are gold razors. I don't boil a gold razor.

Enjoy your return back into DE shaving. I found, after a 30-year layoff, that I enjoy DE shaving much more now...now that I understand what I need to be doing, and have better blades and top-shelp creams and soaps.


Geeno

 

[mblakele]

Welcome to B&B!

 

[Defend Tacoma]

Barbacide for the win!

 

[skembomatt]

The 3 I've bought I've put through the dish washer with little sope.
No harm to the finish.

 

[TheSentinel]

Welcome to the B&B.

I'd say it was overkill, but better safe than sorry.

 

[thirdeye]

Barbacide for the win!

+1....that simple.

 

[ImaWestie]

For second-hand body jewellery, they recommend either an autoclave, or a poor-mans autoclave: a pressure cooker.

You want the item to be sterilised to be immersed in superheated steam, not in water at a mere 100 deg. celcius. Sure you can get water hotter than that at normal air pressure - by adding salt - but I don't think any of us want to go doing that!

Of course, you need to get rid of "gunk" first. Steam shouldn't even hurt gold and other softer metals.

 

[proxymoron]

I like a good Dettol scrub to kill the cooties but most guys here swear by Barbicide. Scrubbing Bubbles and Maas metal polish are two more recommended products (to remove gunk and restore luster, respectively) that are known to have worked wonders.

 

[Duggo]

Westie:

What method do you use/ would you suggest, be used to clean a vintage DE before placing the razor in the pressure cooker?

How long did you place it in for?

(I was thinking of 30 mins. at 15 psi.) That would most closely mimic an autoclave.

Do you know what would happen to the plating, and or finish?

Thanks.