How old is this razor? Is it still safe to use?

[Edward_M]

Hi guys,

I've found this razor at my grandpa and it honestly looks pretty scary.



It's made of metal — I don't know what kind. It feels pretty heavy and solid, and the blade can be easily centered in it and it stays fixed well, so apparently it's functional — but the weird colored stuff on it scares me.

So if anyone could tell me...

• How old is this razor? Is this actually old, or some cheap razor made to last a couple years and then turn into a piece of junk?
• Any idea who manufactured it?
• Is it safe to use on my face, or definitely not?
• Also, is it worth keeping or I should just throw it out?

Thanks gentlemen!

 

[77TransAm]

Where did you find this beast? Is it an heirloom or something special to you? If not, I'd probably spend 20 dollars on a decent gillettte tech or slim adjustable.

It's up to you though, you could clean and polish it and make it look nice again, just depends if it's worth your time.

It looks like this razor's been in a fire, or seen high heat of some sort.

 

[LouBarraza]

I had a DE that looked almost like that and it was mostly surface rust and cleaned up pretty decent.

 

[cb91710]

Ditto.

Go as gentle as possible and work up in aggressiveness.
Start with a cotton ball and alcohol.
Then a cotton ball and warm soapy water.
Then a 10 minute soak in scrubbing bubbles and soft towel.

 

[Edward_M]

Hi gentlemen,

I'm following your advice and the stuff seems to slowly disappear. It will take a while though, but I'll post my progress later today.

Thank you!

 

[Edward_M]

Okay... so after about one hour of scrubbing, I managed to get 1 of the 3 pieces (the one to the left of the first pic) pretty clean. 2 hours left... I'll post a pic when I'm done.

 

[cb91710]

No rush...

It has sentimental value. Take your time. It and your face will still be here next week.

 

[Edward_M]

Progress so far... I think it's 7/10 of what it can be, but my arm hurts from all the scrubbing.

I find it impressive when I look at the before and after photos, though.



Thanks again for all the suggestions! I'll keep working on it... what should I do with it now to remove the tiny remaining stubborn spots (which faded out, but won't disappear)?

 

[cb91710]

Great job.

I wouldn't try for that last 5%. The risk to the finish is not worth it.

 

[Edward_M]

Great job.

I wouldn't try for that last 5%. The risk to the finish is not worth it.

Well, okay then, thanks for the warning — I don't want to ruin it (it hasn't been used since my grandpa died, over two decades ago... and it was probably not deposited properly).

It is functional, I tried it on my forearm. The blade stays firm in it, but before trying it on my face, what should I disinfect it with? I've read some threads here which mentioned Lysol, but couldn't find it at the pharmacy. Would an alcohol-based aftershave be good enough to disinfect the razor?

 

[rand77]

I do a 15 minute soak in a dilute borax solution, followed by a rubdown with 70% or 90% isopropyl alchohol from the drugstore for all pre-owned razors off the B/S/T.

After all that cleaning, its probably clean enough to start using. I would just give it a nice rinse in some dish soap and water. Nice job on the cleaning, it looks fantastic.

 

[mopar440_6]

Congrats on getting your grandfather's razor. Its a great feeling isn't it? You've done an amazing job with the restoration. The before and after pictures are astonishing.

As for sanitizing the razor, Scrubbing Bubbles is a disinfectant and a darn good one at that. It'll kill just about anything without much risk to the finish. Spray it down, wait a minute or two and rinse/scrub it off with warm water and an old toothbrush. Or you can soak it in isopropyl for a minute or two. I would avoid soaking it in anything for more than a couple minutes. Razors are (usually) metal and most microbes have a difficult time living on metal so it doesn't take much to make sure the razor is disinfected.

 

[rxonmymind]

Yay! Your grandfather razor. Congrats. If you really want to keep it for memories same send it to Krona Kruiser who does a friggin FANTASTIC work to have it replated in nickel. Then it's good for another lifetime. Just a suggestion. Again congrats!

 

[77TransAm]

Congrats, looks great compared to what it was before! I always use scrubbing bubbles to help disinfect and clean, and then a dunk in 70-90% isopropyl alcohol

 

[Haggises]

I think you took off all the dirt already. Ain't no germs likely to be left after alcohol and scrubbing bubbles.

Nice work!

 

[phillylion]

I would finish it up with an old toothbrush and some toothpaste.

 

[cb91710]

It hasn't been used in 20 years.
There are no living human pathogens remaining.
Anything left after your cleaning is no different than what will collect on it between your uses... your immune system will handle them just fine.

 

[Ollie4ISU]

That is shave ready in my book. Congrats on the heirloom find!

 

[packtray]

First of all, impressive work on something dear to you. It very well may be this is the way things were meant to go!

A little dunk in alcohol, and it's go time. Let us know how you do!

 

[funi_guy]

Wow! That really cleaned up nicely. Good job. Enjoy using it