Soap scum remover dissolves it almost instantly. I suppose cleaning a razor is not necessary, just a habit at this point. As for the toothbrush, soap rinses off clean. Whole thing takes a minute. Here’s my Muhle R41. No photo of my teeth.
I find it hard to believe a modern dishwasher will harm a safety razor
- Thread starter Mike Williams
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Soap scum remover dissolves it almost instantly. I suppose cleaning a razor is not necessary, just a habit at this point. As for the toothbrush, soap rinses off clean. Whole thing takes a minute. Here’s my Muhle R41. No photo of my teeth.
My razor is stainless, so maybe that's the difference, but I just use an old toothbrush and hot tap water and all the soap scum comes off fairly quickly. I suppose maybe the soap used could make a difference?
Hot water from the faucet and microfibre towel. Q-tip for the threads now and then. 
There's a distinction between functional survivability and cosmetic survivability!I know a guy who put his Omega Seamster in a dishwasher, just to prove that it could take the water and heat.
It survived all right, but the blue steel bezel was permanently paled as result, it looked bleached.
There is a lesson to be learned there
This seems like a stupid question to me but are all anodizing processes equal? I don't know what the anodizing process involves but I would think it unlikely that they are created equal. We have quite a few things around the house that are anodized aluminum: pots and pans, various brands of flashlights, etc. Some seem to hold up better than others.
Once a year for me if I'm lucky.
Not a stupid question at all.
Anodizing is simply put, an oxidation process, achieved by attaching an electrical charge to the part while submersed in solution. The part becomes an Anode and the thickness is determined by how long the parts are in the tank. Anodizing is not plating, as the coating buildup is equal above and below the surface of the material. Anodizing becomes the surface, it does not adhere. If scratched, the exposed material will corrode until a layer of natural oxidation forms as a patina.
Anodizing is basically accelerated oxidation.
Colored dyes added during the process do not affect the longevity, and are purely cosmetic. It is actually called "Decorating".
Anodizing is classified by type, as in Type I, Type II, Type III and Hard Anodizing. Each successive type is thicker, with Hard Anodizing up to .003" thick. Thicker coatings last longer.
Simply put.
~doug~
Thanks for such a thorough explanation. I've often wondered what the actual definition of "hard anodized" was.
The Swedish Chef and Statler and Waldorf were my favorites.
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Check out hensonshaving.com. A lot of us really like the Henson safety razor. There's even a Henson Razor Club!
This is it here. The abrasives will compromise the anodizing and expose the base aluminum to further oxidation, which will again be abraded away and re-oxidized, over and over. As someone else mentioned, you'll end up with a pitted surface. Might not happen on the first wash, but every time you do it, you're getting closer to the one that will kill your razor (aesthetically, at the very least). ANY strongly acidic or alkaline cleaners will also run the risk of adverse reactions with the anodizing. This includes Scrubbing Bubbles. Low exposure times increase your chances of getting away with it.
To clean it properly, as others have said, a mild dish washing soap in hot water with an extremely light abrasive like a toothbrush or a simple washcloth. Ultrasonic if you feel like being fancy. For myself, I'd likely just shave with it, then wipe it down with a dry washcloth, if anything.
Me too! You throw cutlery into a dishwasher and don't think twice about it.
Are you so lazy that you can't pick up a toothbrush and clean off soap scum after shaving? A dishwasher is overkill for both razors and fine cutlery.
We put our stainless steel dinner utensils in the dish washer... but never our chef knives, etc.
EclipseRedRing
I smell like a Christmas pudding
Getting off the subject a bit but my wife and I neither own nor want a dishwasher. After every meal she washes the dishes and I dry them with a tea towel, and we have fun doing so. Somehow even the most mundane of domestic tasks becomes an enjoyable pastime simply by sharing it with my wife. She makes everything better and I am a lucky man indeed; the richest man I know, and I'm not talking about money 
We got married when we were fairly young.... I was 21 and my wife was 20. Neither of us are the people we were then. I feel very fortunate that we still love each other... and perhaps as important, we still like each other. It was 48 years for us in June.Getting off the subject a bit but my wife and I neither own nor want a dishwasher. After every meal she washes the dishes and I dry them with a tea towel, and we have fun doing so. Somehow even the most mundane of domestic tasks becomes an enjoyable pastime simply by sharing it with my wife. She makes everything better and I am a lucky man indeed; the richest man I know, and I'm not talking about money
"Least invasive, least work" is my motto for this.
- Soap and a hot rinse. Every time (I always take the blade out, so no big deal to smoosh some soap on it with my fingers).
- Soap and a toothbrush and a hot rinse. Every week or two.
- Universal Stone (Universal Stone is a compressed powder made from earth/polishing clay, glycerin, green soap, soap flakes, vegetable oils and perfume oils.) and a toothbrush. Once every six weeks or more.
I don't like soap build up, because I find it affects the glide of the razor.
My razors are TTO, so I consider it maintenance to not have stuff gum up in the nooks and crannies.
Small regular cleaning means big in depth cleanses aren't need very often, if at all.
I also like shiny
BTW, Universal Stone is a cleaner I love. It makes toothpaste seem like coarse grit sandpaper. It is a very, very fine clay. It is safe for gold and silver jewellry, and works well on just about everything else besides. It has no grittiness. My paleontologist friend (who told me about it) measured it, and it was in microns, but I can't remember the size, I think probably 10 - 50 range. It's finer than the average brown pottery clay I've used.
- Soap and a hot rinse. Every time (I always take the blade out, so no big deal to smoosh some soap on it with my fingers).
- Soap and a toothbrush and a hot rinse. Every week or two.
- Universal Stone (Universal Stone is a compressed powder made from earth/polishing clay, glycerin, green soap, soap flakes, vegetable oils and perfume oils.) and a toothbrush. Once every six weeks or more.
I don't like soap build up, because I find it affects the glide of the razor.
My razors are TTO, so I consider it maintenance to not have stuff gum up in the nooks and crannies.
Small regular cleaning means big in depth cleanses aren't need very often, if at all.
I also like shiny
BTW, Universal Stone is a cleaner I love. It makes toothpaste seem like coarse grit sandpaper. It is a very, very fine clay. It is safe for gold and silver jewellry, and works well on just about everything else besides. It has no grittiness. My paleontologist friend (who told me about it) measured it, and it was in microns, but I can't remember the size, I think probably 10 - 50 range. It's finer than the average brown pottery clay I've used.
Yikes on the dishwasher. I find that if I just spent an extra minute after each shave and just rinse my vintage razor very well under running hot water and do a quick wipe, I can forgo cleaning with Scrubbing Bubbles and a tooth brush for aleast a month. As always YMMV.
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