Isopropyl Alcohol on Blades

[JohnPS]

Blades are not to be wiped. Years ago almost every brand of blades had the inscription DO NOT WIPE on the envelope. You'll remove the coating and thus deteriorate the edge.

This is something that is truly strange and I find this to be 100% unbelievable that the coating would be removed by wiping, in fact ridiculous despite what manufacturer says.

There can only be 2 reasons not to wipe a blade.
1) For fear of cutting one's self
2) To have the blade corrode faster

The edge of the blade takes a battering from cutting whiskers, which have the hardness of copper wire and do abrade the edge. Wiping would have nil effect relatively, IMO.

The material of DE razors is higher carbon steel that corrodes fairly quickly. My guess is that they also would manufacture them to last limited use and for ease of manufacturing.

The thickness of the cutting edge is very thin. And the bevel on the blade is just as important as it assists in cleaving the hair in two with the least amount of friction. In cookery we can use double bevels to help protect the edge by supporting it and also reduce friction when cutting.

Telling people not to wipe the blades in order to NOT protect the edge from corrosion is probably to help sell more blades which was the primary model of business.

King C Gillette's MOST famous quote: "Give them the razors for free and sell them the blades!".

"DO NOT WIPE THE BLADE", get it? All about sales and marketing.

 

[Tester28]

Ive got some great Wizamets that smell weird because they were probably stored in a stuffy warehouse for a decade or so.
I spritz a new one on both sides after removing it from the sleeve but that's about it.

 

[TexOkie Shaver]

This is something that is truly strange and I find this to be 100% unbelievable that the coating would be removed by wiping, in fact ridiculous despite what manufacturer says.

There can only be 2 reasons not to wipe a blade.
1) For fear of cutting one's self
2) To have the blade corrode faster

The edge of the blade takes a battering from cutting whiskers, which have the hardness of copper wire and do abrade the edge. Wiping would have nil effect relatively, IMO.

The material of DE razors is higher carbon steel that corrodes fairly quickly. My guess is that they also would manufacture them to last limited use and for ease of manufacturing.

The thickness of the cutting edge is very thin. And the bevel on the blade is just as important as it assists in cleaving the hair in two with the least amount of friction. In cookery we can use double bevels to help protect the edge by supporting it and also reduce friction when cutting.

Telling people not to wipe the blades in order to NOT protect the edge from corrosion is probably to help sell more blades which was the primary model of business.

King C Gillette's MOST famous quote: "Give them the razors for free and sell them the blades!".

"DO NOT WIPE THE BLADE", get it? All about sales and marketing.

Just like the shampoo bottle. Apply, lather, rinse, repeat. It was designed to double sales. I’m wondering if anyone has been caught in an endless loop. The end after the second lather and rinse is implied, but not explicitly stated. That would really boost sales if taken literally.

 

[TheBigL]

This is something that is truly strange and I find this to be 100% unbelievable that the coating would be removed by wiping, in fact ridiculous despite what manufacturer says.

There can only be 2 reasons not to wipe a blade.
1) For fear of cutting one's self
2) To have the blade corrode faster

The edge of the blade takes a battering from cutting whiskers, which have the hardness of copper wire and do abrade the edge. Wiping would have nil effect relatively, IMO.

The material of DE razors is higher carbon steel that corrodes fairly quickly. My guess is that they also would manufacture them to last limited use and for ease of manufacturing.

The thickness of the cutting edge is very thin. And the bevel on the blade is just as important as it assists in cleaving the hair in two with the least amount of friction. In cookery we can use double bevels to help protect the edge by supporting it and also reduce friction when cutting.

Telling people not to wipe the blades in order to NOT protect the edge from corrosion is probably to help sell more blades which was the primary model of business.

King C Gillette's MOST famous quote: "Give them the razors for free and sell them the blades!".

"DO NOT WIPE THE BLADE", get it? All about sales and marketing.

I agree. I have palm stropped blades many times and increased the number of shaves from a blade. I no longer see the need for it, given the price of blades now. I am an auto mechanic/technician. A cut from a razor blade is probably the cleanest cut I have ever had.

However, I am sure the "do not wipe" is more @$$ coverage for the company than anything else. I mean well, if you spill hot coffee in your lap, you can sue because the coffee was too hot - I imagine that's the same as "I touched my razor blade and it cut me because it was too sharp"

 

[JohnPS]

I agree. I have palm stropped blades many times and increased the number of shaves from a blade. I no longer see the need for it, given the price of blades now. I am an auto mechanic/technician. A cut from a razor blade is probably the cleanest cut I have ever had.

However, I am sure the "do not wipe" is more @$$ coverage for the company than anything else. I mean well, if you spill hot coffee in your lap, you can sue because the coffee was too hot - I imagine that's the same as "I touched my razor blade and it cut me because it was too sharp"

Excellent comment. Yes I think a razor blade is an excellent cut too. I do think there are probably better steels that can be sharpened and deliver incredible performance as well. I have delved a little into knife and steel materials and can sharpen knives free hand fairly well, however there are experts that are way beyond me, Japanese have some incredible skills.

I personally think the "do not wipe" originally came from the desire to sell as many blades as possible from degradation... rather than protecting consumers. There weren't many personal rights or protections back then as there are now.

Razor and blades model - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

A razor with its attached blade. With the razor and blades model, the razor would be inexpensive but the blades would come at a significant cost.

The razor and blades business model[1] is a business model in which one item is sold at a low price (or given away for free) in order to increase sales of a complementary good, such as consumable supplies. For example, inkjet printers require ink cartridges, and game consoles require accessories and software.[1] It is different from loss leader marketing and free sample marketing, which do not depend on complementary products or services.

Although the concept and its proverbial example "Give 'em the razor; sell 'em the blades" are widely credited to King Camp Gillette, the inventor of the disposable safety razor and founder of Gillette Safety Razor Company in 1901,[1] Gillette did not originate this model.[2]

Although razors are indeed sharp, the metal in blades is not that durable. As some who sharpens knives, I then to look at a razor blade that gets used and thrown away as tremendous wastage. Only a few microns of the blade gets used, ridiculous. Imagine if a woodworker throws away his chisels after every few uses or a chef and their knives!

No doubt the innovation of the safety razor is an excellent one, it saves time, is safer, faster etc. The wastage is still rather bad whilst the cost is very cheap... this is the nature of a disposible society that has been engineered. Interesting there are auto-stropping devices for razor blades from back in the day... I have never used one so not sure if they work.

The blade material in a razor blade, I suspect is designed to fail, corrode and abrade quickly. I think the deliberate engineering of the materials will eventually come down to where a blade will only last a single use or so. Money is made on sales and having a blade not last as long.

 

[FarmerTan]

Blades are not to be wiped. Years ago almost every brand of blades had the inscription DO NOT WIPE on the envelope. You'll remove the coating and thus deteriorate the edge.

Lol, or you might be like me and have to grow back a fingertip or two before you realize there are better ways to deal with razor blades!

 

[Mouser]

I'm a vintage only guy when it comes to blades, they were made to a higher standard and its obvious. I only dip the few carbon blades i use in alcohol after each use, it's unnecessary with stainless. I just finished up a Schick Deluxe with Krona Edge carbon blade and I got 7 bbs shaves with it by proper post shave blade care.

 

[TheBigL]

Excellent comment. Yes I think a razor blade is an excellent cut too. I do think there are probably better steels that can be sharpened and deliver incredible performance as well. I have delved a little into knife and steel materials and can sharpen knives free hand fairly well, however there are experts that are way beyond me, Japanese have some incredible skills.

I personally think the "do not wipe" originally came from the desire to sell as many blades as possible from degradation... rather than protecting consumers. There weren't many personal rights or protections back then as there are now.

Razor and blades model - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Although razors are indeed sharp, the metal in blades is not that durable. As some who sharpens knives, I then to look at a razor blade that gets used and thrown away as tremendous wastage. Only a few microns of the blade gets used, ridiculous. Imagine if a woodworker throws away his chisels after every few uses or a chef and their knives!

No doubt the innovation of the safety razor is an excellent one, it saves time, is safer, faster etc. The wastage is still rather bad whilst the cost is very cheap... this is the nature of a disposible society that has been engineered. Interesting there are auto-stropping devices for razor blades from back in the day... I have never used one so not sure if they work.

The blade material in a razor blade, I suspect is designed to fail, corrode and abrade quickly. I think the deliberate engineering of the materials will eventually come down to where a blade will only last a single use or so. Money is made on sales and having a blade not last as long.

I agree, "back then" it was to sell blades. Since some blade packages still say it, likely now it is a combination of protection for the company and to sell more blades. As far as wastage, I'm on the fence. The steel is recyclable of course. But in this day and age, anyone can buy a 100 pack of blades for less than $20 or many even cheaper. I really can't believe any blade manufacturer is all that profitable in the DE blade segment.

 

[JohnPS]

I agree, "back then" it was to sell blades. Since some blade packages still say it, likely now it is a combination of protection for the company and to sell more blades. As far as wastage, I'm on the fence. The steel is recyclable of course. But in this day and age, anyone can buy a 100 pack of blades for less than $20 or many even cheaper. I really can't believe any blade manufacturer is all that profitable in the DE blade segment.

The blades are certainly cheaper relative to income for the OECD world for sure. However the business model still remains to this day and not much has changed.

Planned Obsolescence: The Light Bulb Conspiracy - Economics Student Society of Australia (ESSA)

What is planned obsolescence? An explanation and brief history.

economicstudents.com

Phoebus cartel - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

This model of cartel is the dominate model for nearly all large business that exists to this day.

It has not gone out and things that we buy today end up in the landfill faster than in all human history. Stuff manufactured in yesteryear is still kicking around.

Wastage... 99.9% of the razor blade is still intact before we put these things into the recycle. A chef wouldn't do that to their knife, a carpenter wouldn't do that to their saw or chisels.

 

[TheBigL]

The blades are certainly cheaper relative to income for the OECD world for sure. However the business model still remains to this day and not much has changed.

Planned Obsolescence: The Light Bulb Conspiracy - Economics Student Society of Australia (ESSA)

What is planned obsolescence? An explanation and brief history.

economicstudents.com

Phoebus cartel - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

This model of cartel is the dominate model for nearly all large business that exists to this day.

It has not gone out and things that we buy today end up in the landfill faster than in all human history. Stuff manufactured in yesteryear is still kicking around.

Wastage... 99.9% of the razor blade is still intact before we put these things into the recycle. A chef wouldn't do that to their knife, a carpenter wouldn't do that to their saw or chisels.

Sorry, what is OECD?

 

[JohnPS]

Sorry, what is OECD?

What are called 1st World Countries like USA, UK, Western Europe...

OECD = Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

 

[TheBigL]

What are called 1st World Countries like USA, UK, Western Europe...

OECD = Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

I see. First world problems.

 

[wombadom]

Alcohol can displace the water and keep rust from forming on the blade as well. I take everything apart and dry it off but I understand some will dunk the razor in alcohol after using it to remove the water.

I have a squat, wide mouth jar that almond butter came in, now I use it for isopropyl alcohol to swish my razor in for a few moments after I shave.

Sent from my SM-A102U using Tapatalk

 

[Andris83]

IPA might remove the
(sprayed) PTFE layer of a DE razor blade.

Sometimes I put the blades before the 1st use into IPA for about 30 seconds, then let it dry, then rinse it again with water. The last time I did this on a blade known to me (Ruby), it felt rough. I'd say it felt even a little dull, but it did cut the whiskers, so that is probably due to the rough feel. I used the same blade in the same razor continuously, then I used a new blade that didn't get the IPA rinse, and it felt good again.
Just thinking about it, a little rinse shouldn't do any harm to the blade, but it seems it did. I experienced this multiple times with different blades. At first I thought my prep was off, but it cannot be a coincidence that many times.

 

[Tpach]

Who else spritzes isopropyl alcohol on their blades after the shave? I have been doing this for years. Good idea for bacteria control.

I do

 

[tamahagane]

Waste of resources unless you are using carbon blades. Yes, it can remove gunk, but there are way cheaper methods - hot water, a (small container) bath with tap water, old toothbrush, ... Yes, alcohol dries much faster than water, but do you shave multiple times a day so that letting a blade air dry is too slow? Furthermore, according to the CDC household disinfection & sterilization guide, using alcohol on a smooth (metal) surface is not effective (enough). Consider this: when hospitals did not have disposable cutting instruments, how did they sterilize their equipment? Did they immerse everything in alcohol?

 

[ErkRusselReserve]

I usually spray the blade with 75% ethanol. Not really to disinfect, but to help dry it. I live in a humid environment and a steamy bathroom evenmoreso. In the winter, the bathroom sometimes never dries.

Hmm, might need to move the razor out of the bathroom in the winter.

 

[Zora]

That's why I dip blades in rubbing alcohol.

Me to, but I dip the entire raxor head in.

 

[Psychtec]

Who else spritzes isopropyl alcohol on their blades after the shave? I have been doing this for years. Good idea for bacteria control.

I use alcohol to:

1. Sanitize
2. Speed up the drying process
3. Help delay rust build up on my blades, CS or SS

 

[Lane101]

I get plenty of use from my blades without alcohol. Keep things simple, once the blade goes in the razor it does not come out until it's replaced at which time I also thoroughly clean the razor. Do rinse well with hot water after each shave. No wiping per blade instructions noted by others above. Realizing anything from 5 to 12 shaves per blade depending on the brand.

Also not sure the economics make enough sense. Isopropyl alcohol can easily run 10 cents an ounce. Doubt there would be enough extra use from 5 to 10 cent blades to make this worthwhile. This could only make some sense for carbon steel blades that do rust easily or vintage blades that are out of production.

P.S. Blade coatings are very thin, 50 angstroms or less for some materials used. For reference there are 10,000,000 angstroms per millimeter and blades are typically 0.1-0.09 millimeters thick. Wiping can easily degrade layers that are this thin.