Look what I found in my modern apartment

[razorboi]

I don't think people back then thought that far ahead, really. It more or less explodes the myth that people in the past were particularly conscientious.

I don't think that's true at all.
It's merely an example of evolving safety standards.
The innovation of blade slots to medicine cabinets shows that the dangers of used razor blades were being addressed. In the 1950's, manufacturers moved to metal blade dispensers to make blade handling safer. These came to include a used blade slot in the back to safely store used razor blades.
It should be noted, that these safety innovations were created entirely with user, family, and children's safety in mind. None of this was done to protect refuse workers!
The idea that used blades in walls pose an unacceptable danger to plumbers, carpenters and demolition workers would have been laughed off as absurd, back then.
In fact, I would argue, it's still worthy of being laughed off as absurd to-day!
The only real danger here, is the application of twee millennial thinking to the actions and standards of people of the past.

 

[tehnothing]

Brother tehnothing,

Interesting. But I'm not a fan of blade banks in the walls of medicine cabinets, or wherever. Someday the building will be remodeled or demolished, and there with be a hazardous mess of old rusty razor blades for someone to contend with. That's not fair to our future generations.

My favorite blade bank is an empty pill container with a screws on lid. When full it goes to the landfill.

So simple. So efficient. So safe.

I was aware someone would have this very argument. I had a coffee can that I used intially that is until I got a real blade bank for free with one of my wet shaving purchases online.

I see nothing wrong with recycling them, but, if you are really worried about it I feel a clearly marked sharps container handed off to a pharmacy would be preferred over a medicine bottle full of used blades to a recycling center.

For my part I was just surprised to find a blade slot in a modern apartment building. I know it has been renovated, but, it can't be older than the 80's.

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[tehnothing]

That's unbelievable!
You've lived in your apartment for a year and never opened your medicine cabinet?
ps. Looks like a standard blade slot to me.
Nothing unusual. They were a common feature of most any medicine cabinet until rather recently.

As I said in my post it is in a dumb place. Also I purchased a set of shelves for over the toilet for my shaving gear a few years ago. I may move my new blades to the cabinet now because I have them in bulk boxes now where as before I had several hundred samples in a freezer bag.

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[sarimento1]

Uhm no there is not.

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so, i would guess that the renovation simply re-used the prior existing bath medicine cabinets. especially if they were recessed. yours looked to be circa 1980's.

 

[tehnothing]

so, i would guess that the renovation simply re-used the prior existing bath medicine cabinets. especially if they were recessed. yours looked to be circa 1980's.

80's is what I was thinking as well.

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[emwolf]

My childhood home had one in the medicine cabinet with gilt lettering beneath it saying "USED BLADES" When I was little, I thought it was just like the laundry chute that went all the way down to the basement.

 

[Splinter]

My favorite blade bank is an empty pill container with a screws on lid.

+1

The idea that used blades in walls pose an unacceptable danger to plumbers, carpenters and demolition workers would have been laughed off as absurd, back then.
In fact, I would argue, it's still worthy of being laughed off as absurd to-day!
The only real danger here, is the application of twee millennial thinking to the actions and standards of people of the past.

Every generation has its challenges and standards that when viewed through the lens of the present looks not so smart.

I think dropping anything into a hole with the belief that is it "gone" is foolish.

 

[sarimento1]

+1



Every generation has its challenges and standards that when viewed through the lens of the present looks not so smart.

I think dropping anything into a hole with the belief that is it "gone" is foolish.

Indeed, Total Truth!!

I recall the 9 Circles of Hell so vividly from my youth!!

 

[Atlantic59]

...I think dropping anything into a hole with the belief that is it "gone" is foolish.

"Out of reach" is not the same as "gone". It cost hardly anything to add that slot and it becomes a fixture in the house. Throwing used blades in the trash is foolish, which this was supposed to prevent.

 

[FireDragon76]

I don't think that's true at all.
It's merely an example of evolving safety standards.
The innovation of blade slots to medicine cabinets shows that the dangers of used razor blades were being addressed. In the 1950's, manufacturers moved to metal blade dispensers to make blade handling safer. These came to include a used blade slot in the back to safely store used razor blades.
It should be noted, that these safety innovations were created entirely with user, family, and children's safety in mind. None of this was done to protect refuse workers!
The idea that used blades in walls pose an unacceptable danger to plumbers, carpenters and demolition workers would have been laughed off as absurd, back then.
In fact, I would argue, it's still worthy of being laughed off as absurd to-day!
The only real danger here, is the application of twee millennial thinking to the actions and standards of people of the past.

BTW, I'm not a Millenial. I'm 43, that makes me part of Gen X.

People in the past seem more comfortable with a great many risky behaviors, and their culture masked a great deal of harshness and callousness, but they suffered for it as a result. Judging by a show like Mad Men, it's obvious they thought asprin, booze, and cigarettes were the way to handle stress, for instance. I don't envy them at all, that's not the sort of lifestyle I wish to emulate. And a little consideration for those that have to clean up our messes is not a vice.

"Out of reach" is not the same as "gone". It cost hardly anything to add that slot and it becomes a fixture in the house. Throwing used blades in the trash is foolish, which this was supposed to prevent.

In that sense it was an improvement, even if today it seems problematic.

 

[razorboi]

So I have been living here a year and never opened my medicine cabinet because it is right by the sink at a right angle. Today I was opened it up on a whim and lo and behold a razor bank. I know my apartment has been renovated, but, it can't be that old. Do you think someone cut it?

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You should consider yourself lucky!
Not everybody has a blade disposal slot in their lavatory.
How convenient for you.
You needn't fabricate blade disposal solutions, and sully your beautiful lavy with such monstrosities as used pill bottles, soup tins, tupperware, acid tanks, etc.
Surely you're not apprehensive about taking advantage of it?

 

[Pattorashu]

Don't blade bank in plastic. That can make the whole lot un-recyclable. Metal blade banks (ideally a steel alloy) make a much better choice as the whole bank can be recycled.

That said, our old house of the late 40's had a blade bank in the wall, and I sure as hell double nitrile over kevlar handled those coming out of the wall. However, the one thing I will say is that the medicine cabinet had a stud brace below it above the piping, so that razor blades would never reach where the plumber would be handling.

 

[Chandu]

I throw my used blades in a big vitamin bottle and occasionally sprinkle some salt and a couple drops of water in. The blades don't stay sharp long. When that bottle is full, i'm going to dump the blades on the ground in the grove behind my house. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. These blades were steel, now they are rust.

 

[FireDragon76]

I throw my used blades in a big vitamin bottle and occasionally sprinkle some salt and a couple drops of water in. The blades don't stay sharp long. When that bottle is full, i'm going to dump the blades on the ground in the grove behind my house. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. These blades were steel, now they are rust.

They'll be dug up by archeologists centuries from now to puzzle over, no doubt.

 

[Chandu]

They'll be dug up by archeologists centuries from now to puzzle over, no doubt.

Good point. I sometimes wonder how many erroneous conclusions we've drawn on the things we've dug up so far. Probably not many, but I'll bet there are some doozys.

 

[tehnothing]

Not really. As I said earlier I knew someone would object to using it, but, whatever. If people are really worried about it they should worry about waste workers in recycling centers, and, put used blades in a sharps container, which is plastic, but, is clearly marked and handled with due care. Most recycling centers if you were to ask them would not accept them in a pill container anyway.

You should consider yourself lucky!
Not everybody has a blade disposal slot in their lavatory.
How convenient for you.
You needn't fabricate blade disposal solutions, and sully your beautiful lavy with such monstrosities as used pill bottles, soup tins, tupperware, acid tanks, etc.
Surely you're not apprehensive about taking advantage of it?

 

[Chandu]

Most recycling centers if you were to ask them would not accept them in a pill container anyway.

That's why my plan is to rust them and give them back to mother. It isn't worth the time and effort to find a place that will actually take them. I think we can all pat ourselves on the back for not adding to the plastic refuse problem, which in itself is noble.

 

[Splinter]

I will take my cool plastic pill bottle with a notch in the top, which fits perfectly in the drawer next to my sink, and empty it when it becomes full in the scrap metal dumpster at work. The dumpster holds 10 cubic yards of chunks and bits and stringy chips of steel that will slice you open at least as fast as a used razor blade. I will then return my super cool plastic pill bottle to its place in the drawer to be filled again. So, no plastic contributed to the waste stream and no dumping of things into an "out of site out of mind" hole for someone else to deal with at some point.

Full cradle to grave awareness. The steel could be turned into fasteners or car panels or appliances. Since I also know the mill that takes most of our scrap from the scrap dealer, it will most likely be steel plate products.

There are metal recyclers near any area that has any industry left. Find one and bring your years of blades (mine is a particularly large super cool plastic pill bottle) along with any other metal scrap and you may even get paid a few cents for your other scrap. Don't forget to ask for the pill bottle back.