Old Gillette tech became dark after boiling

[FarmerTan]

Thank you

That sucks my friend! But all you have done is hurt it's looks a little. Should shave just fine.

I actually kinda like the look. Use some toothpaste and an old toothbrush, a soft one, and see what happens. Can't hurt any, and you may be amazed at what it looks like when you get done.

Also: you ain't the first person to do this, you won't be the last, and it's hard to get mad cow disease from a razor.

Hint: follow a toddler crawling around on the floor and watch what they eat. It's hard to make humans sick, let alone kill us. At least by bugs!

I can sympathize with your overkill. Ever since I had to look at pond water under magnification in Microbiology for nursing skool I can't swim in a lake. And a swimming pool is also nearly out of the question! So don't feel bad. These yahoos on here have all done stupid in some form or another.

Or they are too chicken to get out of their comfort zone! Remember: to screw up is human! And I'm the most human person on Badger and Blade!

 

[Max_Floory]

Don't need a lot of alcohol to sanitize a razor once it has been washed.

Here's something people seem to not understand: Washing a razor with hot water and soap actually PHYSICALLY REMOVES gunk (and any organisms that might be associated with said gunk).

Rubbing alcohol is about two bucks for a 12-oz container, and it would only take about a tablespoon of it to sanitize the razor. It turns out that alcohol does the majority of its santizing work by DRYING. Soaking a razor in alcohol, therefore, would not likely provide much benefit over just wiping the razor down with cotton pad soaked in rubbing alcohol and then letting it air dry. The fact that most of the benefit comes from drying is why, in fact, 70% alcohol sanitizes better than 90% alcohol. There has to be some water in the formula and 70% alcohol appears to be about where you get peak effect.


I mean I know it's too late to do anything about this Tech, but for future reference if and when you purchase another vintage razor.........most organisms are long dead before you even buy it, because most of them don't like to hang out on essentially non-porous surfaces that are dried out.

Well, I know a guy that caught herpes because bsomeone else used his razor. Thankk you for your advices

 

[Max_Floory]

Can't really say looking at the photo, but since only the handle and the bottom plate became dark, it could be they are aluminium. The top cap is brass that's for sure, but those razors are available in two versions, one all brass, and the other handle+bottom plate aluminium.

Yes, razor is pretty light, so I believe the handle and the bottom plate are made of aluminium

 

[kingfisher]

Well, I know a guy that caught herpes because bsomeone else used his razor. Thankk you for your advices

Could be true, but HSV wouldn't survive alcohol. It is an enveloped virus and it can't survive if its envelope dessicates. It wouldn't survive just on the razor surface for more than maybe a day, so the only way to get it from a razor would be if the person who shaved was shedding (in saliva or from an active lesion) and got the virus on the razor, and then the second person shaved with the razor within a very short period of time without even washing it off or even rinsing it well.

HSV is everywhere and can be spread even by people who don't have active lesions, so proving somebody got HSV in the way you describe is virtually impossible. I have been asked to testify at court hearings trying to prove transmission from one person to another and I can tell you that proving causation is extremely difficult in any circumstance. HSV lesions can pop up on somebody out of the blue sky without any obvious provocation. So borrowing the razor could have been a coincidence.

I say this not to brag but to give context; I am a board certified infectious diseases physician with almost 34 years of experience and still in active practice.

 

[carlos danger]

What about spray painting it in silver or gold?

 

[Ratso]

It looks like tarnish to me, I would use some Brasso, Semichrome or other polish on it and gently buff with a soft cloth. Probably wouldn't hurt it!

I agree. At least I don’t think it will make it any worse. Maybe what ever minerals or chemicals are in your water caused it to tarnish.

 

[geneaut]

I actually dig that look.

 

[gpjoe]

That is disappointing.

I use Cape Cod cloths, which are saturated with a mild solution that removes tarnish and have had great success reviving old razors using them. Though the cloths will remove plating if used too vigorously, it might work to brighten yours up. Here's a family pic of four razors I polished with Cape Cod cloths. Plating is mostly gone but they were pretty rough when I found them, and cleaned up well.

 

[ivan_101]

I just realised I have that aluminium handle and plate razor from the original post but the other way round, and it has been on my desk in front of me all the time. Bought this way. Those caps are known to become darker even without usage. But nah, I am not swapping.

 

[NorthernSoul]

You can sanitize with rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle, so you don't really need a lot of alcohol. All you have to do is take the razor apart, spray each piece until the surface is fully wet, then let it dry. That razor does not have hidden nooks and crannies to worry about. That's an advantage for three-piece razors.

I would try a mild metal polish designed for soft metals. Probably can't hurt at this point.

 

[HDSledge]

My opinion: Finish the job with darkening agent like cold blue or Oxpho Blue to make is solid black all over. Or better yet spray and bake with KG Gunkote in whatever color you like. Check this Tech I etched then coated the handle and baseplate with KGGK Texas Tea metal flake bronze.

 

[sakaltras]

I don't have much knowledge on chemistry but I would assume that this happened because of the different metals of the razor. Cap should be nickel plated Zamak, plate nickel plated brass and the handle, as far as I understand, aluminium.

They tend to react with each other when giving them the environment to do so, for instance with heat.

But as said before, there are other people here having much more knowledge on metallurgy than me.

 

[ivan_101]

Cap should be nickel plated Zamak, plate nickel plated brass and the handle, as far as I understand, aluminium.

Cap on that one is brass. It is from the 50s, not the 60s. Bottom plate and handle are aluminium.

 

[BigJ]

Most likely, the razor will still provide good shaves.

 

[EspressoAndAftershave]

Use it the way it is. It looks kinda cool

I agree, and they're great razors. Don't let it bum you out; now you don't have to baby it. Use it and enjoy it.

 

[nemo]

Bottom plate and handle are aluminium.

I have my doubts. That seems to be a nickel plated brass Tech. The aluminum base plates are actually pretty scarce, especially in the US. There's the '40s Featherweight, the '50s UK No.32, and the German No.34

Handles are plentiful in aluminum but his looks to be brass, look at the color near the ball end.

 

[hairless wonder]

I also boiled an old Gillette before. It was a 1948-50 Superspeed (it has "PAT. NOS. ON PACKAGE" engraved on the interior), so it had roughly 50 or 60 years of gunk built up in its books and crannies. Said gunk also kept the knob from twisting smoothly. By boiling the razor, I was able to remove the gunk, leading to the knob twisting super smoothly (I'm guessing about as smoothly as when it was new). Granted, my purpose for boiling the razor was to sterilize it, but a happy byproduct of the sterilization process was that it removed the built up gunk.

As such, I would suggest there is a good reason for boiling some razors, even if it may not necessarily be for sterilization purposes.

 

[hairless wonder]

Could be true, but HSV wouldn't survive alcohol. It is an enveloped virus and it can't survive if its envelope dessicates. It wouldn't survive just on the razor surface for more than maybe a day, so the only way to get it from a razor would be if the person who shaved was shedding (in saliva or from an active lesion) and got the virus on the razor, and then the second person shaved with the razor within a very short period of time without even washing it off or even rinsing it well.

HSV is everywhere and can be spread even by people who don't have active lesions, so proving somebody got HSV in the way you describe is virtually impossible. I have been asked to testify at court hearings trying to prove transmission from one person to another and I can tell you that proving causation is extremely difficult in any circumstance. HSV lesions can pop up on somebody out of the blue sky without any obvious provocation. So borrowing the razor could have been a coincidence.

I say this not to brag but to give context; I am a board certified infectious diseases physician with almost 34 years of experience and still in active practice.

I'm curious, if tools can essentially become sterilized by leaving them out in the open, why were surgical implements boiled to sterilize them (historically, if no longer today*) before/after surgery? Was it because the understanding of disease transmission was not as advanced as it is today?


(Please don't take this as doubting your knowledge/expertise. I bet you've forgotten more about disease than I would ever know. I'm honestly curious and hoping you would be willing to provide an answer.)


*I have no idea how (or even if) they're sterilized in the modern era.

 

[luvmysuper]

Just a note, cleaning, sanitizing, disinfecting and sterilizing are different processes.

Cleaning removes dirt, dust and other soils from surfaces.
Sanitizing removes bacteria from surfaces.
Disinfecting kills harmful bacteria and viruses from surfaces to a safe level.
Sterilizing kills all microorganisms from surfaces.

Boiling a razor can effectively disinfect or sterilize it, but if it ruins it in the process, it's no more effective than just not using the razor to begin with.

Aside from silly anecdotal stories posted periodically on shaving forums by the terminally paranoid, there are no documented cases of people getting sick traceable to using old razors that have been properly cleaned.

You're much more likely to come into contact with nasties from using the Ice Machine at a fast food restaurant, or improperly washed food ware or utensils at a restaurant.

Arguably, the human mouth is one of the most egregious breeding grounds for horrendous cooties, and most mouths have micro abrasions or cuts. Do you boil your knives and forks on your stove top? Do you think restaurants do?
Do you think the minimum wage busboy who puts the silverware on your table does a 2 minute effective surgical prep job at washing his hands after his last trip to the toilet?

 

[Medivh]

Just a note, cleaning, sanitizing, disinfecting and sterilizing are different processes.

Cleaning removes dirt, dust and other soils from surfaces.
Sanitizing removes bacteria from surfaces.
Disinfecting kills harmful bacteria and viruses from surfaces to a safe level.
Sterilizing kills all microorganisms from surfaces.

Boiling a razor can effectively disinfect or sterilize it, but if it ruins it in the process, it's no more effective than just not using the razor to begin with.

Aside from silly anecdotal stories posted periodically on shaving forums by the terminally paranoid, there are no documented cases of people getting sick traceable to using old razors that have been properly cleaned.

You're much more likely to come into contact with nasties from using the Ice Machine at a fast food restaurant, or improperly washed food ware or utensils at a restaurant.

Arguably, the human mouth is one of the most egregious breeding grounds for horrendous cooties, and most mouths have micro abrasions or cuts. Do you boil your knives and forks on your stove top? Do you think restaurants do?
Do you think the minimum wage busboy who puts the silverware on your table does a 2 minute effective surgical prep job at washing his hands after his last trip to the toilet?

I used to think that the only way to fully clean any razor is to basically throw it in a volcano just to make sure that all the viruses, bacterias and whatnot are dead for good. After a while I realised that razors are not very different from cutlery we use in the restaurants and we use those things to eat and you can't get more bacterias and viruses than that.

I mean, thousands of people have eaten with the same knives, forks and spoons as me and so far I'm ok and they were all cleaned either by hand with a dish detergent or in a washing machine. So in theory unless the razor is very dirty and it has some gunk all over it, a good cleaning with warm water and dish detergent is more than enough in most cases.

I know a few people that do all kinds of cleanings to even modern razors, which have no visable traces of use like submerging them in barbicide overnight and other methods, which I consider to be an overkill.