Razor Blade Disposal

[Ron Scott]

LOL, about a year ago a buddy and I helped his daughter and son-in-law with some basics in their new house and the kids talked me into replacing medicine cabinets in the master. This place was built in the early 50s or so and the previous owners went out of their way to upgrade the floors, windows and walls but left the kitchen and bath sinks, tubs and other period amenities. 'cest la vie. ANYWAY, the old medicine cabinets had the slits off the middle shelf where the man of the house slipped his used ones. Wow...brought back memories...

What were those dudes thinking? Popping their spent blades inside the bathroom walls?!? And don't get me started on what the space looked like in there.


Vintage blades anyone?

 

[Toothpick]

they were probably thinking "no one will ever tear this wall down and it's a perfect safe place to dispose of used razor blades"

I got one in my medicine cabinet and if I ever fill up the 2 blade banks I bought from WCS I plan on using it.

 

[Reckoner]

Yep. I did some renovation work at my brother's and he had the same thing (house built in the 19-teens). You gotta admit, it sure is a lot easier than fussing with blade banks!

 

[Porp]

I've seen a few lengthy threads on this board discussing this matter. After taking in all sides, my belief is that anyone doing demolition for a remodel, or complete tear down, should be wearing heavy gloves, eye protection, and other PPE. Old blades in a wall should pose little danger to someone properly equipped for such a task. I've considered cutting a slot in my cabinet.

 

[mistercitizen]

They were geniuses! Alot safer than going in the trash where they can cut someone.

Ben

 

[ThePatrician]

They were geniuses! Alot safer than going in the trash where they can cut someone.

Ben

I'm pretty sure this was the thought process. Considering how big of a space is back there, that's several lifetimes' worth of shaving, especially when you consider that people lived in those houses their whole lives instead of moving place-to-place every nine or ten years.

Most contractors who do residential work know to be careful when ripping bathroom walls out in those older houses. I knew a contractor who would pick them up with a plastic bag wrapped around a rare-earth magnet and dump the bag into a sharps box especially for the job.

 

[chilliman64]

out of sight, out of mind!

 

[jb4647]

They used to have slits for blades in airplane bathrooms, anyone remember that?

I just use an empty soup can with a slit in the top. When I travel I dispose of them in a plastic water bottle....slight squeeze of the blade gets in thru the narrow top but there is no way it can fall out. Toss the bottle in the hotel garbage.

 

[jb4647]

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...n5Xk&biw=768&bih=900&sei=7VtBUfebNcbB4AP_9IBQ

 

[Chuckaluck]

I use a blade bank or empty soap containers from St. Charles, Edwin Jagger etc.....When they are full I wrap a piece of heavy masking tape around the container and toss it in the garbage.

 

[Shutterbug57]

When traveling, I put the blades in the back of a Wilkinson blade pack. When I get home I put those used blades in the bathroom wall through the medicine cabinet. My home blades go in there too.

 

[chilliman64]

for the Aussies reading this, I use one of those old Commonwealth Bank money boxes as a used blade safe. I can remove the cap on the bottom to decant spent razors if I want to and it fits in the shaving cabinet really well due to its slim profile (about the same size as a Spam can - I got it on ebay for three bucks including postage.

 

[Feek]

It's not an issue in countries where houses are made of bricks rather than wood.

However it's a double-edged sword. We have nice solid houses but we don't have a handy blade disposal area.

 

[skinny]

I use an altoids mini tin for used blades, when it's full(hold well over a years worth), just tape it up so it can't open and hurt someone, and toss it.

 

[woodfluter]

My blade bank will hold a lot, but the last time it got full, I shook out all the blades through the slot (easier than I'd imagined) and put them into a short aluminum cat food tin. Put the pull-off lid in place on top of the contents, then used a hammer to bend the edges of the side over and finally flatten everything. Thence into recycling, where they have non-manual means of crushing and separating all this.

 

[bluepunk18]

I use an altoids mini tin for used blades, when it's full(hold well over a years worth), just tape it up so it can't open and hurt someone, and toss it.

I have started doing this as well. Its the perfect size for blades. And, once full, is totally recyclable along with those spent blades...

 

[Col Wilburforce Buckshot]

What were those dudes thinking? Popping their spent blades inside the bathroom walls?!? And don't get me started on what the space looked like in there.

They were thinking correctly that since all homes of the period had such a contrivance that all contractors knew what to expect.

A few years ago I had to tear out the wall beneath my medicine chest equipped with a blade disposal slit to effect a plumbing repair. To make matters worse the common wall was between two bathrooms with medicine chests so equipped. Over the past 50 or so years four men used both of them.
Of course, I knew what to expect when I tore out the wall and I'm not even a contractor. Yet I survived to tell the tale.

It's a case of much ado about nothing. A renovator has a much greater chance of stepping on a nail or a piece of broken glass than he does suffering the "death of a thousand cuts" opening up a wall which clearly has a medicine chest with a blade disposal slit in it.

Come to think of it, My house is festooned with live electrical wires inside the walls in every room (and water pipes in a few)! What's 1/2 sq ft of jumbled razor blades compared to that?

Why does this subject keep coming up? I wish it would stop before some government agency steps in and confiscates my medicine cabinet (and it's most effective system of blade disposal) for my own safety. All we need now is for someone to attempt suicide by removing his medicine chest and cast himself into eternity by diving down the hole.

 

[adyf]

I got one of these from Steve Woodhead Ceramics (UK)

 

[BIGFURM]

Great thread. I never saw one of these types of medicine cabinets...but now I want one.

 

[Col Wilburforce Buckshot]

It's the proper way to dispose of blades.