sanitizing?

[Slash McCoy]

Barbicide. I bought a gallon or something on Amazon along with one of those glass cylinders you see in barber shops (they keep combs and what not in them): Its great to have for disinfecting when you buy a used straight or DE.

On the bottle there are mixing ratio instructions (water : barbicide). They clarify that it’s the ratio hospitals use, so it’s definitely strong enough.

I, too, have an official Barbicide™ jar. It has been empty for months. I got it, and plenty of the blue stuff, if I ever start honing or selling of giving away razors again, or buying them from sketchy sources. In ordinary usage I don't really usage it.

 

[Frank Shaves]

I use this stuff - contains alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride. Was the only stuff I could score at the beginning of the pandemic.

 

[PWJ]

I use a flamethrower on my razors.

Jokes aside, while I use alcohol on new razors, whether factory new or vintage, I don't see the point of sterilizing the razors after my own use. It just touches my face and then stay in a cool, dry environment which shouldn't invite germs. But this is just based on what seems "reasonable", rather than science. Which makes me think, if razors were prone to carry bacteria, even after soap and water, and normal storage, wouldn't face infection be a fairly common phenomenon in the wet shaving community? And therefore, the wisdom of such sterilization well established practice? Also, wouldn't kitchen knives be an even worse hazard? I mean you're cutting raw animal meat with them, full of bacteria, but I'm not aware of anyone who chemically sterilizes kitchen knives after use - so my hunch would be that soap and water is pretty efficient, and that any trace amount of surviving bacteria finds life not worth living on a piece of steel. Anyways, I'm waffling. Not really sure what's fact and what's fear here, but my hunch is that if this was a real risk, then it would be common knowledge given how old this practice is.

 

[Legion]

I use a flamethrower on my razors.

Jokes aside, while I use alcohol on new razors, whether factory new or vintage, I don't see the point of sterilizing the razors after my own use. It just touches my face and then stay in a cool, dry environment which shouldn't invite germs. But this is just based on what seems "reasonable", rather than science. Which makes me think, if razors were prone to carry bacteria, even after soap and water, and normal storage, wouldn't face infection be a fairly common phenomenon in the wet shaving community? And therefore, the wisdom of such sterilization well established practice? Also, wouldn't kitchen knives be an even worse hazard? I mean you're cutting raw animal meat with them, full of bacteria, but I'm not aware of anyone who chemically sterilizes kitchen knives after use - so my hunch would be that soap and water is pretty efficient, and that any trace amount of surviving bacteria finds life not worth living on a piece of steel. Anyways, I'm waffling. Not really sure what's fact and what's fear here, but my hunch is that if this was a real risk, then it would be common knowledge given how old this practice is.

I agree with everything you said.

I think you are more likely to get infection in a cut afterwards, than to get something off a soapy blade at the time the cut is made.

The other one that makes me laugh, guys who sterilise the hell out of their razors, then happily wipe their face with wet pig or badger fur.

 

[PWJ]

Agreed. Plus we're constantly exposed to bacteria, just by interacting with our environment and we have immune systems that are pretty good at fending off the baddies. Which makes me think of the surgery equipment comparison - it seems to be a very different case for two reasons: one, a hospital is literally a gathering place for people with diseases - that such a place requires a stricter protocol for hygiene seems natural and, two, even smaller surgeries are often drastic in comparison to anything we experience in normal course of life - a gaping flesh wound or even exposing organs clearly compromises the body defense in a way a superficial cut in the dermis does not. That said, people in general probably err on the side of insufficient caution rather than too much, given how common food poisoning is for example. I guess moderation is the dictum I go by with these things...

 

[Steve56]

This thread isn’t about sterilization or germs. It’s about the ‘heebie jeebies’.

If you have ‘heebie jeebies‘ about things that other people have used, never, ever, go to a restaurant. Unless your wife gives you ‘the look’.

Your restaurant meal is a far higher risk than a straight razor.

 

[alex1921]

This thread isn’t about sterilization or germs. It’s about the ‘heebie jeebies’.

If you have ‘heebie jeebies‘ about things that other people have used, never, ever, go to a restaurant. Unless your wife gives you ‘the look’.

Your restaurant meal is a far higher risk than a straight razor.

For years I couldn't buy a used brush. Lately I have overcome my fears to the detriment of my wallet

 

[Robert6891]

I use a flamethrower on my razors.

Jokes aside, while I use alcohol on new razors, whether factory new or vintage, I don't see the point of sterilizing the razors after my own use. It just touches my face and then stay in a cool, dry environment which shouldn't invite germs. But this is just based on what seems "reasonable", rather than science. Which makes me think, if razors were prone to carry bacteria, even after soap and water, and normal storage, wouldn't face infection be a fairly common phenomenon in the wet shaving community? And therefore, the wisdom of such sterilization well established practice? Also, wouldn't kitchen knives be an even worse hazard? I mean you're cutting raw animal meat with them, full of bacteria, but I'm not aware of anyone who chemically sterilizes kitchen knives after use - so my hunch would be that soap and water is pretty efficient, and that any trace amount of surviving bacteria finds life not worth living on a piece of steel. Anyways, I'm waffling. Not really sure what's fact and what's fear here, but my hunch is that if this was a real risk, then it would be common knowledge given how old this practice is.

A razor, washed with soap and water, and then stored in a cool dry place, can have a surprising amount of bacteria on it after just 24 hours. How much depends on a lot of variables. Probably still not enough to be an issue, especially considering a wet shave usually involves washing the face before hand, and again after, and that most of us then use an aftershave with some kind of antiseptic in it. But they can quickly become very dirty and in times when overall hygiene was rather lacking compared to today, skin infections were actually a fairly big issue associated with shaving.

That said, it's far simpler to keep them satisfactorily clean than some people make it. Soap and hot water is the simplest and most effective way to keep something clean. Takes less than half a minute to remove 99.9% of microorganisms with soap and water. For almost everything short of surgery, thats more than adequate. All those disinfectants that claim 99.9999% kill rates can only achieve that on a properly cleaned surface. Meaning 99.9% of everything has already been removed, and it's killing 99.9999% of what's left. On a surface that hasn't been precleaned, those products loose up to 90% of their effectiveness.

I guess all this is to say that the science generally supports your hunch.

 

[alex1921]

We live surrounded by bacteria. Unless I plan to perform surgery with my razor I really don't see the point sterilizing it after every shave. The same way I didn't sterilize my DE blades after each use or how I never sterilized my Mach3 after each use when I used to use one.
A new razor to me gets wiped with an alcohol pad, like the one they use when you go for a blood draw, once. After that they get stored away or put in the rotation.

 

[Titleist]

As many times as I have sliced myself in the last ten years with a straight razor, I should have lockjaw.

But, I will offer what I use: Clippercide Spray. Available on Amazon and a great way to disinfect and lightly lubricate your straight razors in a touch-less way so as to prevent touching the blade with anything as you clean/disinfect it.

Whenever I send a razor out or receive one in, it gets a spray of Clippercide.

 

[aussie]

i just finished my buddys razor honing and have shave tested it. how do i sanitize my straight razor before sending it to him. i dont have a steam machine or anything so what would you suggest. i believe its carbon steel as it gets spots quickly

I keep a bottle containing Detol and alcohol on my sink top. I dunk my razors in it before and after each shave.

 

[Staggers and Jags]

this last time i honed him one all i did was use rubbing alcohol let it sit for about 10 seconds then washed it off under running water so i hope that was good enough