My reasoning is twofold. First to sanitize the blades out of the wrapper, then to dissolve the glue and coating on the blades to get that first shave roughness out of the way. Thoughts?
Soaking Blades in Alcohol
- Thread starter Zantetsuken
- Start date
I’d say yes it will sanitize it, the alcohol might act like a solvent and dissolve the glue, and no it won’t touch the coating on the blade.
The coating is to reduce drag and makes the blade feel smoother but the alcohol won't remove it. The coating overspill onthe edge very soon comes of with use but I don't notice any roughness. You don't need to remove the wax spots as they do not affect blade performance.
The blades are wrapped by machine so why sanitize them!
If you have very hard water I can see some benefit using the alcohol to remove scum from the blade.
The blades are wrapped by machine so why sanitize them!
If you have very hard water I can see some benefit using the alcohol to remove scum from the blade.
Agreed with the 2 posts above, other then my older GSB's which have wax over the edge of the razor blades themselves. I always remove the glue from these blades but rarely use the old ones due to the annoyance of removing the glue before use.
Perhaps wax over the edge of the blade wouldn't effect the shave performance but I'd imagine it has to. I have yet to try one without removing the wax over the edges. The newer GSB's don't have this issue.
Edited to add - As for roughness I have found many blades to have a harsher feel for the first couple swipes on my face. I found a fix for this by bunching up some tissue paper and running the blades edge through the tissue paper 2-3 times on each side very gently. It definitely works! This is generally referred to as corking but I didn't have any corks and the tissue paper is probably more gentle on the blade then corks. Many blades don't need this, but it doesn't seem to hurt the performance of any or the longevity.
Perhaps wax over the edge of the blade wouldn't effect the shave performance but I'd imagine it has to. I have yet to try one without removing the wax over the edges. The newer GSB's don't have this issue.
Edited to add - As for roughness I have found many blades to have a harsher feel for the first couple swipes on my face. I found a fix for this by bunching up some tissue paper and running the blades edge through the tissue paper 2-3 times on each side very gently. It definitely works! This is generally referred to as corking but I didn't have any corks and the tissue paper is probably more gentle on the blade then corks. Many blades don't need this, but it doesn't seem to hurt the performance of any or the longevity.
Some people store them in alcohol between shaves so they don't get mineral deposits from hard water. I can't imagine why a new blade would need to be sanitized, but if it adds to your comfort it certainly hurts nothing. I just ignore the glue spots and they melt away with my hot tap water rinsing, but there's certainly nothing wrong with getting rid of those earlier in the process either.
I suspect you're kidding yourself about getting a smoother first shave. Corking the blade is popular with people who want to accomplish that, and it gives you an excuse to open a bottle of wine.
I suspect you're kidding yourself about getting a smoother first shave. Corking the blade is popular with people who want to accomplish that, and it gives you an excuse to open a bottle of wine.
FTFY.
Jay21
Collecting wife bonus parts
Blades are heat treated and cleaned during manufacturing. You’re not hurting anything by re-sterilizing them, though.
Isopropyl alcohol is usually 70%, which means it is 30% water. I try not to soak metal stuff in water, it's not good.
Alcohol does not kill everything. There are many cooties out there that are not killed by alcohol.
If the alcohol does dissolve the glue, it still doesn't make it disappear, it just thins it out and allows it to coat the entire blade with a thin layer.
Alcohol does not kill everything. There are many cooties out there that are not killed by alcohol.
If the alcohol does dissolve the glue, it still doesn't make it disappear, it just thins it out and allows it to coat the entire blade with a thin layer.
When starting out I wanted to dissolve the coating on an Astra SP thinking I would end up with an Astra SS that I could try. I then learned the SS were also coated, just with a different product. Ended up just purchasing some instead.
I’m definitely not fooling myself on feeling a difference by smoothing or “Corking” the edge on certain blades. I don’t drink so I don’t even own a cork and use bunched up tissue paper instead. Tissue paper may work differently then a cork since I’ve never tried using a cork. I do 3 light passes running the blades edge through bunched up tissue paper.
With a smoother blade like the Astra SP or GSB I do not feel a difference and do not do this. But there are many blades out there that are amazing shavers but have a little bit of a rougher edge for the first half of your face on the first shave.
They smooth up before the first pass is even complete so if you don’t mind that slight roughness on the first couple swipes then there’s no need to smooth up the edge first. But since it only takes me about 10 seconds to swipe the blades edge through tissue 3 times on each side I find it very worthwhile with many blades.
This doesn’t mean that everyone will feel a difference but I’m sure I’m not alone in noticing a difference with many blades.
With a smoother blade like the Astra SP or GSB I do not feel a difference and do not do this. But there are many blades out there that are amazing shavers but have a little bit of a rougher edge for the first half of your face on the first shave.
They smooth up before the first pass is even complete so if you don’t mind that slight roughness on the first couple swipes then there’s no need to smooth up the edge first. But since it only takes me about 10 seconds to swipe the blades edge through tissue 3 times on each side I find it very worthwhile with many blades.
This doesn’t mean that everyone will feel a difference but I’m sure I’m not alone in noticing a difference with many blades.
