Some way to clean the innards of old Shick injector, J type?

[Mike Williams]

I'm new to single edge razors, and I bought this old Shick on ebay. I've applied a little Scrubbing Bubbles (no bleach) and a Dawn soap soak, and it looks better. I was surprised that there was a blade in it when it arrived, but I won't be using that. Is there any way to clean/disinfect the insides of the head? If you have any ideas about this, please let me know. It was cheap and I don't think it's worth too much more trouble.
Thank you.

 

[santamariasteve]

Overkill. The germs have died.

Just soak the razor in warm soapy water for 10 minutes, and then lightly scrub the areas you can reach with an old soft toothbrush. When dry, inject a new blade.

Think about it--how do you clean the germs and cooties off of your own hands? Answer: a little soap and water massaged into your hands and then rinsed. Has anyone ever sickened or died after shaking hands with you? Have you ever sickened after shaking hand with someone?

Life (and shaving) can be complicate enough, without making it more complicated.

I've been a heavy reading of shaving blogs since 2010. I have never read of a person getting sick from using a used razor.

 

[Whiterook]

What he said!

 

[lancre]

Overkill. The germs have died.
Life (and shaving) can be complicate enough, without making it more complicated.
I've been a heavy reading of shaving blogs since 2010.
I have never read of a person getting sick from using a used razor.

 

[garyg]

+3 - When I used a Schick in the 60's nobody thought about it .. but I'll admit giving some "rescue" injectors a solid scrub & have used dental floss to get stuff out .. and haven't died from them yet

 

[Mike Williams]

Well, yeah, I think most of the time a good wash and rinse is probably adequate when you can reach all surfaces. But this old Shick injector I bought had a blade in it that I'm sure had been there for decades. When I put a new blade in there, black gooey junk came out. I would like to be able to clean those surfaces a little better, because I'm pretty sure some residue was left in there. I also might like to spray with alcohol followed by a rinse. When I worked in the hospitals, I saw those one in a thousand cases where everything went south and I don't want to be one of them.
I just saw a suggestion where someone suggests put that injector thingy in to open up the razor a bit for cleaning before injecting the new blade. That sounds like it would probably be helpful.

 

[garyg]

Guess a pipe cleaner might get some stuff out too .. or an ultrasonic gadget .. careful of the rubbing alcohol, I melted a handle on a Schick leaving one submerged too long ..

 

[AvocadoKing]

I use a toothbrush and just gently pull down on the guard with my thumbnail so I can really get in there. Just be gentle.

 

[HazMat Shaver]

If you just have to open it up to clean it, you could bend one of the lower corner tabs down enough to pull the bottom plate out. Clean it, then slip it back in and crimp the tab back up.
Ive not done it myself but I do have a couple schicks of that era that the tab on one side is isnt bent up as much as the other side.
And with the fact that these schicks are not too hard to find you could buy one that is cleaner or to replace the one you bent if it doesnt go well for you.

You can stuff a tweeker (tiny screwdriver) between the plates enough to open it up then get a pipe cleaner or tiny bottle brush in there. Or stuff a 1/16" drill bit in it. Then a soak of the head in alcohol.
Its not like its a D or F model schick that are next to impossible to find.

Good luck. You can do it man.

 

[Glasstream87]

I have a couple of mid '60s Shicks. I clean them, when it's really necessary, with a Poli-dent tablet in a small ultrasonic cleaner. The heads come out shiny clean and the handles clean.Considering that I may use one of these razors with a Personna 74 blade for three or 4 months without changing the blade, I like to clean them when I change the blade. They go that long because I alternate with a Slim Adustable, an early post-war Tech, and a Krona. So I like to, every several months, clean them all.

But the denture tablets and ultrasonic cleaner get into all the little nooks and crannies and leave them sparkling clean. And, if you're scared of germs, swish the head in rubbing alcohol. JUST THE HEAD. And you can get 91% Isopropyl Alcohol at any drug store.

 

[Whammami]

Gents,

It's better to pick your battles. For Schick injectors type razors, I would recommend the ones that can open to clean up.
The earliest versions Type A , B and C have a screw on the back to take the head out and clean it.
Type D opens up easily, Type E only the E4 version you can open up. The rest...forget it or buy NOS.
Sometimes it's not about the germs it's about dirt trapped inside and mold that could be reactivated at the second shave. You risk infecting yourself if you nick a bump in your face.

BE CAREFUL!

 

[Whiterook]

Type E only the E4 version you can open up

Of the Es only the E1 and early E2 razors opened. If you are worried about infection soak the thing in alcohol.

 

[Whammami]

Of the Es only the E1 and early E2 razors opened. If you are worried about infection soak the thing in alcohol.

Ah, Mr Schick himself. His info is more accurate than mine. Trust him on Schick over me. But trust me on Chicks over him

 

[Quaznoid]

Never worried about it

 

[Time Bandit]

I'm new to single edge razors, and I bought this old Shick on ebay. I've applied a little Scrubbing Bubbles (no bleach) and a Dawn soap soak, and it looks better. I was surprised that there was a blade in it when it arrived, but I won't be using that. Is there any way to clean/disinfect the insides of the head? If you have any ideas about this, please let me know. It was cheap and I don't think it's worth too much more trouble.
Thank you.

FYI I just wanted to touch on your comment about receiving the razor with a blade already in it.

When it comes to injector razors if there in no blade in them and you inject a blade into it, you're going to want to immediately inject a second blade into the razor pushing the first one out. If the razor head is empty, the first blade pushed in gets ruined.

The fact that you received yours with a blade in it, is to be expected.

Check out these pictures of the old blade I ejected from a Type G I restored recently.

Pretty nasty.

I just soaked the razor in soap and hot water over night then ejected it under running water. Needless to say, a lot of rust came out.

 

[HoosierTrooper]

When it comes to injector razors if there in no blade in them and you inject a blade into it, you're going to want to immediately inject a second blade into the razor pushing the first one out. If the razor head is empty, the first blade pushed in gets ruined.

Not necessarily. If you’re careful and don’t let the blade rub across the blade stops loading an empty injector won’t ruin the blade, I’ve done it countless times over the last several years. I just shaved with an I-2 yesterday, the Personna blade in it has been in four other razors before this one, and each one was empty when I loaded it.

 

[Mike Williams]

FYI I just wanted to touch on your comment about receiving the razor with a blade already in it.

When it comes to injector razors if there in no blade in them and you inject a blade into it, you're going to want to immediately inject a second blade into the razor pushing the first one out. If the razor head is empty, the first blade pushed in gets ruined.

The fact that you received yours with a blade in it, is to be expected.

Check out these pictures of the old blade I ejected from a Type G I restored recently.

View attachment 1532492View attachment 1532493

Pretty nasty.

I just soaked the razor in soap and hot water over night then ejected it under running water. Needless to say, a lot of rust came out.

Thanks, very helpful and informative.

 

[Time Bandit]

Not necessarily. If you’re careful and don’t let the blade rub across the blade stops loading an empty injector won’t ruin the blade, I’ve done it countless times over the last several years. I just shaved with an I-2 yesterday, the Personna blade in it has been in four other razors before this one, and each one was empty when I loaded it.

How do you eject and reinject the same blade into different injector razors without damaging it??

 

[HoosierTrooper]

How do you eject and reinject the same blade into different injector razors without damaging it??

It’s easy. I have a dispenser with a few used blades in it that I’ve dulled by dragging them over the driveway or bricks on the house that I use to start ejecting the good blade with. Once it is out a little I just pull it the rest of the way out with my fingers, being careful to not let the edge touch the blade stops. I then put the good blade in a dispenser and inject it into whatever razor I want to use, again being careful to not hit the blade stops. From start to finish it takes less than a minute.

The point is that an empty injector can be loaded without damaging the blade as long as the edge never hits the blade stops, which just requires the operator to watch while loading the blade. It’s possible to hit the blade stops even with an old blade in the razor if it isn’t lined up perfectly, which is possible with these old razors.

 

[Time Bandit]

It’s easy. I have a dispenser with a few used blades in it that I’ve dulled by dragging them over the driveway or bricks on the house that I use to start ejecting the good blade with. Once it is out a little I just pull it the rest of the way out with my fingers, being careful to not let the edge touch the blade stops. I then put the good blade in a dispenser and inject it into whatever razor I want to use, again being careful to not hit the blade stops. From start to finish it takes less than a minute.

The point is that an empty injector can be loaded without damaging the blade as long as the edge never hits the blade stops, which just requires the operator to watch while loading the blade. It’s possible to hit the blade stops even with an old blade in the razor if it isn’t lined up perfectly, which is possible with these old razors.

Wow. That's pretty cool. Thanks for sharing that with me. I'll have to give it a try.