There are some old threads that mention this, but nothing recent. I have some wet shaving equipment including some vintage straight razors, strops, honing stones, etc, that were used by someone infected with Hep C until about 5 months ago. They haven’t been used at all since. The equipment includes a number of really nice vintage straight razors, several strops (including an excellent cordovan strop), and a bunch of stones.
After reading an article saying that barbershops and their equipment are the #1 source of Hep C infection in Pakistan, I’ve been hesitant to use this stuff, though I’d really like to - the razors are really nice. Most of the articles online have to do with disinfecting used hypodermic needles and syringes, and other drug paraphernalia. (Things like shaving equipment are probably a very niche case...)
Other old threads here and elsewhere talk about using agents like barbacide, even on used, vintage equipment of unknown provenance, but treat it as a probably unnecessary precaution. I’m assuming this is partly because the a-priori probability of any of those second-hand razors having come in contact with infected blood is pretty remote to begin with. In the case of the equipment I’m talking about, particularly the razors, there’s a 100% chance that they’ve come into contact with HCV-infected blood at some time within the last few years, and the only certainty is that they haven’t come into contact with anything in the last 5 months or so.
The razors were washed and scrubbed with soap and water, and all the equipment has been dry and hasn’t been used in about 5 months. I’ve bought some barbacide, but haven’t used it yet.
At what point does this stuff become safe to use, if ever?
After reading an article saying that barbershops and their equipment are the #1 source of Hep C infection in Pakistan, I’ve been hesitant to use this stuff, though I’d really like to - the razors are really nice. Most of the articles online have to do with disinfecting used hypodermic needles and syringes, and other drug paraphernalia. (Things like shaving equipment are probably a very niche case...)
Other old threads here and elsewhere talk about using agents like barbacide, even on used, vintage equipment of unknown provenance, but treat it as a probably unnecessary precaution. I’m assuming this is partly because the a-priori probability of any of those second-hand razors having come in contact with infected blood is pretty remote to begin with. In the case of the equipment I’m talking about, particularly the razors, there’s a 100% chance that they’ve come into contact with HCV-infected blood at some time within the last few years, and the only certainty is that they haven’t come into contact with anything in the last 5 months or so.
The razors were washed and scrubbed with soap and water, and all the equipment has been dry and hasn’t been used in about 5 months. I’ve bought some barbacide, but haven’t used it yet.
At what point does this stuff become safe to use, if ever?