My aim here is to create a master sticky on the art of cleaning both the DE razors on your countertop AND those gunky antique store finds. Please feel free to contribute your personal take on cleaning DE's in this thread (with pictures is great too!). My method on DE's: 1) If it wasn't already personally sanitized by me, I take the extra precaution of wearing latex exam gloves. This served me very well recently when I started cleaning an antique store find, only to realize that there was a crusty, yet very sharp blade still inside. Safety first, always! 2) As a cleaning container, I like to use a cheap ziplock tub. I'll put the razor in the tub and give it a thorough spraying with Scrubbing Bubbles and let it sit for a few minutes. 3) Using a medium toothbrush, I give the razor a thorough scrubbing, shooting gunky spots with more Scrubbing Bubbles as needed. This is followed up by detail work with toothpicks and pipe cleaners to get the hard-to-reach spots. 4) If the razor has been completely cleaned of gunk, I'll rinse it off in the sink and then submerge it in Barbacide for about 10 minutes or so. Be very VERY careful about how long you leave it in the Barbacide, because I've had the paint come off the numbers of a Fatboy by doing this step too long. 5) Using MAAS polish (not on your Gold razors!) and a soft cloth, It'll give it a nice shine. **Some Notes** -Especially gunky razors will need several successive Scrubbing Bubble/toothbrush cleanings. Your patience and detail work will pay dividends here. I've heard people mention that a 24-hour soak in Simple Green with a bit of hydrogen peroxide is a great solution to remove gunk without scrubbing. Haven't tried it yet personally. -Take care with those Gold razors. Easy to mess up the laquer. -Some people have used ultrasonic cleaners with decent results for scum removal. Use caution with painted razors or gold razors. -I've seen people recommend being current on your hepatitis vaccinations, especially when dealing with vintage razors. Not a bad idea at all. Many antique dealers have the mistaken opinion that the razor is worth more with that disgusting "vintage" blade still inside. -CLEAN your work area after you're done, especially if it's where you normally shave. The aforementioned Scrubbing Bubbles would work or even Lysol. So, there's my 2-cents. What's your personal method?
Good call on aiming for a sticky with this. Very good information in this post. I have done a very similar process a few times with great results. Maybe add in a bit about hot water/baking soda, though I don't have much knowledge on how that all works. Everett
I wouldn't have necessarily called this "definitive" because, well, it's not. But it's a nice resource for one method of cleaning razors. Well done.
I know. What I'm after is for everyone to contribute their own methods in order to make this thread more definitive and sticky-worthy.
Very Informative. Thanks! I wonder, however, could hand sanitizer work for sanitizing razors? I got this one kind that's supposed to kill 99.9% of all germs and bacteria. I use it for hand sanitizing and for my stomach for insulin injections for diabetes. Would it work on metal as a sanitizer? I know cleaning and polishing is a whole different ball game. I was using "LA's Simply Awesome Cleaner" to soak my acquired razors but found out the hard way that if left in the jar for too long it will start to corrode. Took hours of polishing and a toothbrush to get it just about the way it was. Lysol sounds very promising, never thought about that.
After re-reading what I originally posted, I guess I could have come off a little better than that. I definitely didn't mean it to sound like it seems and I want you to know I do appreciate your very useful post, blanka!
I read somewhere that the germs to be worried about on these razors can not survive for long once cleaned and even just a alcohol soak will take care of anything harmful. Now that's my $0.02 worth that I have read over the past.
Before I bought some scrubbing bubbles, I used Lysol spray on every razor I bought and I'm still here and healthy.
By the way, I am trying the Simple Green/Perocide soak right now on my latest antique store finds. Been in the bath for about 12 hours now and indeed, the gunk seems to be falling off on its own. However, should I be worried that a constant line of bubbles are coming up off of one of the razors? I'm worried that I may be inadvertantly causing corrosion.
That's a good question. I'm not sure. I did have a nurse tell me once that those hand sanitizer really only work once friction is involved. Don't know if that's true or not.
Removed the razors from the Simple Green/Peroxide soak last night. Wow, what a difference that made! A lot of the crud that was in the knurling, etc... just fell off. One of the black superspeeds seems to have a ring of lime deposit or something that I haven't been able to get off. Maybe CLR? Anyone try CLR before? Overall, I was very impressed with the soak. I still need to do some detail scrubbing, but the razors are actually SHINY! That's a far cry from where they started a few days ago. I might swing by a few stores tomorrow to see if I can pick up some more razors to restore and to create more of a pictorial of the process.
CLR can cause finish problems due to the fact that it is an acid. I would stay away from the more caustic elements.
