Got out the dawn and toothbrush today, and it cleaned up pretty well. There is some yellowish, plaque like substance on the bottom. Not much at all, but not coming up with just soap. Is there an in between step between the soap and the polish? And what about disinfectant? An alcohol rubdown ok? Finally, I’m really tempted to try the blade that was in it when I found it. Again, not used for at least 40 years. It looks fine (I cleaned it). any objections?
Do not use the blade that is in it! You don't know what it's been subjected to or exposed to and it will most likely be as dull as a butter knife.
I agree. Don't use it. If you really want to have it replated, I would recommend Sport Shaving. http://www.sportshaving.com/razor-replating.html
Lysol concentrate, scrubbing bubbles or barbacide to disinfect the razor. Without being able to see it that yellowish stuff could be dried out cosmoline if he used that to protect the razor from rusting. Try WD40 to dissolve it if that stuff feels waxy like. Spray, let it sit then wipe once it is softened up. You can soak the razor in warm soapy water afterwards to remove the oil residue. The other possibility is that is plating loss and you are seeing brass which in this case could be a yellow brass alloy that was used to make that razor out of. They are definitely brass but the specific alloy I wouldn't know. Yellow brass is definitely one possibility since it is also used for making musical instruments like horns and such.
Barbicide is the cosmetics industry "standard", hospital grade, broad spectrum disinfectant for sterilizing tools but you have to buy a bottle of concentrate - $10 on Amazon for a 16oz bottle of concentrate that you mix with water in a 1:16 ratio, so that bottle does go quite a long way. But really, any good disinfectant should do just fine. And rather than just a rub down, I'd suggest a 10 minute soak.
It should work if you soak the razor for 10 minutes in an alcohol bath that fully covers it. Even cheaper is to boil the razor for 10 minutes in a pot of water. As long as there aren't any plastic parts to melt the metal shouldn't distort as long as you don't hammer on it or anything like that while it is boiling or while it is still very hot. Pro tip don't ever boil a Schick Krona razor like I did once upon a time. The razor was unusable after boiling. Added bonus is if there was any crud in the handle or on the threads for the butterfly doors and knobs the boiling will break that up at the same time. Whatever you use make sure you let the razor fully dry afterwards before using.
Boiling is the same pasteurization except you are working at a higher temperature. You can also sterilize metal in the dish washer if it gets hot enough. Just run through a wash cycle without any dish detergent. It is the same as using an autoclave to steam sterilize metal.