Thread: Actual Testing OMG - Alcohol and Razors

There have been a few threads in the last few weeks about using alcohol to clean, loosen rust and sanitize razors...

Did I ruin two eBay razors today?

In each thread there has been no "actual knowledge" presented about Straight Razors, honestly I could careless what any other study found I want to know about my straight razors... I am hoping you do too...
I said somebody needs to actually test this and put it to bed, I guess I will


4:55 pm PST 6/29/2011 Set up

5 old razors 4 are carbon 2 have been buffed to simulate new steel the last one is stamped "No Stain"



70% Isopropyl Alcohol and 91% Isopropyl alcohol were added to clean dry glasses at 5:00pm PST



I will try and take pics every hour for awile anyway if this goes longer I will spead out the times...


Now we sit and wait

Mythbusters, SRP edition!

I am just thinking about the scotch that could be in those glasses! The effect of scotch on razors! Kidding! Lessee what you find !

Originally Posted by sharptonn

I am just thinking about the scotch that could be in those glasses! The effect of scotch on razors!

Hehehe you caught the Irony of using "Rocks Glasses" for alcohol testing in fact I just went and poured a stiff Chivas 18 yo in the 6th glass after reading your post, so much for the precise timing LOL

I'll drink to that, but of course I'll drink to just about anything.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Hehehe you caught the Irony of using "Rocks Glasses" for alcohol testing in fact I just went and poured a stiff Chivas 18 yo in the 6th glass after reading your post, so much for the precise timing LOL

Uh oh! The integrity of this test has been compromised! Stay away from the clear stuff! You should have done one in Vodka! Nothing lives in that stuff! i Am sHurrE oL GLenN WiLLL GeT tO tHe "BOtTm" oF thIs!

6:00 pm

1 hour No Visable change so this shows that for all practical sterilization purposes using Alcohol, the razors are safe.. Unless you think that soaking longer will kill more germs

And a fine job! We all know that alcohol and water is a topic in it'self! Oversoaking in anything will stain! If that was booze, you would have to call some friends! Alcohol down the drain!

I'd like to add that I've done some alcohol testing myself.

With a sample size of one, I can definitively state that a liberal application of alcohol to the tester (me) yielded an improvement of 67.2% in honing ability over the baseline of raw newbie.

I attribute this effect to being less careful.

Most likely any benefit achieved this way steadily diminishes with both experience and quantity of alcohol imbibed. Further testing is hampered by a lack of research dollars (plus razors) compounded by the experimenter's general reticence to add CA sutures to the testing protocol.

7:00 pm 2 hours