Thread: Autoclave and Boiling sanitation

Hey guys,

I restored a couple of razors and a shop in town is kind enough to vend them for me. Personally I don't worry too much about the blade being septic because I sand down and polish them. However many people aren't satisfied with anything short of autoclave or boiling sanitation.
My fear with this is that it will ruin the temper.
Any thoughts? I saw the alcohol experiment (Glen's I think) and wondered if iodide would work better. Or bleach because of it's molecular scrubbing attributes.

autoclave will kill the scales.
Use barbacide if some one is OCD. Every old razor I have ever restored is cleaned up to the point nothing would be left on it by the time I'm done.

You can sanitize with alcohol or barbicide, autoclave not recommended.

Didn't want to start a new thread as my question is so close to the OP.

Being a new(ish now anyway!) Dad I've got an baby sterilizer that you pour a little bit of water in, then the base heats up and makes steam which sterilizes baby bottles. The babies 18 months now so we don't use it anymore. Could this be used if you've got a blade only (no scales)?

Agree that autoclave would kill the scales, but I have no idea what it would be like if you sanded it and then autoclaved it before the final buffing (sans scales....)

There was a thread not to long ago written by someone slightly paranoid about germs. He ended up using the boiling method, and then complained that his razor didn't shave right or look right anymore.

I think I'd stay away from that method for sure.

Okay thanks guys. I was thinking of using a liquid, as I said, I think enough metal comes off anyways.

I've been a professional tattooer for over 20 years. Used steam autoclaves all of those years and still do. IIRC it has to be around 400 F to affect the temper and a steam clave does it's work at around 165 F. That said, it is totally unnecessary to worry about sterilizing razors. If you were to take one immediately after someone else shaved with it, or even within a couple of months for hepatitis it might be an issue. But a razor that hasn't been used in years is not an issue.

Especially a razor that has been sanded , buffed and what have you. I wipe them with a metal polish if they need it and rinse them off, hone, strop and shave. So far so good.

Samuel
I am a home brewer and we have to be pretty serious about sanitation. There are lots of sanitation solutions for commercial and home brewers that would work just fine and are relatively inexpensive. Some are iodine based. I use StarSan and it has worked well for me (no contaminated batches). Check out Austin Home Brew Supply. They are one of the better suppliers.

Those who do serious yeast culturing flame implements, or do a "home autoclave" using a pressure cooker.
Hope this helps
Brian

Hey I'm a bathtub brewer too! I use iodide instead of bleach b/c the lack of residual flavour and it's faster. I am wondering if there is a type of "Eco friendly" bacteria based sanitizer. More out of interest as it would probably be expensive

Originally Posted by KillerDr3w

Didn't want to start a new thread as my question is so close to the OP.

Being a new(ish now anyway!) Dad I've got an baby sterilizer that you pour a little bit of water in, then the base heats up and makes steam which sterilizes baby bottles. The babies 18 months now so we don't use it anymore. Could this be used if you've got a blade only (no scales)?

yes it could