DE sterilization and maintenance

I am new to the wet-shaving world, as well as badger and blade...
I seem to be getting the hang of things pretty well, i have had two successful shave with my newer Edwin Jagger DE. I was just wondering if there is anything special that i need to do to keep my razor in good condition, as well as maintain a hygienic shaving environment
Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I rinse mine with hot water after every use. Once a month I soak it in 50 percent hot water 50 percent white vinegar solution

It's a little trick I learned from Steven Spielberg

Hot water and soap are all you need to keep things tidy. Some guys have more elaborate rituals, but that depends on your OCDness.

Go West Young Man said:

Hot water and soap are all you need to keep things tidy. Some guys have more elaborate rituals, but that depends on your OCDness.

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I have mild case of OCD where I check if I locked my car door twice. Plus I shampoo 3 time in the shower. Thats about it though

Thanks guys, these tips are great... if anyone has anymore tips or tricks keep 'em coming

Gavin53 said:

as well as maintain a hygienic shaving environment
Any help would be greatly appreciated!

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I wouldn't worry much about the sterilization aspect of it as long as you are the only person using the razor.


DL

The biggest thing is mineral and soap scum build up, which the vinegar solution combats

Look at the wiki post below.

http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php/Razor_cleaning_and_restoration

Gavin53 said:

I am new to the wet-shaving world, as well as badger and blade...
I seem to be getting the hang of things pretty well, i have had two successful shave with my newer Edwin Jagger DE. I was just wondering if there is anything special that i need to do to keep my razor in good condition, as well as maintain a hygienic shaving environment
Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Click to expand...

We have become extremely germa-phobic. "don't eat that, it fell on the floor:, "wash you hands 15 times a day". I ingested a bunch of crap growing up- our immune system just gets stronger (unless you pop pills every time you get the sniffles). I have never had a flu shot, and in the last 20 years have had the flu twice. My wife gets one every year, and gets "flu-like" symptoms every time. ymmv

The only thing your razor needs to be kept in good condition is to keep the soap scum off of it. Hot water and a good toweling off when you change blades will take care of 95% of that. Once a year you can give it a more detailed cleaning if you really want.

As for the hygiene, the only two things on a rinsed razor are metal and soap. There's not much in this world that will live on either.

granted, i'm a bit more obsessive than most but i use scrubbing bubbles and a toothbrush after each blade change to remove soap scum and surface bacteria.

while the blade is in the razor, i will spritz the blade with a razor wash solution of 70% isopropyl alcohol and tea tree oil every couple of days.

i use barbicide on new razors and every once in a while on existing razors if they've seen heavy use.

I've bought some Barbicide and plan to put it to good use. But on the whole I agree with George Carlin:

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If the razor is used I start with Barbacide soak (15 min) then clean with Scrubbinbg Bubbles spray (OCD?). During regular use I just rinse in cold water. If it a TTO, & I don't plan on using it again for a while, I put a little mineral oil on the moving parts. For Str8 razors I use Camellia Oil (from SRD).

I guess I am somewhat compulsive. After every shave I rinse under hot water, let the razor and blade dry, and then dip it in Isopropyl alcohol. When I change blades I clean the razor with scrubbing bubbles.