Cleaning old razors

I am a newbie that has recently discovered the world of wet shaving. I have very sensitive skin and have found the comfort of a single blade over the Gillette octo blade.

My Mother-in-law does Estate sales and always collects shaving gear for me. I use double edge safety razors and have several of them in need of care. Many of them are rust free and just have bad calcium stains etc. does anyone have any recommendations on cleaning these up to use? Thanks!

Scrubbing bubbles in a ziplock bag, let set for an hour or so and scrub with a tooth brush. I then boil in water and dish soap for 15 minutes and another scrubbing bubbles if needed. Then finish off with Maas or Flitx polish.

BTW...welcome. lots of great knowledge in this forum.

Don't use Maas on gold plated razors. Other than that, a soak in hot soapy water for a bit the. Scrubbing bubbles will do wonders. Check out the wiki for safety razors, there is a large section on cleaning.

Also, welcome.

rtw said:

Scrubbing bubbles in a ziplock bag, let set for an hour or so and scrub with a tooth brush. I then boil in water and dish soap for 15 minutes and another scrubbing bubbles if needed. Then finish off with Maas or Flitx polish.

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Do not boil your razors! Exposing them to high heat (at the bottom of the pot) is not good at all . . .

I do recommend soaking in ALMOST boiling water and Dawn Ultra dish soap. Then I use a stiff toothbrush and more Dawn to get into the nooks and crannies. Scrubbing Bubbles is good to help cut soap scum and mineral deposits, but is not recommended to soak the razors in it as plating damage has been reported. Also, Scrubbing Bubbles has been shown to bring some copper to the surface of exposed brass, leaving a reddish tint to any brassed areas.

Never use vinegar or bleach on razors, and never soak in anything but dish soap and water. MAAS, Simichrome, or Flitz are all recommended polishes for nickel-plated razors. Brasso or any type of automotive polish is too harsh. Gold doesn't tarnish, so only cleaning is recommended. Old-fashioned paste wax (Johnson's) can be used to put a protective wax layer on any razor.

i just tried old blue.its a degreaser and i let it soak for a couple of minutes,then polished.heres a before and after of the soak.havent taken any post polish pic yet

Thanks for all of the tips. Looking forward to checking out the vast amounts of info on here. Thanks again. I will post before and after pics of the razors I have.

Here are some pictures of my most 3 that I am going to attempt to clean. 2 of the three are Gillette. I am not sure what the middle one is. I will post som shots when done.

Let's try that again...

You have a Gillette Slim, What looks like a TV Special Super Speed Flare tip in the middle, and the last Gillette Aristocrat model... At least I am pretty sure...

TyBardy said:

You have a Gillette Slim, What looks like a TV Special Super Speed Flare tip in the middle, and the last Gillette Aristocrat model... At least I am pretty sure...

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Thank you for the information. Being new to this, I don't know anything about them.

First Cleaning: