People do find our hobby a bit strange.

Executive Contour said:

(germs can't live in a dry environment for that long) .

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This is not always true. Hepatitis viruses and encapsulated bacteria can live for days or years on surfaces. But of course he cleans and disinfects, so problem solved.
[End public health service announcement.]

As to the "think they know it all" types, my advice as a therapist is smile and nod. You know they're full of "it" even if they don't.

dymaxion said:

My wife and I were out with some friends. My wife was showing off her new tattoo (Her first). Our friends reaction to it was not the greatest.

So to deflect attention from her, my wife decided to announce that I buy and use, used straight razors. Her tattoo was immediately forgotten as I got a lecture from the germ-a-phobe of the group. And I learned of all the things spread from a dirty blade (despite my insistence that I sterilize the blades.)

Oh well at least my wife felt better.

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Screw 'em. More vintage razors for you.

MartialArtist said:

This is not always true. Hepatitis viruses and encapsulated bacteria can live for days or years on surfaces. But of course he cleans and disinfects, so problem solved.
[End public health service announcement.]

As to the "think they know it all" types, my advice as a therapist is smile and nod. You know they're full of "it" even if they don't.

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The only virus I can think of that can be revitalized after years is smallpox. Bacteria, enveloped or not, don't tend to survive for long periods of time on non-porous surfaces.

Maybe we can all agree that the straight razor is less likely to harbor pathogens than the multiblade cartridge razor. I think that much is definitely true.

Anthrax bacteria spores can stay dormant for hundreds of years, in dry climates.

The next time someone feel the need to " educate " you about germs on your razor. Ask them to pull a dollar bill out of their wallet and send it to a lab to be tested.



P.S. I also think that most users of traditional type razors put more time and effort into cleaning our razors after each use. How many cart and disposable users do much other than a quick rinse and shake.

Where I work we constantly talk about guns and shooting sports but one thing I can honestly say I've never heard a discussion about is razors and shaving. I just have the feeling if I broached the topic it would quickly morph into something entirely different. Shaving is one of those intensely personal obsessions that most people likely pay zero attention to save for those 3 minutes they stand in front of the mirror scraping goo off their face with the latest high-tech gadget on the market.

DaltonGang said:

Anthrax bacteria spores can stay dormant for hundreds of years, in dry climates.

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Correct and so can most spore forming bacteria…but the point is that the razors were used by someone else before he bought them. He would not know what was on them or for how long. A good cleaning would take care of that. Since he does sanitize them, his interlocutor need not have said anything. The inappropriateness of his/her conduct was the point he was making, and I agree.

I know. But, what fun would a good old fashioned bonfire be, without someone throwing a little gasoline on it?

You could have then lectured them on how you were saving the environment by not putting used carts in the landfills

I really don't understand how Germs 'work', but wouldn't it make sense that a dirty little Vietnamese or say Korean shop could potentially release some kind of sickness into a sealed bag of disposables? Or perhaps even the plastic itself could harbor Germ life?

Strange maybe, but I know a lot of people with a lot stranger hobbies that is for sure.

MartialArtist said:

This is not always true. Hepatitis viruses and encapsulated bacteria can live for days or years on surfaces. But of course he cleans and disinfects, so problem solved.
[End public health service announcement.]
.

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Presumably he's not sharing the razor with anyone, so any germs he might be exposed to are his own. The only way he's going to be exposed to hepatitis is if he's got it already.

In which case one should worry far more about the germs on an ordinary doorknob or his own intestinal tract far more than a piece of steel that's been clean and dry for 24 hours.

Cash_Stronomer said:

I really don't understand how Germs 'work', but wouldn't it make sense that a dirty little Vietnamese or say Korean shop could potentially release some kind of sickness into a sealed bag of disposables? Or perhaps even the plastic itself could harbor Germ life?

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I think we need to start a conspiracy/paranoia thread. That should be fun.

I'm already one of those 'conspiracy people', I'd do well with no more encouragement!

The sterility argument is pretty weak. Between sharpening, stropping, hot water, and shaving cream I highly doubt any cooties could outlive that. I'd be willing to bet we have all been exposed to much worse eating in a restaurant. Lord only knows the conditions food is prepared in, the cleanliness of the silverware, and if chef washed his hands after using the toilet.

If people worked one day in the kitchens of their favorite restaurants, they would probably never eat there again.

Oh, MRSA could survive your hot water, shave cream, and stropping.

DaltonGang said:

If people worked one day in the kitchens of their favorite restaurants, they would probably never eat there again.

Oh, MRSA could survive your hot water, shave cream, and stropping.

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In the recent MRSA epidemic among college football players the disease was found to have been passed on by players sharing razors (cartridge razors, obvs) to shave their body hair.

I have yet to hear of someone contracting the disease from a razor he never shared with anyone, though. They call them "transmissible diseases" because they are transmitted from one party to another. They don't just magically materialize out of nowhere.

Back to the razor sabotage, straight from the factories, in nefarious countries.
Hey, it could happen.

Where are the popcorn eating smilies?

Cash_Stronomer said:

I really don't understand how Germs 'work', but wouldn't it make sense that a dirty little Vietnamese or say Korean shop could potentially release some kind of sickness into a sealed bag of disposables? Or perhaps even the plastic itself could harbor Germ life?

Click to expand...

No.

Just to clarify, the OP said he buys USED straight razors, i.e. someone else did use them before he did.