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I've stayed in older hotels (constructed mid-late 60s) that had razor blade slots in the bathroom walls. A couple have recently (within the past 10 years or so) remodelled, and I don't know if they pulled the sheetrock down and cleaned all that stuff out or just plastered over the slot. They didn't have medicine cabinets in the rooms as far as I know, just a little metal slot in the wall near the bathroom door marked "RAZOR BLADES". A lot of older Red Lions, particularly former Thunderbird-era properties, had them.
In fact I distinctly remember the Thunderbird/Red Lion Columbia River having them, since I spent a lot of time there as a child because my grandmother was a supervisor at that property and my mother worked just across the river in downtown Vancouver. (One guest room downstairs near the lobby was being used as an extra "office" of sorts at the time.) What a treat the ATF people must have found investigating the area after it burned down a few years ago!
Right! Here's the answer! Old metal medicine cabinets from the 40s on up had a "razor slot" in them to safely dispose of used razor blades. There was nothing usually installed under this slot, they just went down into the wall.
I live in an apartment building that was built in 1939. My bathroom has the original medicine cabinet imbedded in the wall and it has the slot for razor blades. I can only wonder how many are in the wall. I've had this discussion with many younger people here (including management) who had never seen or heard of this before.
Something else from the past: In the back hallway, there is a small drop-down door that is only about 10 inches wide. Residents (who generated much less trash in those days) would put their little bag of garbage in there to drop down to the basement into the incinerator. The incinerator is still there, too, but long unused.
One day, I saw a young guy come into the back hall, open the door, and put something in. After he left, I checked it out. It was mail from a bank addressed to my neighbor across the hall. The young guy mistook the incinerator door for a mail slot. I check it every now and then in case it happens again.
Hotels frequently had slots for blades where a medicine cabinet would have been. They were always marked with the instructions: "For Used Blades." I have seldom seen these in private homes. Now one may ask what those without slots did. The answer is they have used blade banks, Amazon carries these, but they are generally uninteresting. There are many fancy examples on eBay. People collect them along with other shaving items. There is a book on the subject. Although they were meant to be disposable, I doubt that many threw them out when full.
Funny, I grew up in a house with a razor blade slot in the medicine cabinet, but have never heard of razor blade banks until today. Maybe I should get out more.
My dad pulled the old medicine cabinet from my parents 1915 house. We are both electricians. He tells me to grab a flashlight and take a look down the wall cavity. I see a significant pile of old blades. Crossing the stud bay above that is an old, cloth covered Romex cable with a seriously sketchy looking splice, covered by a big ball of friction tape. This was the cloth version on electrical tape, from WAY back in the day. Apparently a century spent dropping a few hundred blades on top of a nasty, half-azed, illegal splice covered by bone dry old fabric isn't nearly as dangerous as it sounds, LOL.
My dad pulled the old medicine cabinet from my parents 1915 house. We are both electricians. He tells me to grab a flashlight and take a look down the wall cavity. I see a significant pile of old blades. Crossing the stud bay above that is an old, cloth covered Romex cable with a seriously sketchy looking splice, covered by a big ball of friction tape. This was the cloth version on electrical tape, from WAY back in the day. Apparently a century spent dropping a few hundred blades on top of a nasty, half-azed, illegal splice covered by bone dry old fabric isn't nearly as dangerous as it sounds, LOL.
Until that ~one~. It was a million to one shot, doc.... million to one!
That’s the same type of razor blade and razor I use. I have a small mayonnaise jar I dump the blades in when they dull out. I can buy a pack of Astra 100 blades for $8 on Amazon and they last a long time. I shave quite a bit as I’m relatively hairy.
I got tired of spending money on disposables and electric razors don’t work well for me
Yep. They recognized such sharps as dangerous and not to be put in garbage. Garbage was commonly burned at the house in many areas, and the blades could survive the fire. Over time, the ashes might be used in the soil as an amendment (remember that garbage was far less toxic before plastics and household chemicals). Livestock, children, and gardeners needed to have the blades just disappear, and inside a wall was a safe storage.
Thanks!
I used to think the razor blades in the wall thing was just plain odd and a bit stupid, but your explanation puts it in a rational light.
That’s the same type of razor blade and razor I use. I have a small mayonnaise jar I dump the blades in when they dull out. I can buy a pack of Astra 100 blades for $8 on Amazon and they last a long time. I shave quite a bit as I’m relatively hairy.
I got tired of spending money on disposables and electric razors don’t work well for me
If that's a glass jar, please switch to something else - if a glass jar breaks with razor blades in it, it becomes doubly hazardous to both you and your household and also to any sanitation workers who have to deal with it.
A plastic mayo jar should be fine, although they do recommend sealing it with duct tape or similar before placing it in the trash for disposal (in locations where you are allowed to do that, I think some places may still ban that).
I know! Weird, huh! Seems bizarre. A realtor posted it on a facebook group all freaked out because they had no idea why they would be there and assumed it was something really creepy! Scared her to death I think. Once I'd read the thread there, I wondered why we hadn't seen or heard of it before and decided to post it here! It must be pretty common!
Kind of sucks as a home inspector because they will sometimes fall into the crawlspace.
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Here's the answer! Old metal medicine cabinets from the 40s on up had a "razor slot" in them to safely dispose of used razor blades. There was nothing usually installed under this slot, they just went down into the wall.
