Does anyone use an in wall blade bank? (2025)

I've been thinking about installing an in wall blade bank in my bathroom. My house was built in 49 and I know it had one because I found some rusty razor blades when remodeling my bathroom. I've been thinking of putting one in as a nod to the past and also some functionality.

Fine accoutrements has one that is nice looking.

Any other suggestions?

I mostly shave with a straight razor, but I use DE or SE to change things up sometimes, so I will never fill up a wall with blades in my lifetime anyway.

Jbird45 said:

My house was built in 49 and I know it had one because I found some rusty razor blades when remodeling my bathroom

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Can you make out what kind of blades they are?

Arbor Man said:

Can you make out what kind of blades they are?

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Sorry it was a few years ago when I remodeled and I didn't pay much attention to them. It was before I learned about wet shaving. They were pretty rusty though. I don't know how long they say there. Potentially 70 years

I have one ready to 3D Print, just haven't gotten to it yet.
Your welcome to the STL file. Many Libraries have the ability to print it for you.
It can be painted in whatever color scheme you like.

mine is built into my medicine cabinet

luvmysuper said:

I have one ready to 3D Print, just haven't gotten to it yet.
Your welcome to the STL file. Many Libraries have the ability to print it for you.
It can be painted in whatever color scheme you like.

View attachment 1515111

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haha love it

mrlandpirate said:

View attachment 1515108
mine is built into my medicine cabinet

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My friend has one in the back of his medicine cabinet too and his house is about the same age as mine. Unfortunately someone ripped out the original but I'm sure it had one because there was a big square hole in the drywall and that was the section where I found the blades.

I doubt my wife who watches too much HGTV would let me reinstall a vintage medicine cabinet, but I figured a little wall plate would fly.

mrlandpirate said:

View attachment 1515108
mine is built into my medicine cabinet

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Had one in our first home. Would like a wall plate in our current home but no available wall cavity to use.

mrlandpirate said:

View attachment 1515108
mine is built into my medicine cabinet

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Do you use it?

The house I grew up in, i.e. my parents' house, had TWO in wall blade banks, one in the medicine cabinets of each bathroom. (Upstairs was my maternal grandparents' apartment). I was fascinated by the blade banks as I grew up. This house was built around 1952 and belonged to my parents until my mother's death in 2006. The buyers tore down the house and put up a two-family house instead.

I think the blades went into a space between the boards that made up the walls. An archeologist in 2006 might have had fun examining the half-century old blades.

I have a closet in my bathroom where i keep my shave software. I made a slit in the drywall and glued an old blade over th slit 14 or 15 years ago. Its where my blades go most of the time.

I do like the look of that plate. I might have t try something with that. But here is mine. Just turn blade sideways and it slips right in. I know there is no power in that wall and I can here rhen hit the bottom of the wall.

mrlandpirate said:

View attachment 1515108
mine is built into my medicine cabinet

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Had one like that at the old house. God help the remodelers...

Jbird45 said:

I've been thinking about installing an in wall blade bank in my bathroom. My house was built in 49 and I know it had one because I found some rusty razor blades when remodeling my bathroom. I've been thinking of putting one in as a nod to the past and also some functionality.

Fine accoutrements has one that is nice looking.

Any other suggestions?

I mostly shave with a straight razor, but I use DE or SE to change things up sometimes, so I will never fill up a wall with blades in my lifetime anyway.

Click to expand...

My suggestion is get a plastic jar, put it somewhere safe (kids, etc.) fill it up and put it in the garbage. Then get another. I use a large spice jar with a flip up lid. Keep it under the sink.

EclipseRedRing said:

I have never seen a wall blade bank in the UK or anywhere else; is it solely a US thing?

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I don't know about anywhere else but I have seen several homes built in the 40's and 50's that have them. Maybe it was a popular thing in that time period here in the US? I don't really know the history of it

Every time these come up I get a warm recollection of the house where I started shaving .. but also the first house I bought when I remodeled the bath and got cut .. whether it is solely as US thing I've no clue, but have seen them here (Great Lakes area) in three different locales, first house built circa 1910, second about 1948, third 1972.

My den is on an outside wall so a wall slot wouldn't work. It might in the guest bath, but .. nah

The little crackerbox where I was raised had one in the back of the medicine cabinet. I didn't wonder about my family's shaving history until well after both parents had died. When I came along they added another bedroom and bath to the house and there was no such thing in the new bath because Dad was an electric shaver by then. For some reason Mom would usually use the old bathroom to shower, possibly because she also was a shower shaver and there was more room to spread out.

I recall seeing blades in the back of the slot that hadn't fallen all the way down. It occurs to me now that Mom was probably dumping her old blades in there.

I like the old-schoolness of the idea, but having just laid out a pile of money to fix some problems in the Lather Pit I'm not on with punching more holes in the wall. I have a large old vitamin bottle under the sink. It has so far about three years worth of blades in it and enough room for about another six years at this rate.

After that I may give 'em to a blacksmith and have them make a pattern-welded bottle opener or other such useful item that I can brag on.

O.H.

CCS said:

My suggestion is get a plastic jar, put it somewhere safe (kids, etc.) fill it up and put it in the garbage. Then get another. I use a large spice jar with a flip up lid. Keep it under the sink.

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While this is an option, I try to minimize the amount of plastic I send to the landfill. I know it's inevitable with modern packaging and plastic everything. I'm not an activist, but generally if there is an greener option I opt for that.

That's not to say in 50 years someone rips out the drywall, finds a bunch of blades, cusses and then throws them in a plastic garbage bag anyway, but at least I tried.

Markdad2 said:

Do you use it?

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All the time