ScrapeRite Plastic Razor Blades
Along with opening blister packages, removing product labels from items is an unavoidable annoyance of contemporary life. After years of scratching with my fingernails and scraping with a sharpened tongue depressor (works well, dulls easily), I’ve discovered the ultimate solution: ScrapeRite Plastic Razor Blades, double-edged plastic blades designed for light scraping, not cutting. The blades are available in three materials of varying hardness; my experience is with their General Purpose Blades, the softest of the three, which is said to have the consistency of a fingernail and are relatively safe to use on just about any surface, including the paint on your car.
Two years of experience validates these claims: I've used mine on everything from a stainless steel soup pot and wooden cutting board to countless items from Home Depot or Lowe's. I use mine a few times a month and I'm still on my first blade. The two blades of harder, more rigid compounds are supposed stand up to rougher use, such as paint removal on glass, but may scratch delicate surfaces. Their main advantage over razor blades appears to be safety. (note: I have no experience with these blades).
While the plastic razor blades will fit into most standard blade holders, for around-the-home use, I use the manufacturer's inexpensive and compact plastic holder, which I store under a rubber band stretched around a bottle of Goo Gone. Since I still use my standard metal holder with razor blades for glass, I see no reason to buy an extra standard holder for these blades.
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Favorite (15)
Scott
Wonder if the TSA would let these on airplanes?
Pascal Forget
You can buy plastic razor blades, but you can't bring a tiny nail clipper on a plane.
We live in a very strange world.
Spooge
Also great for shoplifters looking to quickly remove items from their packaging.
Bruno Figueiredo
I hate stickers too, but I found that a little bit of Benzine does the trick. It doesn't damage the plastic at all and you can remove the leftover glue by just wiping it off.
mrb
@Spooge -- yeah, as long as the packaging can be scraped off with a piece of plastic...
Moon
I have found that if you put the item in the dishwasher and run it, those labels come off easily.
Obviously, not everything can be put in the dishwasher, but surprisingly, A LOT of them can.
Mojo Bone
A little non-toxic vegetable oil is also good for removing sticky labels
Theodorus
Guitar picks.
If you play you have a MILLION of 'em in different thicknesses and hardnesses, and you can generally get promotional picks at your local guitar store.
I find that a Tortex orange or yellow is about right for scraping labels, but any of 'em pick except the very thinnest will work
alrinca
Plastic "credit" or "membership" cards that come in junk mail make good (and free) disposable scrapers.
Laral
I bought a 5-pack on eBay for less than $5 including shipping but w/o the holder ($1.49 at Home Depot). You cannot use them right out of the box, at least for anything useful, like scraping off labels from dollar store plastic items made in China. Even the dishwasher didn't get these off. The blades are squared off on the edge about 1/32" flat (probably to make them legal to sell). I simply stropped one on a 2" wide strip of 600 grit wet-or-dry laid down on a table. After removing the fine plastic "wire" it was razor sharp. To get the gooey label off I first scraped the water dampened surface paper off. Then I daubed it with Naphtha and scraped the goo and remaining paper off wiping it clean with the paper towel soaked in Naphtha. I also used the blade to remove stuck on food from a soft leather sofa that repeated wiping with a wet microfiber cloth would not budge. This is a really cool idea. Just needs a little "hacking".