Can a straight razor last a lifetime?

[Namkcakram]

Absolutely.

The easiest answer is good post shave care: rinse the edge(not into the pivot!), dry, strop on your dry palm a few times, strop on linen a few times, put away. An old cigar box is a great near air tight humidity controlled storage option. Add in a VCI device or wrap if you want to go way overboard.

Personally mine are just tossed in a drawer, when I reach too many blades to be rotated through and used consistently the less used ones get sold.

 

[Christian1212]

As you said, “uneducated “ stemming from inexperience.

Knives are used forever if used appropriately.

The edge of a razor is polished with little metal loss. My concern is clumsy over honing from modern screw uppers , or those who like to hone vs those who use a blade for a reason.

Just trying to be realistic is all. Could you get one razor to last you your life time? Probably if you did everything right, had the right razor and all that. Is it likely though that someone will use only 1 razor as a daily shaver and take enough care for it to last the persons lifetime? Probably not. Just don't want people to see pictures people post of a nice 100+ year vintage razors and think "Yup I will spend 200$ on 1 razor use it as a daily shaver and be able to pass it down in perfect condition."

 

[Namkcakram]

I think @Christian1212 hit some fair points. Most razors fall prey to crappy honing, too frequent honing, drops... when you significantly screw up an edge and need a full reshape and reset you can take a full 1/16”+ off the blade and that should be ~15+yrs worth of wear if you did everything perfectly.

I started with one blade, professionally restored and honed and went 9 months daily shaving with no extra honing because I had no choice. Now I’ll go right around 30-60 shaves between touch up hone sessions and rarely to never need more than a touch up. The blade wear is very minimal with good maintenance and my original blade was the only one I owned for over 4yrs with no notable wear past the original honing. Now I have a rotation of blades and with 7+ blades in use they will absolutely last more than my lifetime at my honing rates.

The best advice is don’t expect to buy and perfectly maintain one blade forever, buy a few blades that you won’t cry over and learn the ropes first. My big recommendation currently is “Genco” or “Geneva cutlery” if you are in the US. Vintage US blades are never popular online so prices never shoot up, but they hone easily and shave fantastic for ~$20 with shipping. You can shell our huge bucks for Swedish Spanish or Japanese blades but they really won’t shave any better. No matter how many nice blades I buy and sell I can’t seem to stop shaving with some American vintages.

 

[MilkCrate]

All of my straights are older than me, so ... yes.

 

[Twelvefret]

I’m using tool that belonged to my grandfather so i think differently. If a razor is properly maintained and no abused, it should last.

My tractor is a ‘64 Massey. My Tahoe has 270 k miles that I bought in 99.

Failure due to careless use and abuse is not the fault of the razor, but the user.

 

[aristocat]

Every one of my line up (11 blades) is at least 100 years old so I doubt you'll outlast a properly maintained quality blade.

 

[Twelvefret]

Every one of my line up (11 blades) is at least 100 years old so I doubt you'll outlast a properly maintained quality blade.

Same with my collection. Several life times of use and still producing an excellent shave.

 

[Namkcakram]

Well... I think @Christian1212 is probably at least partly right here.

I’m a hand tool woodworker, and my most used tool is from 1908 but it’s on at least blade #3 from what I can tell because some things just cannot be sharpened frequently and last that many decades. I also have a box of nearly pristine hand made journeyman level tools that would’ve been a graduation right for an apprentice in the Dutch carpentry tradition of ~1850 in the Germanic towns around here. They are nearly perfect wrapped in late 1800s newspaper in a box. There is a 0% chance they would all be here if the man who made them had stayed in his profession and used them everyday past the level of graduating an apprenticeship. I would probably have found a mismatched box of tools which were whatever he owned at his death, but were the 3rd or 4th iteration for all the daily users.

The fact that many old items survived is not indicative of any type of durability in use over the same time period.

If your concern is durability in use then concern yourself with the longest lasting edge and best blade maintenance routine. If your concern is “can high carbon steel make it X years?!” Then clearly the answer is yes, and we’ve evolved significantly in the area of consumer grade VCI products in the last 20-30 years.

 

[bluesman 7]

While a single razor may not actually last a lifetime, I think we all can agree that a razor will last long enough to make the question mute.

 

[Twelvefret]

I am more concerned the old razors can survive the eBay flippers and stone scrubbers that ruin the steel. It’s a shame to see those old Sheffield’s ruined to make a fast buck.

 

[Namkcakram]

I am more concerned the old razors can survive the eBay flippers and stone scrubbers that ruin the steel. It’s a shame to see those old Sheffield’s ruined to make a fast buck.

Amen. There’s a special place in hell reserved for someone ruining a classic trying to make a quick buck.

 

[Joshua223]

I am more concerned the old razors can survive the eBay flippers and stone scrubbers that ruin the steel. It’s a shame to see those old Sheffield’s ruined to make a fast buck.

Are you talking about people that hone razors like chisels so they can sell them as "shave ready?"

 

[Twelvefret]

Are you talking about people that hone razors like chisels so they can sell them as "shave ready?"

Not really, but you can tell the metal was scrubbed with low grit sand paper to make shiny. I use a seller than has the skills to restore metal and scales to original.

 

[Ice-Man]

I am more concerned the old razors can survive the eBay flippers and stone scrubbers that ruin the steel. It’s a shame to see those old Sheffield’s ruined to make a fast buck.

I agree

I wont buy a razor that's been cleaned or restored more a blank canvas, then I can do my own work on it knowing it has not been bodged in any ways....

 

[Afoshie]

Faroh cast steel late 1700’s early 1800’s

 

[Namkcakram]

Faroh cast steel late 1700’s early 1800’s

Ahhh the photo isn’t loading for me! The curiosity is killing me.

 

[Afoshie]

Scales not original

 

[Slash McCoy]

What they said. If you have ONE razor ONLY, but you take good care of it, it will last your lifetime. A bigger razor, say a 7/8, will of course potentially last longer than a 4/8 or 5/8. Most important thing is don't drop it or ding it, don't get water in the pivot, wipe the razor between some tp after you get it wet whether it is honing, shaving, whatever. Strop a dozen or so laps after shaving, on your hanging leather strop. Oil is optional but better safe than sorry, maybe. Up to you. The silicone razor socks you see at online vendors' stores are good. Most importantly IMHO is do not store your razors in the bathroom or other humid place. Two razors are better than one. Three are better than two. Many are better than few. If you take good care of your razor(s), your grandkids will enjoy using them to cut open amazon packages and stuff, probably, so the only real difference is how you feel about it. I like knowing that my razors could still be shaving faces 100 years after I am dead and buried. But the realist in me tells me it probably won't be like that, that straight razors won't be appreciated in the 22nd century.

For a step by step recipe for making a razor crazy sharp and keeping it that way without actually rehoning it, read the Newbie Honing Compendium, AKA "The Method". Not sure if 50 laps post shave on the .1u balsa would be less wear than monthly or bimonthly sessions on a finishing stone or film, or not, but I suspect the balsa would put less wear on the razor. I just have too many razors and haven't been doing it long enough to notice any wear from the balsa.

 

[Steve56]

The razor that you learn to hone on will not last your lifetime, lol.

 

[Joshua223]

The razor that you learn to hone on will not last your lifetime, lol.

GOOD POINT!!