How Many Shaves

[bluesman 7]

IIRC, I think Victor @bluesman 7 also has over 100 on one of his blades. maybe he can give us an update.

I have 104 and 105 and counting on these two, but niether are presently in my seven day rotation.

I also have 131 on a hardware store razor labled 'The Winner' I retired that one at 131 because it was starting to feel a little off. It was still usable but was not as good as a freshly honed blade. Microscope inspection showed micro chipping especially at the toe and heel.

 

[njtnjt]

I think this thread needs a nod for its longevity too. It was exciting to read in 2012 and it’s still exciting to read 8 years later. Thanks for resurrecting it.

 

[Steve56]

Today was shave #115 with the Sub Cero. It seemed to tug just a little, but I had about 30h beard and minimal prep and it’s done that before under the same circumstances so I hope the edge keeps going for a while. Seems Alfredo’s edge held up well but went down pretty quickly once it began to go, and that was my observation with the previous two razors that I tested. I’m closing in, it should be interesting. This Filly SC has hard steel in it. Soap was Acca Kappa 1869 pre-reformulation lathered with a @life2short1971 lotus-style 3-band, and a dab of ABC almond balm finished up.

 

[Raven9700]

Doc has worked on a few of my razors and a couple weeks ago I wrote him extolling the virtues of one of the razors he had worked on. I am by no means an expert with the strop but this one Tiger that he fixed up for me is now on shave 26 and still smooth as silk. Very nice seeing this thread shortly after writing him. Lots of great info here.

 

[bluesman 7]

While I often exceed 100 shaves between hitting the stones, I do believe a bit of luck is involved. Something as simple as a stray piece of dirt on your strop can easily cause damage. I have had some edges need to go to the hones at around 50 shaves, same steel, same temper, same grind, same shaver.

 

[Doc226]

This will be an 8 year old thread tomorrow.

I still have not honed that razor, haven't used it since then either

 

[Steve56]

Shave 116, still tugged just a little, so Tony Miller linen and a little extra suede and cordovan. Soap was 3P lathered with a Thäter boar in a Stirling bowl (aka slow feeder pet bowl), balm was ABC almond.

 

[Steve56]

Yesterday and today, shave #117 and 118. No tugging, so a little extra stropping seemed to help.

I do a 2-pass + cleanup, so I count that as 2.5 passes/shave. Here are some numbers to consider.

295 passes across my face
510 passes across linen
4.140 passes across suede
7,670 passes across cordovan

Maybe a little more.

 

[weston]

Thanks, Steve!

If I'm to summarize what I've read in this thread: with appropriate prep, shaving technique, etc., one can get 100+ shaves from a high quality, well honed blade. It appears, however, that the blade's edge abruptly fails towards the end (i.e. just a few shaves from noticing tugging to being in need of a hone). Which provokes a question: would stropping the edge on pasted leather, balsa wood, or whatever that's not the normal linen/suede/cordovan routine extend the life of the blade? Or, why not do the more 'aggressive' stropping (paste, balsa, etc.) periodically to preserve the edge life?

I realize this is a deep topic, and elements of the answer are strewn through the forum, but I'd love to hear some of the participant's thoughts on this - particularly since they don't appear to use a more 'aggressive,' intermediate stropping technique.

(I realize that optimizing edge life this way is, perhaps, a sub-optimization of the overall shaving experience - but in the spirit of this thread, exploring what's possible for edge life, I'm curious).

Merci!

Weston

 

[Steve56]

De rien Weston,

The idea was to see how long that an edge could last without re-honing, just using the standard stropping materials of fabric and leather.

Pasted strops, whether leather, fabrics, or balsa, are hones. You are indeed correct that the use of pasted materials can significantly extend the life of an edge. So can other hones. I can use a pasted whatever after every shave or I can use a jnat, coti, thuri, or synth after every shave. It’s all honing.

There’s nothing wrong with that, in fact pasted strops are an efficient way to maintain a razor that have been in use for centuries.

What I wanted to know is how long an edge can last without maintenance beyond normal stropping - which would allow me to compare different razors and steels. My initial tests were done on a Filly 14 Doble Temple and a Cape 1000 Swedish Steel, both normally tempered raxors that yielded about 65 shaves each. The Sub Cero is cryo tempered steel, and is harder. I didn’t really intend to test it, but there are comments about the Sub Cero and Novodur Filly branding just being marketing fluff, so I decided to test the Sub Cero.

I don’t think that there’s any doubt, at least to me, that the Sub Cero is holding up much better than the Doble Temple. Note that if I had been using pastes, this comparison of SC to DT would be impossible and/or meaningless because I would be restoring the edge periodically.

 

[Steve56]

Shave #119 was smooth and close, no tugging, slight resistance ATG but only on some parts of my face, So pretty much back to ‘normal’ for a razor with 100+ shaves on it.

 

[Steve56]

Shave #120 on a fine Sunday morning ....

 

[Steve56]

#121 this morning.

 

[ajduplessis]

Brilliant thread. I have a Dovo 6/8 BQ that’s on shave 75 since last hone. I would be stoked if I can reach 100.

 

[Steve56]

#122 this morning.

 

[Steve56]

The last 3 days have gotten me to shave #123 - ten shaves short of Alfredo’s run with the TI. It may well make it, the steel in this one is hard. If it were in rotation, I’d touch it up, but it isn’t pulling (much) and the shaves are not (yet) uncomfortable. The edge is better than the DT or Cape with 65 shaves on them.

 

[Doc226]

The last 3 days have gotten me to shave #123 - ten shaves short of Alfredo’s run with the TI. It may well make it, the steel in this one is hard. If it were in rotation, I’d touch it up, but it isn’t pulling (much) and the shaves are not (yet) uncomfortable. The edge is better than the DT or Cape with 65 shaves on them.

View attachment 1117542

The marathon is almost over

 

[bluesman 7]

If it were in rotation, I’d touch it up, but it isn’t pulling (much) and the shaves are not (yet) uncomfortable.

The marathon is almost over

Yeah, this sounds to be at about the point where I call it. You could easily keep shaving with it, and it's probably better than what a lot of people shave with, but it's noticeably off from what a fresh honed edge is. To carry on is more about a subjective question of how bad is too bad and the number of shaves becomes less and less meaningful objectively.

 

[Steve56]

It’s getting close for sure. I’ll do a few more with a lot of extra stropping to see if I can bring the edge back some. This is what I did with the Cape and DT. But the edge is still better than when I called the Cape and DT, though it isn’t too far off. I’ll give it a chance, but if the extra stropping doesn’t bring it back much, then it’s over.

 

[Steve56]

Since the edge isn’t quite as ‘done’ as the DT and Cape, this might be a good opportunity to test some different linens and see if there’s a discernable difference?