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Abnormal life of an Astra SP blade

This actually makes a lot of sense.
Until three months ago i was located in Munich, where the water had an extremely high mineral content, to the pint where I was forced to use bottled water for my espresso machine, as the tap water just clogged the system. I am now in the Netherlands, where the water is very soft and I have subsequently noticed vastly different results in the lather that all of my soaps create.

It really depends on the water as most hard water is higher in alkaline content. Not necessarily acidic but it does affect lathering and potentially the durability of the blade's edge.

I live in a hard water area and do Get a really good lather, usually getting a max of 4 shaves per blade.GSB blade and SV soap.

Recently I went on holuday to a soft water area, and the lather was noticeably better by a good margin. I used the same blade for ten shaves with no feeling it needed changing.
I wonder if ,in a hard water area, a minute layer of limescale builds on the blade making it less effective. Maybe if you washed and dried the blade after each shave , it would last considerable longer.

I aways rinse my blade/razor disassemble it and make sure there is no residual soap on the blade before I pat it dry and reassemble the razor once it too has have wiped dry.

This is not only to try and extend the life of the blade / razor but to make sure I don't shave with a dirty blade.

Happy shaves,

Mawashi
 
I have soft water and never managed to get 5 shaves out of a blade. No clue why.

Cos you suck :001_tongu lol?!

Kidding although, there could be many factors from not liking the way the blade cuts to getting a rough shave etc.

It's not an issue as most blades costs 10¢ anyway.
 
Cos you suck :001_tongu lol?!

Kidding although, there could be many factors from not liking the way the blade cuts to getting a rough shave etc.

It's not an issue as most blades costs 10¢ anyway.

I mean I can keep on shaving for a year with one blade, but it's rough after 3 uses. And I'm a sissy. :prrr:
 
I mean I can keep on shaving for a year with one blade, but it's rough after 3 uses. And I'm a sissy. :prrr:

I can shave with broken glass too you know lol...

My colleague too can barely use a blade after 3 to 4 shaves so whatever works for you. It's pointless if you don't get a good shave if it's just to save a few cents.

Happy shaves,

Mawashi
 
I can shave with broken glass too you know lol...

My colleague too can barely use a blade after 3 to 4 shaves so whatever works for you. It's pointless if you don't get a good shave if it's just to save a few cents.

Happy shaves,

Mawashi

I don't think guys shave 150 times with a single blade to save money. It's more of a challenge thing.
 
Perhaps you're shaving your back with three passes as well?

And your point is?

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I used to be highly sceptical of claims of more than a dozen shaves from any DE blade. Then something happened.

For a while my routine was to load a new blade on Monday and then depending on the blade use a straight for 1 or 2 days to get me though the weekend until I loaded another new blade again on Monday. Most blades were done for after 5 or 6 shaves, sure if it was a sharp blade I could have streched them to maybe 8 or 10 but the remaining shaves would not be good shaves.

Then I decided to test a lot of blades. I won't go into my testing methodology but it involved having a lot of blades in play at any one time. It was with relief that testing was finally completed and I went back to my usual routine. I loaded a fresh Polisilver on Monday but by Friday the blade was still as smooth and sharp as the second use. I pushed though the weekend - still sharp. One more week - still sharp, After 30 days I thought that maybe during my blade testing days I had develoved a higher tolerance for blunt blades. So I loaded my razor with a fresh Dorco blade. Dorcos are the dullest blade I have and don't really provide even 1 comfortable shave. No the Dorco felt terrible and the Polisilver with 30 shaves was still way smoother and sharper.

For the next month I tied an Astra SP and had 30 great shaves with no problems. I must mention that with either the Polsilver or the Astra I could have gone further than 30 shaves. So in my first year of shaving I could get 7 shaves from an Astra but theses days I can get 30 +? What changed? I really don't know the answer. There's small diffences, for example when testing blades I would shave one side of my face with one blade on one edge and the other side with a diffent blade in an identical razor. This habbit has stuck with me. Now I strictly shave exactly one side of my face with one edge and then rince the razor and shave the other side with the other edge. That way edge wear is even on both sides. I don't think that this makes much difference to blade wear. I'm not particular about flipping blades, If I use only one razor the blades stay in that razor. If I change razors I flip the blade, i don't worry about drying the blade. I just give the razor and blade a good rinse. Maybe my experience with straights has changed my technique in some way? Maybe a lower angle? I just don't know.

These days I can't really say how long a blade lasts because I change razors frequently and if there's even a hint that maybe the blade is still not cutting optimally I toss it. I don't want a sub optimal blade clouding my judgement of my razors. Regardless, blade life for me would be weeks not days. This applies only to sharper blades, Astra SP's and up, Polsilvers, Gillette Green and Yellows. Nacets Rubies etc. I can't comment on milder blades becasue having tested a bunch of mild brands (I won't be buying any more) my remaining stock will be used in a Shavette. I find that even a Dorco will give a good shave in a shavette.
 
I’ve always thought that razor blade manufactures made demonstrator blades that are super sharp. These blades would be included in new razor purchases to encourage razor blade purchases of that blade. I bought a Merkur razor with a Merkur blade that preformed as well as a Feather. I bought the high priced Merkur blades and they were not like the demonstrator blade at all.
 
For 5 years I only used a Merkur 34G, most of the time with a 3-N-Out Astra SP blade or 2-N-Out on a Personna Red. As soon as I feel that first tug on any blade, it's gone. Last year I switched to a GC .68. Still using mostly Astra SP and Personna Red, but with a stockpile of 700 blades, all blades are now 2-N-Out.
 
As of today I am currently at shave number 67 with this blade(after beginning to count, so realistically, at least 77) and it is still as smooth and sharp as the day I put it in.
Has anyone ever had a similar experience?
Just wanted to revive this thread to say that I hit 68 shaves today with the same Astra SP blade and I suspect that I'll be using it for quite a while longer.

I started using that blade on May 17 after reading Alex's first post in this thread and thinking it would be a good challenge. Up to that point, I'd been tossing blades after a maximum of 6-7 shaves, regardless of whether I thought they were still good or not. I've been doing that for 30+ years.

So, this is quite a revelation. At the very least, this will save a bit of money on blades. :001_smile
 
It really depends on the water as most hard water is higher in alkaline content. Not necessarily acidic but it does affect lathering and potentially the durability of the blade's edge.



I aways rinse my blade/razor disassemble it and make sure there is no residual soap on the blade before I pat it dry and reassemble the razor once it too has have wiped dry.

This is not only to try and extend the life of the blade / razor but to make sure I don't shave with a dirty blade.

Happy shaves,

Mawashi
I do the same with my TTO razors, not wiping the blade, but just rinsing & holding by an end to flick off excess water. I then reinsert it into a rinsed, wiped & dried razor & leave it partially open with no tension on the blade.
Just recently got my first 3 piece razor - does anyone leave the head partially unscrewed to take tension off the blade?

Not really shave-related, but my Munich hard water level was up there in hardness with that of a suburb of Dayton, Ohio. A Munich neighbor showed me a quick & dirty way to treat water in order to help preserve the coffeemaker: Boil a quantity of water, then let it stand until cool. Filter it thru paper coffee filters, then bottle and refrigerate. It even improved the flavor. It was amazing hopw much sediment precipitated out of the water and was caught in the filter. Never thought of using it to shave.
 
I think this depends on your skin. I normally get a new blade after 4 shaves as my chin and under nose is quite thin and more results in trouble. However, my cheeks could do far more uses. I used to use disposable carts on my cheeks, with ordinary bath soap! And electric elsewhere. The carts did a couple of months!
 
I have a rather lightweight beard, yet the idea of anything over around 6 shaves on a blade escapes me ... except for maybe nearly a dozen with a lowly Voskhod. I could conceivably get a gazillion shaves on most blades, until it comes to that pesky area along my jawline & neck where each hair grows a different direction. For me, if I can't get a smooth shave there within 3 passes, it's time for a new blade.

For everyday use, the Voskhod & Sharks, at around $6 per 100, means that I can afford to change blades more frequently. I no longer live in Munich, so I don't need to be stingy.
 
I think this depends on your skin. I normally get a new blade after 4 shaves as my chin and under nose is quite thin and more results in trouble. However, my cheeks could do far more uses. I used to use disposable carts on my cheeks, with ordinary bath soap! And electric elsewhere. The carts did a couple of months!
I once asked if it were cheating to use an electric to finish up that problem area under my jawline & neck - I recently put new blades in a Norelco & it will pick up where the multiple-use DE blades won't anymore. The consensus seems that there are no rules & any method to get a smooth shave is fair game. Nevertheless, for me it's a matter of pride to be able to get smooth results with the blades - even though more frequent blade changes may be needed. I'm also considering dedicating a razor for the neck area only. More on that later, as it happens
 
So my blade ended up lasting about 94 comfortable shaves. Afterwards, I all of a sudden started getting quite bad razor burn. I ended up pushing it the further 6 shaves needed to reach 100. Even though I tried to get that sort of life out an Astra SP again, it only lasted 6 shaves.
For the past few weeks I've been using the R41 exclusively and my shave count now is even lower, rarely exceeding 4 before I need to change the blade.
 
So my blade ended up lasting about 94 comfortable shaves. Afterwards, I all of a sudden started getting quite bad razor burn. I ended up pushing it the further 6 shaves needed to reach 100. Even though I tried to get that sort of life out an Astra SP again, it only lasted 6 shaves.
For the past few weeks I've been using the R41 exclusively and my shave count now is even lower, rarely exceeding 4 before I need to change the blade.

94 comfortable shaves!!! That was an AWESOME BLADE!! :a29::a29:
 
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