. . . And some serious whiskers!
Am I the only one who can only get a couple shaves out of a blade?
- Thread starter Big_Tex
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I easily get 7 triple pass shaves out of my Feathers and Merkurs. At that, they don’t start to pull. They just aren’t efficient enough to get a BBS shave.
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Some people only get one day - so consider yourself lucky. Feather's are very sharp, but have the worst longevity of any blade I've tried.
I formerly used Med Preps for 7 days. Sometimes the last day was OK and sometimes it was a little rough - but it was easy to keep track of.
Now I use PolSilver SI blades and a die to keep track of usage. Last year I found that all my weepers came on the third pass of the 5th day. So, being a genius, I almost always change the blade after 4 days. Two weepers so far this year.
I formerly used Med Preps for 7 days. Sometimes the last day was OK and sometimes it was a little rough - but it was easy to keep track of.
Now I use PolSilver SI blades and a die to keep track of usage. Last year I found that all my weepers came on the third pass of the 5th day. So, being a genius, I almost always change the blade after 4 days. Two weepers so far this year.
I should try a die. I’m OCD and I use an Excel spreadsheet in my iPhone. That’s how I know this morning was my 520th DE shave. [emoji51]
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Tons of useful advice above.
For me (and many others) Feathers are very sharp but not as long-lasting as my top-tier. I get around 5-7 shaves with a Feather and 7-10 (sometimes more) with GSB, Nacet, or Personna labs. Compared to the Excalibur guys that isn't much at at all!
For me (and many others) Feathers are very sharp but not as long-lasting as my top-tier. I get around 5-7 shaves with a Feather and 7-10 (sometimes more) with GSB, Nacet, or Personna labs. Compared to the Excalibur guys that isn't much at at all!
I shave have a tough, fast growing beard. It sounds like your beard may be similar to mine. I primarily shave with a straight razor: one pass WTG and one pass ATG. Then I do a cleanup pass XTG using a DE. I will normally get about 6 clean-up passes on a single blade. Thus, that works out to about two 3-pass shaves if I were using a DE full time.
I'm also in the "two shaves then dump it" side.
I think it depends to a large part on what kind of blade you are using. I routinely get seven full three pass shaves out of my vintage Gillette spoilers on my fairly tough fast growing beard.
They get more comfortable after the first couple shaves while remaining sharp. I love those blades and have acquired a nice stash of them
I could probably push them more but it’s convenient to remember to change them every Sunday.
As far as prep, I do nothing special, just shower, face lather some MWF and then go at. Anyway it’s been a while since I used modern blades but I doubt that I could get that degree of durability compared to my spoilers.
Edit to add, I also try to be very careful with keeping blade angle stable. I’m not sure if this helps blade longevity but it might.
They get more comfortable after the first couple shaves while remaining sharp. I love those blades and have acquired a nice stash of them
I could probably push them more but it’s convenient to remember to change them every Sunday.
As far as prep, I do nothing special, just shower, face lather some MWF and then go at. Anyway it’s been a while since I used modern blades but I doubt that I could get that degree of durability compared to my spoilers.
Edit to add, I also try to be very careful with keeping blade angle stable. I’m not sure if this helps blade longevity but it might.
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For me, it's an easy baseball metaphor ---- "three strikes and you're out."
Three shaves per blade, then a new one gets loaded. I'm currently using a four razor - blade rotation, and I usually shave 5 times a week, so I dismantle my razors and change all my blades at the same time, about every two weeks.
Three shaves per blade, then a new one gets loaded. I'm currently using a four razor - blade rotation, and I usually shave 5 times a week, so I dismantle my razors and change all my blades at the same time, about every two weeks.
I doubt that you have ten times as much beard as I do, although it might be possible, but even then you should be getting more than two shaves per blade.
As Gillette found in the early 60's, sharpness and shave comfort are NOT the same thing, that's why they started coating their blades with teflon. A very sharp blade can cut the hair perfectly well, but if the hair drags on the blade, if makes the blade "feel" dull because it's pulling on the root of the hair.
The cutting resistance of hair varies with blade drag, blade sharpness, and most importantly, where on the hair shaft the blade is cutting and what angle to the shaft the blade is working. If the edge is above the skin very far, the hair will bend over at the root, and the blade will cut at an oblique angle making a longer cut. This both pulls more AND flexes the root, causing a "tugging" sensation.
The fix, of course, is to have very slick lather (doesn't matter how thick it is, all that counts is that the lather makes the skin, and hair, quite slick), to hold the razor so that the edge of the blade is at the optimum cutting angle to the hair (about 20 degrees above flat to the skin) and to move the razor edge fairly quickly. Most important, that edge must be in contact with the skin at very low pressure -- "flying" above the skin from improper angle or too thick lather will result in much more pulling than if the edge is at skin level.
For me that means changing the angle of the razor a lot -- much of my beard appears to grow out nearly parallel to the skin, which is a pain to shave. Have to do ATG to get anything approaching a decent shave. I also find that using quick, short (1/4"or less) strokes -- "blade buffing" if you like -- gives me a very comfortable shave. No need for long, sweeping strokes, in fact they can be quite a problem since at least my beard grows out in all sort of directions andit works better for me to shave strictly ATG everywhere. Quite a lot of direction changing, eh?
Weepers are a result of using too much pressure on the razor or perhaps moving it sideways too much, they are NOT a result of a dull blade. Sadly, the human response to resistance in cutting seems to be to press harder,and a razor too dull to cut hair efficiently will slice skin with ease.
Give this a try: Wet, slick lather from one of the "best" soaps -- Haslinger, Arko (the cheapest), Mitchell's Wool Fat, Tabac, etc. Ignore the scent, what you are wanting is excellent lather those soaps will always produce that for you. Very wet, if it's not shiny it's too dry, must rinse instantly from the razor. Thin coating is all you need. Hold the razor at as shallow an angle as you can get it to cut, with VERY light pressure, sliding on the cap. Take little bites, quick little snips, not a "big gulp". Watch that you don not rotate the razor, keep your wrist inflexible (hard for me to do, by the way).
The more comfortable the shave, the more efficient it is, and the more efficient it is, the longer the blades will "last" -- quite likely you will get siginficantly more shaves when you learn to eliminate the sensation of pulling. New blades have a fairly thick coating of teflon on the edge, and it will wear significantly in the first few shaves. If you are depending on the teflon coating to make the shave comfortable instead of using the correct blade angle and motion, once the teflon is worn the shave gets " tuggy", not because the blade is worn out, but because the teflon is no longer masking less than perfect shaving angle and lather.
I certainly don't expect everyone to get as many shaves as I do, but my brother has a much denser and coarser beard than I do and has yet to use up the ten blades I gave him a year ago. Hasn't used up that puck of Williams either, and gets good shaves five days a week most weeks.
As Gillette found in the early 60's, sharpness and shave comfort are NOT the same thing, that's why they started coating their blades with teflon. A very sharp blade can cut the hair perfectly well, but if the hair drags on the blade, if makes the blade "feel" dull because it's pulling on the root of the hair.
The cutting resistance of hair varies with blade drag, blade sharpness, and most importantly, where on the hair shaft the blade is cutting and what angle to the shaft the blade is working. If the edge is above the skin very far, the hair will bend over at the root, and the blade will cut at an oblique angle making a longer cut. This both pulls more AND flexes the root, causing a "tugging" sensation.
The fix, of course, is to have very slick lather (doesn't matter how thick it is, all that counts is that the lather makes the skin, and hair, quite slick), to hold the razor so that the edge of the blade is at the optimum cutting angle to the hair (about 20 degrees above flat to the skin) and to move the razor edge fairly quickly. Most important, that edge must be in contact with the skin at very low pressure -- "flying" above the skin from improper angle or too thick lather will result in much more pulling than if the edge is at skin level.
For me that means changing the angle of the razor a lot -- much of my beard appears to grow out nearly parallel to the skin, which is a pain to shave. Have to do ATG to get anything approaching a decent shave. I also find that using quick, short (1/4"or less) strokes -- "blade buffing" if you like -- gives me a very comfortable shave. No need for long, sweeping strokes, in fact they can be quite a problem since at least my beard grows out in all sort of directions andit works better for me to shave strictly ATG everywhere. Quite a lot of direction changing, eh?
Weepers are a result of using too much pressure on the razor or perhaps moving it sideways too much, they are NOT a result of a dull blade. Sadly, the human response to resistance in cutting seems to be to press harder,and a razor too dull to cut hair efficiently will slice skin with ease.
Give this a try: Wet, slick lather from one of the "best" soaps -- Haslinger, Arko (the cheapest), Mitchell's Wool Fat, Tabac, etc. Ignore the scent, what you are wanting is excellent lather those soaps will always produce that for you. Very wet, if it's not shiny it's too dry, must rinse instantly from the razor. Thin coating is all you need. Hold the razor at as shallow an angle as you can get it to cut, with VERY light pressure, sliding on the cap. Take little bites, quick little snips, not a "big gulp". Watch that you don not rotate the razor, keep your wrist inflexible (hard for me to do, by the way).
The more comfortable the shave, the more efficient it is, and the more efficient it is, the longer the blades will "last" -- quite likely you will get siginficantly more shaves when you learn to eliminate the sensation of pulling. New blades have a fairly thick coating of teflon on the edge, and it will wear significantly in the first few shaves. If you are depending on the teflon coating to make the shave comfortable instead of using the correct blade angle and motion, once the teflon is worn the shave gets " tuggy", not because the blade is worn out, but because the teflon is no longer masking less than perfect shaving angle and lather.
I certainly don't expect everyone to get as many shaves as I do, but my brother has a much denser and coarser beard than I do and has yet to use up the ten blades I gave him a year ago. Hasn't used up that puck of Williams either, and gets good shaves five days a week most weeks.
I have tried to really push blades and it usually gets me nowhere except and uncomfortable shave. With de blades I get 2 at best and usually once and done them. Any multi blade cart I ever used to use I would get 1 shave out of. My current Gillette guards I can get 2 shaves from. Injectors I was able to get 3-4 shaves out of.
About 5 to 7 from my go-to Gillette Silver Blue's and 7o'clock Super Stainless. I have pushed a Super Stainless to 43 shaves "just to see" but the amount of touch up required started getting to be too much. 5 to 7 is about the ideal zone for sharpness and efficiency.
Number of shaves is less important by far than comfort and closeness. When I was poor (graduate school) I learned just how far a blade can go giving passable shaves, but it's not really comfortable and certainly takes quite a bit of work. One does learn how to get the most out of a blade, though....
Good technique should give you better shaves, and as a side benefit you can get more shaves out of a blade -- more shaves really isn't a contest, it's just a marker for how well your technique is developed. I've been shaving for 45 years or so, and I'm still learning.
Good technique should give you better shaves, and as a side benefit you can get more shaves out of a blade -- more shaves really isn't a contest, it's just a marker for how well your technique is developed. I've been shaving for 45 years or so, and I'm still learning.
10 shaves really?? Sounds like we need to source your beard for new shave brushes if it's that soft. I get 2 if I'm lucky.
I usually get 5 shaves from a blade, regardless of brand.
Astra - about 7 or 8 usually
GSB - 10
German Wilkinson - 8 to 10 in my Rockwell
Nacet - 3, maybe 4
Derby- 3
Rockwell - 1 (really awful blades)
Med Preps - 8 or so
Voskhod- 3 to 4
GSB - 10
German Wilkinson - 8 to 10 in my Rockwell
Nacet - 3, maybe 4
Derby- 3
Rockwell - 1 (really awful blades)
Med Preps - 8 or so
Voskhod- 3 to 4
I just went four on a Bolzano, a blade known four longeivity. I shouldn't have.
Best I've done is ten during a "one blade for a month" challenge, it wasn't fun.
I have fine kitchen knives, good bird, trout, and game dressing knives, and woodworking hand planes and chisels. I know how to keep them sharp and I do.
Why waste your time with a dull razor blade.
Best I've done is ten during a "one blade for a month" challenge, it wasn't fun.
I have fine kitchen knives, good bird, trout, and game dressing knives, and woodworking hand planes and chisels. I know how to keep them sharp and I do.
Why waste your time with a dull razor blade.
When I was younger and using cartridge razors (Atra mostly) and disposables, I could get 10-11 shaves out of one. Somewhere along the line as I got older, started noticing a difference after 4 shaves. After some years of trying various DE blades, I've adopted a rule: Three shaves and out with stainless blades, two shaves and out w. carbon steel blades (Treet black beauties).
As always with blades, YMMV.
As always with blades, YMMV.
Worst case scenario, I average 3 shaves per blade with my daily beaters...........
Egypt:
Lord Super Stainless, Lord Platinum Class, Rainbow, Shark Super Stainless
India:
Centwin Super Platinum, Super-Max Diamond Edge
Pakistan:
Treet Durasharp
Russia:
Rapira Platinum Lux, Rapira Super Stainless, Rapira Swedish Supersteel, Voskhod, Ladas, Sharp Star, Sputnik, Astra SP,
Gillette Nacet, Perma-Sharp Super
I can always get 4 shaves per blade from my best blades..............
Egypt:
Racer Super Class Platinum, Silver Star
Germany:
Wilkinson Sword
Greece:
Bic Platinum Chrome
India:
Gillette 7 O'Clock (Green) Permasharp Stainless
Israel:
Personna Chrome Platinum
Russia:
Gillette 7 O'Clock (Yellow) SharpEdge
Turkey:
Zaza Supreme Stainless
Egypt:
Lord Super Stainless, Lord Platinum Class, Rainbow, Shark Super Stainless
India:
Centwin Super Platinum, Super-Max Diamond Edge
Pakistan:
Treet Durasharp
Russia:
Rapira Platinum Lux, Rapira Super Stainless, Rapira Swedish Supersteel, Voskhod, Ladas, Sharp Star, Sputnik, Astra SP,
Gillette Nacet, Perma-Sharp Super
I can always get 4 shaves per blade from my best blades..............
Egypt:
Racer Super Class Platinum, Silver Star
Germany:
Wilkinson Sword
Greece:
Bic Platinum Chrome
India:
Gillette 7 O'Clock (Green) Permasharp Stainless
Israel:
Personna Chrome Platinum
Russia:
Gillette 7 O'Clock (Yellow) SharpEdge
Turkey:
Zaza Supreme Stainless
If you purchase a 100 pack, you can get blades for $0.25, or less ofr some brands. Unless you have serious financial issues, replace the blades whenever you are not getting a comfortable shave. If you do have serious financial issues, you can remove the blade from the razor and hone it on the inside of a glass or glazed ceramic coffee mug. Th curvature of the glass or mug help create a suitable honing angle.
In the straight razor world, we get into similar discussions. Some people go months between honing a razor by using a leather strop only. Others, like me, tend to do some touch-up honing every 5-6 shaves. Do whatever your face and beard tell you is best. If your beard is such that you can get 10 shaves out of a single blade, go for it. If you need to replace the blade every two shaves, then buy your blades in bulk.
In the straight razor world, we get into similar discussions. Some people go months between honing a razor by using a leather strop only. Others, like me, tend to do some touch-up honing every 5-6 shaves. Do whatever your face and beard tell you is best. If your beard is such that you can get 10 shaves out of a single blade, go for it. If you need to replace the blade every two shaves, then buy your blades in bulk.
