Blade flip?

[leonski]

Anyone FLIP the blade after each shave? Does that help? Hurt?

I recently started using a good DE and bought a selection of blades with it. Once I settle on a blade/soap combo, I'm sure I'll get 8 to 10 shaves per blade without 'pushing it'.

I put a black mark on ONE SIDE of a fresh blade using a sharpie.

Anyone ELSE have a similar habit?

 

[Runnin_Ute]

Flip after every shave. Always have. I do believe it helps in getting more shaves from each blade.

 

[clyde72]

I have noticed that sometimes when a blade is pulling I can flip it and the opposite side doesn't pull.
This is not always the case though.

 

[Highspeedlane]

I'm actually experimenting with this now as we speak with my go-to SE razor, the Gem Micromatic Clog-Pruf.

So far the jury is out and I can't say for certain it makes a real difference. After every shave I thoroughly rinse the razor in water to remove standing soap, then swirl it in Isoporpyl alcohol, open and flip the blade in preparation for the next shave. One week isn't enough time to draw a conclusion so on my next effort I plan to record the actual number of shaves before it gets too "tuggy", then do the same without flipping it.

 

[xxvaleria]

I've never bothered with it. My take on a DE blade is that when the edge is gone, it's gone on both sides.

 

[Graybeard57]

I've never bothered with it. My take on a DE blade is that when the edge is gone, it's gone on both sides.

Agree^.

 

[cw62803]

Tried it - it doesn't seem to make a difference to me.

 

[DE Steve]

A magnified razor blade edge is a V (do a search) with only one cutting edge.

Flipping a blade does not result in another cutting edge, its the same edge regardless of the blade orientation.

 

[razorhead63]

Yes, I flip my blades,

Just a habit of mine.

And I believe it helps getting better shaves and improves longevity.

 

[captp]

I don't believe it makes any difference at all, but some folks swear by it. It can't hurt.

 

[Squirrel]

Never have flipped. The blade just stays put until it's done.

 

[santamariasteve]

This question has been debated for years on various shaving forums, with no general agreement. I suggest do your own experimentation, and go with your results.

Personally, I don't do it. I've experimented but my results have been uncertain.

A parallel question is does a light palm strop (once on each side of the blade's edge/s) before each shave benefit a blade's sharpness? I think that practice might make more sense, but again, in my experimentation the results have been unclear.

 

[shave/brush]

A magnified razor blade edge is a V (do a search) with only one cutting edge.

Flipping a blade does not result in another cutting edge, its the same edge regardless of the blade orientation.

Very good point.

 

[leonski]

Yes, a blade will be a 'VEE'. However, does shaving put a BURR on the edge? Flipping the blade MAY help equalize or remove the burr. Just thinkin' out loud, as it were.

 

[KQY61]

Hi,

There is a burr on the edge from manufacture. Shaving wears it down. This is why many note that the first shave or two are rougher than later shaves. That burr tends to curl as well, so flipping can be beneficial. Heat causes the burr to uncurl, so hot water helps, as does the heat from stropping. Most of the time, though it really doesn't matter all that much.

Some razor instructions directed flipping the blade, others did not. I see where the instruction on the blade wrapper has already been covered. Personally, I have tried flipping vs not flipping during One Blade February and found no difference. So, I don't bother flipping.

Stan

 

[CigarSmoka]

Blades with wax dots never get flipped, I like the wax towards the base so it does't stick to the curved cap. Blades without wax, maybe. I like the Cyrillic print on Voskhod so that side stays face down so it can be seen from the bottom. Nobody ever looks at the bottom, not even me, but just in case... Otherwise it's a crapshoot, if it gets flipped when I clean the razor after each shave it's purely by the luck of the draw. That being said, I've gone 3 weeks on a blade before, and 2+ a couple times, so flipping doesn't seem like it would matter to me.

 

[John Rose]

My current blade is an Astra SP. When I noticed that it had the numbers, I decided to make a point of using them to keep track of flipping the blade every second shave.
Previously I had only kept track of (to use flight jargon) yaw and roll but not necessarily pitch rotations of blades in my Fendrihan Scientist, which has a safety bar on one side and an open comb on the other. If I favoured, say, the open comb side, it might mean that I used one edge of the blade more than the other, as if it was in a SE razor.

But back to the Astra SP.
Day 1 - side 1/2, in a Pre-War Tech
Day 2 - side 1/2, in a New Style head
Day 3 - side 3/4, in a Fendrihan Scientist
Day 4 - side 3/4, in a Pre-War Tech
Day 5 - side 1/2, in a Pre-War Tech
Day 6 - side 1/2 in a Pre-War Tech (last night)
Now, I rarely go past 4 or 5 uses, and the last time I started a 6th use (a Feather H-S, I think) I swapped to a new blade after only three or four strokes.
This time, I made it through #6 and it was still pretty much a BBS shave, and the last three shaves have resulted in much less sting from post-shave products than I can remember.
I also dismantle, clean, and dry the razor and the blade after each shave, but I've always done that..

So, is it the blade flipping, or just suddenly improved technique?
We'll see.

 

[John Rose]

Later that night - Astra SP (7)
Starting to pull, but still a BBS.

 

[tacman21]

I have tried both, but never noticed much difference with flipping, and it just seemed like I was handling the blade more, so I stopped. That was a while ago though, so now you've got me thinking about trying it again!

 

[adamchur]

I use a different razor every day and alternate between TTO and 3-Piece - same side of the blade facing upwards from the top of a TTO and facing upwards from the bottom of the cap of a 3-Piece means that I have the opposite surface of the blade's edge against my face every day, so technically I flip the blades
I haven't really noticed any difference one way or the other, but it's a long time since I used the same razor 2 days in a row.

I can only get 3 good shaves per blade from most blades, but at only 2c - 4c per shave it's still fairly economical
I can get 4 good shaves per blade from my best blades: Bic Chrome Platinum, Indian Gillette 7 O'Clock Permasharp, Racer Super Class Platinum, German Wilkinson Sword, Personna Platinum Chrome and my all time favourites, Zaza Super Stainless, and at only 3c - 4c per shave, I can live with it

Every time I've tried to make my blades last longer, I wished that I hadn't, so I decided to quit while I'm ahead and just enjoy my shaves