Blade Longevity...

[koreysmith]

I was reading another related thread where everyone was giving the blade they were using and the number of shaves they were on. I'm really surprised that others get so many shaves from a blade. One thing I noticed was people mentioned using one side and then flipping the blade. When you are referring to blade flipping, are you just turning it over or switching to the other side? One blade I noticed that gets a lot of shaves is the Shark Superior Stainless as I saw that listed numerous times with high numbers. Those of you who get a lot of shaves from your blades, how do you do it?

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[Tim Meneely]

Those of you who get a lot of shaves from your blades, how do you do it?

I don't have any magic to offer, but I'll note that my blade longevity seems to keep increasing as my technique has improved. (I've been DE shaving a little over a year).

I suspect that "riding the cap" is easier on the blade's edge than using a steeper angle is.

Also, I recently switched from a Rockwell 6S with commercial shave soaps (Proraso, Cella) to a Razorock Game Changer .84 with Sterling and Wholly Kaw, and my blades seem to have stopped wearing, more or less. I've been changing blades after 5 to 7 shaves to I could try another brand, but they're by no means done at that point. I expect it's improved technique (and angle) combined with slicker soaps and a somewhat more rigid razor. I'm at shave 7 with a Voskhod right now and I'm going to keep going for a few more days, to see if I can wear it out. (On the other hand, I still want to try Silver Blues, and some Rapira Platinum Lux are on their way...)

Happy shaving,
Tim

 

[AimlessWanderer]

Most blades give me 10 shaves, but a couple have gone over 30 shaves. It's partially technique, partially your beard, partially getting kit that works well for you... but don't worry about everyone else's shaves, they're mostly irrelevant, other than making for good conversation. Find your own path.

Some folks only get one or two shaves before they chuck the blade, but if they're getting great shaves, and happy to cycle through blades that quick, they're doing everything right.

As to blade flipping - it refers to taking the blade out, turning it upside down, and putting it back, rather than just spinning the razor round. I do it partway through the blade life, as my technique seems to favour one edge of the blade. I don't do it every time though, as I believe that's putting undue wear on the razor threads.

 

[shave/brush]

Some blades are better than others of course. You have to find out which blades are best for you.
Another thing you have to consider is comfort level. Some DE blades I get 10 or 12 comfortable shaves from them. I could get a lot more if I wanted to but the smoothest of the shave is noticeably not as good.
I average about 10 shaves from a good DE blade like Personna, or 7 O'clock yellows. The 10th shave feels as good as the first. For artist club type SE blades I get about 15.

 

[psfred]

Beard density, technique, and your tolerance for "drag" have a lot to do with how long you are comfortable using a blade. Me, I've always gotten large numbers of shaves from any sort of razor from injectors to DE to multi-blade cartridges.

For me, and this may be different for you, shallow angle, good lather (read slick, nothing else really counts) and careful directional control of the razor result in both the most comfortable shave and the longest blade life.

Ditto for weepers by the way -- almost always a result of too much pressure, not a dull blade.

Another thing to consider is that the ubiquitous PTFE coatings on blades wear off long before the edge actually dulls Stainless steel drags quite a bit on hair as it cuts, so the blade will "pull" more while cutting just as well. I toss the blade when I no longer get close shaves no matter how many passes I do. Very smooth and easy, just not very close.

 

[Joncr]

When I use a very steep angle in my 2013 R41, or wide open Futur, Feathers last 3-4 shaves. Lately I am using a neutral angel, cap and guard both on skin throughout stroke. So far Feather, Astra SP, Derby Extra and Premium are all lasting 10 shaves or more. I change either to try a different blade or when the shave is not as close. BTW, mostly using TOBS creams and EJ DE89 and getting BBS or near BBS, no weepers, no irritation.

 

[Jim99]

Beard density, technique, and your tolerance for "drag" have a lot to do with how long you are comfortable using a blade. Me, I've always gotten large numbers of shaves from any sort of razor from injectors to DE to multi-blade cartridges.

For me, and this may be different for you, shallow angle, good lather (read slick, nothing else really counts) and careful directional control of the razor result in both the most comfortable shave and the longest blade life.

Ditto for weepers by the way -- almost always a result of too much pressure, not a dull blade.

Another thing to consider is that the ubiquitous PTFE coatings on blades wear off long before the edge actually dulls Stainless steel drags quite a bit on hair as it cuts, so the blade will "pull" more while cutting just as well. I toss the blade when I no longer get close shaves no matter how many passes I do. Very smooth and easy, just not very close.

+1 to this!

I probably toss my blades way too soon as I typically replace my DE blades by shave 5 or 6. I should go a bit longer with my blades.

 

[WalterK]

I've been a face-latherer for maybe a decade or so and usually tossed my blade after three or four shaves. I decided to give bowl lathering a try, mainly because my favorite soap stick was getting too short to use easily.

What I discovered was that now I could easily get two to three more comfortable shaves from the same blade. The lather I was able to generate (after a bit of practice) was of a much better quality. But perhaps the face-lathering also "sanded" my face and made it "sissier".





Don't forget:

-some guys have peach-fuzz, some guys have steel-wool (one is harder on the blade)
-same guys perform a daily one pass shave, others perform a three pass shave once a week...both count as one shave (one is harder on the blade)
-a quick, less than perfect shave and a four pass BBS complete with buffering...both count as one shave (one is harder on the blade)
-some guys shave their whole face (beard and mustache), guys that keep some amount of facial hair shave much less surface area...both count as one shave(one is harder on the blade)​

 

[Sicilian]

I don't flip my blades. I toss them out every 10 to 12 shaves. I shave every 2 to 3 days. My beard is not very heavy. I do have sensitive skin. For me canned gel shave cream works well (with or without a brush).

 

[BigJ]

Blades are the most YMMV aspect of traditional wet shaving as far as I can tell.

For me, a top tier blade delivers 7+ shaves (generally with 3 passes/shave)! Look over the Excalibur Club posts to see what the real experts get per blade!!

 

[Your Majesty]

3 times for me. Sometimes 4.

Today I used a bic chrome 4 times. Bad idea. Too much drag.

 

[Ken B]

I usually do two shaves, but feel like I should do more, especially with a top blade like Polsilver. But the only times I get a nick or weeper seems to be the third shave ...

I have a thick, fast growing beard, but don’t do my whole face.

I might try more bowl lathering.

 

[les24preludes]

I would ask the question "what is a shave"? It's different if there are 3 passes rather than 2. It's different if you have a very efficient razor that doesn't need much cleaning up, rather than a less efficient one with which you're doing a lot of cleaning and buffing. It depends if you stop at a DFS rather than requiring a BBS. So depending on how you shave one person could have 3 times the number of strokes or more, relative to another shaver. This may be caveman thinking, but in general isn't it the number of strokes a blade makes that determines how soon it dulls?

 

[Clay S]

I would ask the question "what is a shave"? It's different if there are 3 passes rather than 2. It's different if you have a very efficient razor that doesn't need much cleaning up, rather than a less efficient one with which you're doing a lot of cleaning and buffing. It depends if you stop at a DFS rather than requiring a BBS. So depending on how you shave one person could have 3 times the number of strokes or more, relative to another shaver. This may be caveman thinking, but in general isn't it the number of strokes a blade makes that determines how soon it dulls?

I agree with what your saying, but I doubt "one and done" uses the same number of strokes as "century shaver", or anywhere close to it. Even a weekly changing shaver would probably need OCD to compare, IMO. I think it is very much a perception thing, much like pain. One persons intolerable is anothers annoying.

 

[psfred]

Blades do drag a lot more when the PTFE wears off, but once you get used to that, it takes a very long time to wear most of them out. There is a big difference between sharp and slippery and sharp and not slippery, and even excellent soap can't completely mask that difference. I've got 8 shaves on my current "One Blade in February" blade (a Topaz Platinum) and it definitely has more "pulling" sensation than when I first used it. Not a huge difference, but noticeable. However, I got a really close and comfortable shave today, better than when it was fresh since it won't slice off skin bumps now. Should last quite a while, probably nearly 100 shaves.

However, really really slick soap helps quite a bit -- I tend to get the best shaves when the lather drips off the razor occasionally, no matter what soap I'm using. Dry foam that looks like over-whipped cream isn't very slick, it's sticky at the skin level for me, and I greatly prefer slick. Very slick.

It's mostly a matter of figuring out what angle and pressure aligns the edge so that it cuts with the minimum force, everything else falls into place when you figure that out.

 

[les24preludes]

Excellent post.

 

[ajkel64]

I aim for 7 shaves per blade. I leave the blade in for the morning shave, I then take it out and rinse the razor, the blade and the brush. When I put the blade back in I have know idea which way it was in. I usually get 7 three pass shaves out of each blade. Some could certainly go on for more and some seem done after 4 shaves.

 

[Medivh]

3-4 good shaves is all I can get from a single blade. I have very tough and fast growing beard and 90% of the time I use either Polsilver or Feather blades because those two work best from the others I've tried. I go for 3 pass (1 WTG and 2 XTG) shave with a little buffing. Although my face gets as smooth as glass, I still have a light 5 o'clock shadow which I've found impossible to get rid of. It is beyond me how anyone can get 10+ shaves from a single blade, but I guess everything is possible.

 

[Badgerstate36]

I used to be someone who never got more than 3 shaves from a blade. Lately, Ive read some on what really dulls a blade and that really what makes it seem dull is microscopic rust, not so much the dulling caused by the hair and what a benefit drying the blade can have.
I now dip my razor in alcohol after Im done shaving and the blades seem to last quite a bit longer. I now run a blade 6-8 shaves and I honestly could stretch it out to 10.

 

[Steve1981]

I have tested out 3 types of blades for longevity, and those are as follows. Wilkonson sword ( India ) Gillette 7 o'clock ( yellows ) and feather. This was all tested through body shaving! And they were all close but feathers out of the three seemed to last the longest imo out of those three.