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Calling all shavers who get over 14 shaves from one disposable blade...

I want to know your secrets, since I get a fairly normal 2 to 5 acceptable shaves from every brand of DE blade (except the vintage Personna tungsten blades) and 5 to 10 from injector blades.

I also want to know about any mitigating factors such as your total lack of facial hair, the fact that you only shave the space between your eyebrows, or other quirks that might not get mentioned in casual "I get 450 shaves from a Treet Silver" bombshell posts.

In all seriousness, please let me in on your discoveries, I'll never reach shaving enlightenment without some guidance!
 
I want to know your secrets, since I get a fairly normal 2 to 5 acceptable shaves from every brand of DE blade (except the vintage Personna tungsten blades) and 5 to 10 from injector blades.

I also want to know about any mitigating factors such as your total lack of facial hair, the fact that you only shave the space between your eyebrows, or other quirks that might not get mentioned in casual "I get 450 shaves from a Treet Silver" bombshell posts.

In all seriousness, please let me in on your discoveries, I'll never reach shaving enlightenment without some guidance!
 
Brother 54,

You mentioned some of the important factors. There may not be much else to add to explain the ambitious claims some make as to blade longevity.

I've shaven daily since 1951 and now as an old man I have tough coarse whiskers. I do 3 pass daily shaves, and today I get 7 shaves from a DE blade, 5 shaves from a SE blade, and 10 shaves from an injector blade. One tip: a thorough leisurely facial preparation does extend blade longevity a bit.
 
I have coarse, mostly gray, fast-growing facial hair and I shave four times a week.

With a Schick Proline in a Feather SS, I can get at least a months' worth of shaves (16). I palm strop the blade after about the 12 shave, but otherwise the secret is to have a perfect lather and extremely good technique, and to dry the blade completely after each shave.
 
Good pre-shave prep, a slick lather, and good technique.

I also don't freak out if I feel a slight tug. In fact, I like to feel the blade cut.
I have a fairly dense beard, and I don't shave my 'stache or lower chin currently(see avatar). I get about 2 weeks from better DE blades and a month from a Gem shaving daily.

As said above, good prep. Including cleaning your face, hydrating your beard for 2-3 minutes, and I would include moisturizing your face daily. I use pre-shave to do it, but believe a nighttime moisturizing or daily moisturizer would serve the same purpose done at some point throughout the day.

Slick lather. I go with wetter, slick lather more than photogenic lather.
 
Highly depends on the prep, pre shave soap, lather, razor and blade.

to give you an idea
7-10 days in my de is normal
The same blade broken in 2 in my broman easy total 10-14 days.
Record is a Kai blade total 6 weeks, most blades approx two weeks.

but a se feather fhs in my oneblade core max 2 days 😭
 
OK, you guys have told me things I already know and practice every day... I will say that I could *probably* go two weeks regularly if I used my Merkur OC exclusively and didn't bin blades at the first hint of harshness, but comfortable shaves trump saving 30¢ a week on blades for me and as much as I love the 15c (which regularly gives several extra days of good shaves with any given blade) there are other razors I enjoy more.

Thanks for the additional level of detail Clay S and Ivo4u2! I shoot for lather that has just progressed from pasty to slightly whipped, so dense and slick... I'll gladly use more soap if it means I can skip AS or post products.

How many shaves past the two week mark do you Gents get reliably, are we talking 15 days or 6 months?

I'm in no way calling BS here, since I've personally gone over 100 shaves on one blade, but I haven't managed to duplicate that run since and it was a coated P74*, which is definitely a longer life blade than any that are currently available. The P74*s shave really well for up to a month, then fall back to a level that feels like a fresh Derby to me (so sort of dull, but not terribly harsh and don't tug badly), this lower level of perfomance can last almost indefinitely but looses its charm after a few weeks, at least for me.

Just for reference, I shave my entire face and neck every day in the shower (shave at the end, so whiskers fully soaked), soaps are Mike's Nat, RR, Vicco, B&M, the most used blades are Personna Med Prep (3-4 shaves), Feather (3-5), Treet Dura Sharp (2-3) and vintage Personna SPCs (10-30).
 
I use Feather blades and can easily get into the high twenties without any degrade in performance. Certainly not trying to squeak every last shave from every blade as blades are cheap but most times the blade is still performing flawlessly and it's an extra step to change it, so why bother after just a few shaves. I usually use a 12 sided dice and bin them after 12 shaves even though I could take them two to three times as far.

There are probably quite a few factors to getting more life from your blades. I've listed some below (in no particular order):

1. Water quality/hardness. I have a water softener, so very soft water for me. This is likely more gentle on the blades
2. Preshave (to soften your face). For me, I just shower before I shave and wash my face with shower soap in the process. No fancy preshave lotions or oils for me.
3. Soap quality definitely makes a difference, as likely does the lather you make. I prefer a wet, gel like, lather.
4. Technique - your shaving technique might be the biggest factor of all.
5. The condition of your skin. How hydrated it is. I use better soaps and better aftershaves for this reason.
6. I take apart the razor after every shave, dry everything off with a soft towel and reassemble for the next shave. I've been doing this for years and every razor I own looks like it's brand new.
7. The quality of the blade. There are some blades that don't have any longevity or durability no matter what you do.

That's what comes to mind at the moment.
 

Ravenonrock

I shaved the pig
I basically do a one pass shave WTG. A second pass is more formality, a light XTG, touch up and the enjoyment of re lathering. I’m not seeking BBS obviously, but I do want the closest shave I can get with one pass. For how I shave, blades work best within the first few shaves, I rarely go beyond 4 uses with a single blade. I imagine if I were doing multiple passes and consistently going for BBS I could get more life out of the same blade to achieve that result for longer. I narrowed my search down to a few brands that will give me a very close shave with one pass. Performance lag becomes obvious for how I shave and I move on to the next blade.
 
I use Feather blades and can easily get into the high twenties without any degrade in performance.

YMMV and all that but I'm only getting maybe 3 shaves with a Feather.

However, I can keep some blades going for weeks like Polsilver, Wizamets, GSBs and Nacets. I don't actually do a count and tend to switch blades when I get bored. This is for a traditional 3-pass shave pretty much daily. I guess my beard is average in density. Shower before and make a slick hydrated lather. Even with my less than stellar technique I get really good blade longevity with the right blade.
 
I don’t toss a blade that’s been used if I get a few weepers or it tugs slightly. I’ll give it a few more shaves, and sometimes I’ve found things smooth up a bit.
 
I use a preshave oil because it gives me a better result, but a side-effect is that blade life is increased.

I'm currently replacing Astra SPs after 10 shaves, just to have a routine, but they can go further (beyond 14, but they go obviously bad before 21).
 
I can grow a full beard which I would describe as having medium density and thickness. It's not gray, and it's not patchy.
I shave daily and get a month from a single blade. My blade of choice is Gillette SharpEdge.
There are only 3 things I can think of that gives my blades a longer life.
1) Two pass shave (WTG & ATG).
2) Not shaving over the same area multiple times.
3) Drying the blade after each use.
 
Like others here have already stated, prep is a big factor in keeping a blade going. I can get a month out of my better blades. I shave every day and sometimes wait two days between shaves. Longevity wise my best blades are Astras.....
 
There is a lot of discussion about this topic in the Excalibur Club thread. If you haven't already, I'd recommend reading through it. Many commenters have provided tips on how they extended blade life, including @sugardaddy who has gotten 300+ shaves on a single blade. (Check out his site, as well: Blade Marathon Secrets)

Personally, I have an Astra SP still going strong at 136 shaves. But, I can get 25+ shaves from almost any blade, except the really crappy ones.

It does take more than just good prep, though. For example, switching razors as a blade dulls is a common technique among Excalibur Club members. In my case, I start off with an ultra-mild razor (e.g. Tech, Fatip Lo Storto Originale, Merkur 34C, etc.), then switch to more aggressive or efficient razors (Futur on a high setting, GC .84, etc.) as I detect the blade dulling. With my Excalibur-class Astra SP, I used four or five razors to get to the century mark.

Also, as others have mentioned, if a blade gets tuggy, sometimes giving it another one or two tries (and/or switching razors) may smooth it out.

Anyway, there's lots of info in the aforementioned Excalibur Club thread. Check it out!


p.s. Since you asked about facial hair type/style, shaving habits, etc.... I have a chevron moustache (AKA a "Magnum" after the style worn by its namesake, Tom Selleck). I have coarse, wiry, grey whiskers. I shave my cheeks, neck, chin, and sideburns; basically everywhere except under my nose. I shave everyday because I look like a hobo if I skip a day! :001_tongu
 
Well one factor is tehnique but there are other things to consider here. Liek skin sensitivity and trade offs.

I can get 3-4 shaves out of my blades. If I push the balde ruther I loose more time because I have to be more mindfull of tehnique to cut all the hair and not to get iritation at the same time.
And my neck just LOVES to get iritated. One wrong look there is a red spot.

And for more time and potential harm, what do I get in return? I get a few cents worth of savings on blades and bragging rights on the internet

For me blades are too cheap, skin too sensitive and life too short to use 1 blade for quadrilion shaves
 
YMMV and all that but I'm only getting maybe 3 shaves with a Feather.

However, I can keep some blades going for weeks like Polsilver, Wizamets, GSBs and Nacets. I don't actually do a count and tend to switch blades when I get bored. This is for a traditional 3-pass shave pretty much daily. I guess my beard is average in density. Shower before and make a slick hydrated lather. Even with my less than stellar technique I get really good blade longevity with the right blade.
Agree 100% with your Feather blade experience. I've gotten 2 weeks out of a US Personna Lab Blue, but that is the upper limit for me. Most other blades last a week (Astra SP, Wilkinson Sword German), but Treet Carbons don't usually last past 4 shaves, Derby Extras are only good for one shave, and Tiger Platinums are only good for 3 uses at most. Oh, and the Israeli Personnas in the blue box (which now appear to be made in Germany since the beginning of the year) are good for at least a week.

P.S. I do a 3-pass shave and have coarse whiskers.
 
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