Excalibur Club - Blade Longevity DE, SE and Injector

[Highspeedlane]

30 is a good number @Highspeedlane. Congratulations!

Thanks Mike as well as you all for your supportive comments. I knocked out shave 30 this morning with no sign the blade wants to slow down. I should also mention every shave has been with Proraso green, an Omega 10049 boar brush, two passes plus touch up.

In the past when I've abandoned blade longevity tests it was more often due to me getting bored with using the same razor every day than the blade giving out. In fact it's remarkable how fast and loose I can use this Merkur Progress with the blade basically "broken in" but still very shave sharp. Every shave super close and smooth!

As far as razor adjustment I started at about 1.5 for shave 1 to 12 or so, dialed up to about 2.5 for shave 13 to about 20 and have been set at 3 for all remaining shaves up to now. The plan is to continue onward. I haven't done anything to the blade since loading it...no stropping, no flipping...the only variable has been a slight increase in the blade exposure as I've gone along, using this Progress.

Thanks again all and hope to be back here for another report (with any luck ) around shave #50!

 

[psfred]

Two new milestones today: New record for number of shaves on a blade -- 44 on a German Wilkinson, expect around 80 or so -- and with an average of 27.325 shave per blade, I have 100 years left of shaving on my current blade stash.

Needless to say, I won't be buying any more blades any time soon.....

 

[Saxonbowman]

Great progress @psfred! That's one problem with doing an extended run. You don't get to try many blades.

 

[Highspeedlane]

Two new milestones today: New record for number of shaves on a blade -- 44 on a German Wilkinson, expect around 80 or so -- and with an average of 27.325 shave per blade, I have 100 years left of shaving on my current blade stash.

Needless to say, I won't be buying any more blades any time soon.....

At my current pace of one blade = one month, I have over 25 years of daily shaving already on hand!

 

[psfred]

Yeah, I have four razors in use at the moment, using three of them once a week and the fourth four days. At the current rate, I will have some of them in use with the same blade for over a year....

 

[ruckin]

When I started using a DE a few years ago I couldn't decide which sample pack to get so I got a pack of almost every blade I could find and I also ordered larger numbers of some of the blades that I often saw recommended. My theory was that I would not be able to fairly judge a blade by just using a single blade. I found myself with well over 100 different blades and ended up with a total blade count of more than 2400. I knew I had a crazy amount of blades and taking 3-7 shaves per blade it would be a long time before I needed to buy anymore.

Then I stumbled into this thread and asked myself how long do blades really last.... My average number of shaves per blade is creeping up and now seems to be a bit more than a month so now I am looking at a blade supply that will last multiple centuries. Who knows maybe I will master using a straight and my DE blade supply will last forever. The funny thing I discovered is after the first couple shaves blades just seem to settle down and provide one good shave after another. If I have a shave that isn't great I now look back and wonder if my prep was rushed or if I had too much (or not enough) water in the lather because typically the next shave (with the same blade) is back to great again.

The good news is that when it comes time to restock for the 2018 sabbatical I wont need to top up my blade supply.

Ruckin.

 

[psfred]

My experience exactly, except that I stopped sooner on blade acquisition (mainly because my first blade lasted 22 shaves....).

I'm very fond of that "buttery edge" after a few shaves, where one can concentrate on getting angle and direction right without weepers. Those first few shaves on a blade require significantly more care to prevent damage. I'm always amused by people who toss a blade just about the time it gets comfortable for me -- they are wasting a lot of very nice shaves, I think.

 

[Highspeedlane]

My experience exactly, except that I stopped sooner on blade acquisition (mainly because my first blade lasted 22 shaves....).

I'm very fond of that "buttery edge" after a few shaves, where one can concentrate on getting angle and direction right without weepers. Those first few shaves on a blade require significantly more care to prevent damage. I'm always amused by people who toss a blade just about the time it gets comfortable for me -- they are wasting a lot of very nice shaves, I think.

Exactly! I'm still waiting on this blade to give some sort of indication it's "done" but after completing two pass + touchup shave #33 moments ago it is still just as smooth and efficient as it was 20 shaves prior. And talk about buttery smooth...it's as if I could shave standing on my head blindfolded and still not get a nick, weeper or the hint of irritation.

Separate from this observation and something I'd like to look into down the road is what role the razor itself plays in all this.

 

[Highspeedlane]

When I started using a DE a few years ago I couldn't decide which sample pack to get so I got a pack of almost every blade I could find and I also ordered larger numbers of some of the blades that I often saw recommended. My theory was that I would not be able to fairly judge a blade by just using a single blade. I found myself with well over 100 different blades and ended up with a total blade count of more than 2400. I knew I had a crazy amount of blades and taking 3-7 shaves per blade it would be a long time before I needed to buy anymore.

Then I stumbled into this thread and asked myself how long do blades really last.... My average number of shaves per blade is creeping up and now seems to be a bit more than a month so now I am looking at a blade supply that will last multiple centuries. Who knows maybe I will master using a straight and my DE blade supply will last forever. The funny thing I discovered is after the first couple shaves blades just seem to settle down and provide one good shave after another. If I have a shave that isn't great I now look back and wonder if my prep was rushed or if I had too much (or not enough) water in the lather because typically the next shave (with the same blade) is back to great again.

The good news is that when it comes time to restock for the 2018 sabbatical I wont need to top up my blade supply.

Ruckin.

Outstanding. This is a part of traditional shaving I've not experienced before recently. This is where those who really like to take advantage of the potential to realize economy in their shaving expenses can certainly do so

 

[psfred]

It will take a while to figure out the razor part when you are getting 80 shaves on a blade.....

 

[Cal]

Seeing that @Saxonbowman appears to be keeping a low profile, I'd like to change that.

WELCOME TO THE TON-UP CLUB from your British shaving friends Mike!

 

[Saxonbowman]

Seeing that @Saxonbowman appears to be keeping a low profile, I'd like to change that.

WELCOME TO THE TON-UP CLUB from your British shaving friends Mike!
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Well thank you Cal! This certainly is a surprise.

Yes, I hit 100 shaves on the Nacet today. I stopped using it everyday on the first of June. For one thing I was starting to miss the variety. I left it in the Fat Boy and pulled them out again to try for a slow push to 100. Earlier this week I was wishing I had stopped at 92 where I paused. Yes, I got close to BBS most days but it was hard going. Shaving ATG required a lot of work and some discomfort. Friday and Saturday I was sure I was going to finish today. Instead today everything combined to make for a perfect, relatively effortless shave.

I've been trying to clean up the soap stash. I had a several that were just about done so I've been using them up. I find that the last scraps in a puck produce awesome lather and today was no exception. I had a bit of Mitchell's Wool Fat that I worked up to a nice drippy lather. That seemed to do the trick. I wish I could recreate that on a daily basis but so far that eludes me.

In any case I'm going to pause again. Its been a fun run and I've learned a lot about how to work with a blade and how to get a good shave. Frankly the blade itself seems to matter little in the overall result. A blade with 100 face shaves, or 3/4 face in my case, is certainly less sharp than almost any blade out of the wrapper. The fact that it still works says that there are many other factors that contribute to a good shave.

 

[Invicta]

Yes, I hit 100 shaves on the Nacet today. I stopped using it everyday on the first of June. For one thing I was starting to miss the variety. I left it in the Fat Boy and pulled them out again to try for a slow push to 100. Earlier this week I was wishing I had stopped at 92 where I paused. Yes, I got close to BBS most days but it was hard going. Shaving ATG required a lot of work and some discomfort. Friday and Saturday I was sure I was going to finish today. Instead today everything combined to make for a perfect, relatively effortless shave.

Well done on reaching the ton @Saxonbowman . That is a great milestone.

I had a bit of Mitchell's Wool Fat that I worked up to a nice drippy lather. That seemed to do the trick. I wish I could recreate that on a daily basis but so far that eludes me.

The importance of good lather is important and lack of consistency or poor shaves is usually blamed on the blade first which I find strange. It is at this point the blade gets discarded. Having a large collection of blades probably promotes that thinking.

A blade with 100 face shaves, or 3/4 face in my case, is certainly less sharp than almost any blade out of the wrapper. The fact that it still works says that there are many other factors that contribute to a good shave.

You have answered a question I was going to raise; comparing sharpness now against day 1.

 

[Saxonbowman]

Well done on reaching the ton @Saxonbowman . That is a great milestone.

The importance of good lather is important and lack of consistency or poor shaves is usually blamed on the blade first which I find strange. It is at this point the blade gets discarded. Having a large collection of blades probably promotes that thinking.

You have answered a question I was going to raise; comparing sharpness now against day 1.

You can definitely feel the difference but its not as much as you might think. If you go WTG, XTG, and ATG its that last pass against the grain that is most telling. I put in a new blade, albeit in a mild Blue Tip, and it felt like nothing was there compared with the worn Nacet. Certainly the razor had a lot to do with the way it felt. The worst part was that the shave wasn't any better once I was done.

 

[psfred]

ATG is where you know the blade is done -- it becomes very draggy and the stubble stays, or comes back very fast.

Makes me think I got used Polsilver blades, in fact! New in the package and they shave me like a worn out Astra except for lots of weepers for the first ten shaves or so. Stubble back by noon, unlike my nice Wilkinsons -- just now feeling much at 9:30 pm.

As Gillette discovered in the 60's, it's not really sharpness that makes for a good shave, it's comfort during the shave. Getting the hairs pulled hard is uncomfortable, and a "sticky" blade drags even when it's very sharp, hence the ubiquitous teflon coatings on blades.

Excellent, slick lather is one key to long blade life, the other, I think, is to learn to get comfortable shaves when the teflon is worn off. Most, if not all, modern razor blades have diamond like coating on the edge, so significant wear is going to take a long time. If the blade is only used to cut beard hair (and not banged on the sink, scraped on a brush handle, or otherwise abused) a diamond coated edge is good for a huge number of shaves before it actually wears off and exposes metal causing the edge to degrade. Teflon doesn't last nearly as long.

I'd thought for a while now that many shavers mistake the loss of the teflon coating for a dull blade -- the edge cuts just fine, but it has much more drag while doing so, and the user discards the blade as "dull" because it pulls rather than learning to compensate. I've found, over the last forty years of so of shaving exclusively against the grain, that light, very short, overlapping strokes work the best and give the longest blade life. Gentle brush strokes, very light touch, maybe 1/4" at a time. Mind you, the vast majority of this was in the shower sans soap with either an injector or a twin blade cartridge. Probably doesn't work for everyone, but it works for me.

 

[Saxonbowman]

This makes a lot of sense @psfred. The Nacet keeps on cutting, but only if the lather is really slick. By the same token I binned a Voskhod after only 6 shaves today. It didn't feel much different than the Nacet with 100. That elusive magical lather might have saved it for a few more, but its not worth it.

 

[TheVez2]

Today was shave 95. I'm almost to the Century Club.


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[ruckin]

Hmm, I was happy when I got to 40 recently... I guess 100 is the new 40

 

[Cal]

Hmm, I was happy when I got to 40 recently... I guess 100 is the new 40

40 is great!
I spent a l-o-n-g time on technique improvement before I reached 40. And let's face it, for the one-and-done shaver two is great!

Playing with numbers and a little bit of showing off is fun and good, nothing wrong with these things. But the whole idea of the Excalibur Club is to improve our technique (and hence our enjoyment); the number of shaves we can get on a blade is just a helpful tool for us on our journey.
As soon as we get destinations (e.g. numbers of shaves on a blade) fixed in our minds we tend to forget what we're here for (i.e. to improve our technique); then the journey stops being fun (we've started to push the river back upstream when we should simply be going with its flow).

I know that my technique will NEVER be perfect. But (thankfully) I've forgotten about destinations and am simply enjoying the "great shaves" journey. I remain aware enough to learn a little from all my shaves in an easy and fun way. As long as I'm enjoying myself, and improving too, that's plenty good enough for me. Trying to reach goals is stressful, who needs it? Not me.

Sorry about my rambling, but I felt that I needed to speak up. So there you have my two cents (like it or not).

 

[ruckin]

1Cal thanks for the reply. I am beginning to think of the numbers as just a metric of a progress on a journey. Unfortunately what gets measured gets worked. And that is not the point. Clinging to a number is not the goal... learning to be more in tune with the process of shaving and doing it to the best of my abilities (or maybe just a bit better) is the goal. There are days where I am able to be present in the process of shaving and appreciate the the subtleties of soap, motion and blade... Unfortunately there are times when I am disconnected and focused on the fact I should have left for work ten minutes ago. My goal spend more time having the former rather than the later types of shaves. The number of shaves on a blade is irrelevant.