Excalibur Club - Blade Longevity DE, SE and Injector
- Thread starter jamesspo
- Start date
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Up until now my record has been a dozen shaves from Dorco Stainless and Prime blades (ST300/ST301/STP300/STP301) with my Astra SPs and Derby Extras in the 4-6 and 3-5 shave range respectively.
Have been surprised by a Derby Extra blade that as of today is up to 18 shaves and still going. Have posted in other forums on this but likely any new updates most likely belong here. Plan to run the blade out and with subsequent blades confirm is this is just an outlier Derby or the result of recent changes in technique where I've both modified my soap blends and also create a wetter lather that provides a lot more residual slickness. I'm using a Weishi long handle razor and rotate across my Van Der Williams soap blends and occasional straight Williams shave soap.
Been interesting on how the shaves are getting smoother as I continue using this blade though over the last shave or two I detected a slight increase in roughness and some extra touch up was required.
Have other Excalibur club members ever wound up posting here when a blade just kept going on its own or do you typically start out with an approach designed to generate extreme blade longevity?
Will update here when I run the blade out.
Earlier posts via the link below.
www.badgerandblade.com
Have been surprised by a Derby Extra blade that as of today is up to 18 shaves and still going. Have posted in other forums on this but likely any new updates most likely belong here. Plan to run the blade out and with subsequent blades confirm is this is just an outlier Derby or the result of recent changes in technique where I've both modified my soap blends and also create a wetter lather that provides a lot more residual slickness. I'm using a Weishi long handle razor and rotate across my Van Der Williams soap blends and occasional straight Williams shave soap.
Been interesting on how the shaves are getting smoother as I continue using this blade though over the last shave or two I detected a slight increase in roughness and some extra touch up was required.
Have other Excalibur club members ever wound up posting here when a blade just kept going on its own or do you typically start out with an approach designed to generate extreme blade longevity?
Will update here when I run the blade out.
Earlier posts via the link below.
Unusual Derby Extra Blade
Just completed my 11th shave with a Derby Extra blade, far more than the 3-5 that is typical for me with these blades and only one shy of my overall DE blade record from a Dorco Prime blade. From my original box of 100 ordered over two years ago with the inner wrappers labeled "Amuzebat" versus...
www.badgerandblade.com
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
I throw away blades when they are no longer comfortable and efficient, whether that's three shaves, or thirty three. I don't "try" to get a high shave count.
I posted on here last month, that a SuperMax blade that usually does 10 shaves, had stretched on for 27 shaves. No discernible difference in use/methods.
Haven’t checked in a while because my shaving habits have been so irregular. Had a heart attack Halloween 2020. Been shaving again since the beginning of the month and finally getting into the swing. Got my current Personna lab into double digits today.
Glad you’re able to share in even this stranger niche, @Texchappy and hope you have many more decades enjoying the finer things in life (being alive, buttery edges, tamed Micromatics, crushing your enemies, seeing them driven before you, hearing the fermentation of the lemons…)
Astra SP (65) Still on the first edge.
ARKO (65) On track for about 270 shaves on a stick. It's likely an overestimation.
ARKO (65) On track for about 270 shaves on a stick. It's likely an overestimation.
Still going on a Personna hair shaper blade in my Weck at 347 shaves. Four hundred may be a bridge too far.
Do you by any chance have a picture of the setup or a similar one? I've never heard about hair-shaper blades. I looked for an image, but I'm not sure I have the right one.
Anyway, 347 is a heap of shaves. Nice job.
This is what they look like. I got mine at the local Sally Beauty Supply store.
These are my experiences as well
I have tried the Dorco ST300HQ for two times now and both latest 6 shaves. It is so smooth I sometimes forget how many shave I have on them already.
As for technique I rinse my blade with cold water rather than warm water (as per Geofatboy’s video).
I am now on a Tiger Platinum blade. They usually last me 4-5 shaves, but I am giving it another go to see if I can push it to a week.
YMMV but my regular shaves are 4 passes so per shave my blade gets plenty of a workout.
I will keep you all posted of my progress .
Cheers,
Guido
I have tried the Dorco ST300HQ for two times now and both latest 6 shaves. It is so smooth I sometimes forget how many shave I have on them already.
As for technique I rinse my blade with cold water rather than warm water (as per Geofatboy’s video).
I am now on a Tiger Platinum blade. They usually last me 4-5 shaves, but I am giving it another go to see if I can push it to a week.
YMMV but my regular shaves are 4 passes so per shave my blade gets plenty of a workout.
I will keep you all posted of my progress .
Cheers,
Guido
Wow, the amount of shaves with an Astra SP sometimes here. When i use this blade its already a bad shave from the first 3 shaves and i push it to about 6 and then throw it away because its so giving me blood on the face
.
One of the worst blades for me, quite weird because i see so many guys who like them.
Best blades for me are Derby Premium and Rapira Platinum Lux (smooth, sharp enough and i get about 7 to 10 shaves each time).
More then ever i start thinking i am doing something wrong or so
.One of the worst blades for me, quite weird because i see so many guys who like them.
Best blades for me are Derby Premium and Rapira Platinum Lux (smooth, sharp enough and i get about 7 to 10 shaves each time).
More then ever i start thinking i am doing something wrong or so
The first 10 shaves or so on the Astra SP are tricky for me. I have to be careful to use an extremely light touch. I'm up to 76 shaves on my first blade. I've only had one tiny nick.Wow, the amount of shaves with an Astra SP sometimes here. When i use this blade its already a bad shave from the first 3 shaves and i push it to about 6 and then throw it away because its so giving me blood on the face
One of the worst blades for me, quite weird because i see so many guys who like them.
Best blades for me are Derby Premium and Rapira Platinum Lux (smooth, sharp enough and i get about 7 to 10 shaves each time).
More then ever i start thinking i am doing something wrong or so
I retired the Tiger today. There may have been a fifth shave in it, but I felt comfortability decrease. Tomorrow a new Tiger and this time straight into a Fatip Piccolo OC. That worked out well last time.
What I also did with this new blade is I corked it, maybe that could help you too in getting more mileage with the Astra? I have no idea - wel after tomorrow.
Cheers,
Guido
Wow, the amount of shaves with an Astra SP sometimes here. When i use this blade its already a bad shave from the first 3 shaves and i push it to about 6 and then throw it away because its so giving me blood on the face
One of the worst blades for me, quite weird because i see so many guys who like them.
Best blades for me are Derby Premium and Rapira Platinum Lux (smooth, sharp enough and i get about 7 to 10 shaves each time).
More then ever i start thinking i am doing something wrong or so
What I also did with this new blade is I corked it, maybe that could help you too in getting more mileage with the Astra? I have no idea - wel after tomorrow.
Cheers,
Guido
You probably aren't doing anything wrong. For a long time, I only got seven shaves on a blade. Then it went up to 25, then suddenly, it jumped over 100. It just happened with repetition. I can't clearly define what "it" was.Wow, the amount of shaves with an Astra SP sometimes here. When i use this blade its already a bad shave from the first 3 shaves and i push it to about 6 and then throw it away because its so giving me blood on the face
One of the worst blades for me, quite weird because i see so many guys who like them.
Best blades for me are Derby Premium and Rapira Platinum Lux (smooth, sharp enough and i get about 7 to 10 shaves each time).
More then ever i start thinking i am doing something wrong or so
This is the first blade where I used ARKO. It's working well.
I made an error on my last post. I'm up to 76 shaves on the first edge. I use one edge until it loses efficiency, and then I switch to the other edge.
I rinse the razor after each use. About every two to three weeks, I soak the razor and blade in a mixture of 50% dish soap and 50% water. That gets everything spotless.
Another thing I discovered is a "pushback stroke." I use a shallow angle and don't lift the razor off my face between most strokes. On the pushback, I push some lather back to the spot I'm going to shave. It's similar to buffing, but with long strokes. This morning, I counted and each area is shaved about eight times. This is a somewhat difficult technique at first. Now, my subconscious takes care of it.
I also use a diagonal stroke in most places. This means the head is diagonal to the direction of travel. It's like slicing with a knife instead of scraping with an ice-scraper.
The whole shave takes about five minutes from start to finish including the little cleanup.
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You use a very shallow angle with the blade slightly skewed from its direction of travel and use your pushback stroke about eight times in an area to get the closeness/cleanliness you seek?
Yes. It's quick. The whole shave takes about five minutes.
Like a guillotine Thom.
Thanks, gents!
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
My last shave was shave 30 on a German Wilkinson Sword, a blade which for me, usually hits a brick wall around shave 20. It may be due to using the black plastic Wilkinson Sword Classic razor, which clamps and supports differently to my usual Jagger, or of course, it could just be a complete fluke.
Either way, It's still doing what it needs to do, so I will be continuing with it.
Either way, It's still doing what it needs to do, so I will be continuing with it.
Well, its in fact creating a slant effect. I find my Razorock 37 German slant razor very efficient. I guess the shallow angle and the "push-back" stroke is worth trying too.
But why isn't it possible to simply sharpen/hone a DE blade on a fine grit stone, like with straight razors?
