Exaggeration ? Maybe. Maybe not. We talk about blade not razor(s). I tried to explain myself what is good for blade edge and longevity.
Excalibur Club - Blade Longevity DE, SE and Injector
- Thread starter jamesspo
- Start date
Mike M
...but this one IS cracked.
The Excalibur Club is all about not throwing away a blade whilst it still provides good shaves. Nobody expects you to torture yourself with uncomfortable shaves and irritation. You will find that some blades suit you more than others (I can't get a decent shave from a Voskhod and I struggle to get a Treet into double figures) but some blades regularly deliver upwards of 30 shaves for me. As your technique improves you will find the number of shaves you get from a blade will increase too. You may never get over 100 shaves from a blade but there is a certain satisfaction in achieving a higher number of shaves than you have had before.
That is why they all bend the blade -- it "tilts" the edge upward to reduce the clearance angle on the side of the bevel facing the skin. Lather catchers have a very thin top for that reason, and it's why the head is angled as it is. Ideally the skin facing bevel will be held at an angle just sufficient to prevent it from dragging on the cut hair at it goes through, so that only one side of the razor is "pulling" on the hair.
With a straight, you have to keep the spine close to the face.
Razors with more blade exposure let you alter the angle a little more than those with minimal exposure, another reason mild razors require matching a blade with them to get good shaves. The actual cutting bevel angle varies between brands and manufacturers, with Gillette these days giving the final bevel a "gothic curve" finish rather than a flat bevel. I suspect the convexity at the edge makes the blade a little less sensitive to angle.
Another thing that can give more drag is the finish of the secondary bevel -- on lower end blades it can be pretty rough in comparison to top end blades -- it's more expensive to polish the secondary bevel (and tertiary if there is one) and a rougher bevel right behind the honed and polished (and coated) one will drag more.
With a straight, you have to keep the spine close to the face.
Razors with more blade exposure let you alter the angle a little more than those with minimal exposure, another reason mild razors require matching a blade with them to get good shaves. The actual cutting bevel angle varies between brands and manufacturers, with Gillette these days giving the final bevel a "gothic curve" finish rather than a flat bevel. I suspect the convexity at the edge makes the blade a little less sensitive to angle.
Another thing that can give more drag is the finish of the secondary bevel -- on lower end blades it can be pretty rough in comparison to top end blades -- it's more expensive to polish the secondary bevel (and tertiary if there is one) and a rougher bevel right behind the honed and polished (and coated) one will drag more.
It is not working, it is not working. That was in my mind as I started shaving. And yet, I got a very nice 18th shave today. Proraso soap and the good side of the blade were the success keys for a comfortable shave.
I am learning something new. I thought that the blade was dull and then by habit I pushed the blade more on skin. But it is not 100% correct. It is about the angle of the blade, light touch and fewer passes possible. Karve Overlander helps a lot on keeping a good angle.
Question. Is there any correlation between a used blade with the aggressiveness of the razor? Like over 20 shaves switch to an aggressive razor?
Lets see if I can make it till January (6-8 nice shaves more) and then I will be using a Feather Hi Stainless blade for all February (hoping to make at least 25 shaves with it).
I am learning something new. I thought that the blade was dull and then by habit I pushed the blade more on skin. But it is not 100% correct. It is about the angle of the blade, light touch and fewer passes possible. Karve Overlander helps a lot on keeping a good angle.
Question. Is there any correlation between a used blade with the aggressiveness of the razor? Like over 20 shaves switch to an aggressive razor?
Lets see if I can make it till January (6-8 nice shaves more) and then I will be using a Feather Hi Stainless blade for all February (hoping to make at least 25 shaves with it).
I have seen others progress from mild to aggressive as blade life extends. I think there is some merit to that approach. I’m more all over the place, but maybe my average level of aggressiveness is higher to begin with - I like highly effective razors.
Cheers,
Guido
Yes, but not a universal one. You’ll read about @bosseb going from mild to aggressive as the blade muddles along and then you’ll read that @coolcanuc uses a Tech for most of his shaves.
It goes back to what works best for you and will be noticed over time.
One of the original posters in this thread did exactly that -- moved the blade to more aggressive razors as it wore down.
The temptation to push against the skin when the razor begins to drag a little is what causes people to think the "dull" blade cuts them I think -- I had to learn to compensate with more sideways effort without pushing in. More pressure on the skin will indeed produce more weepers and nicks, while doing nothing to make the blade cut hair at skin level better.
A lot of the improvement we all get is just practice and figuring out what works best. If you assume a blade is "done" at three shaves it's quite possible to never develop excellent shaving skills, which is one reason I recommend attempting to get the maximum number of shaves you can. The better your technique, the more comfortable your shaves are, and incidentally, you get more of them per blade.
The temptation to push against the skin when the razor begins to drag a little is what causes people to think the "dull" blade cuts them I think -- I had to learn to compensate with more sideways effort without pushing in. More pressure on the skin will indeed produce more weepers and nicks, while doing nothing to make the blade cut hair at skin level better.
A lot of the improvement we all get is just practice and figuring out what works best. If you assume a blade is "done" at three shaves it's quite possible to never develop excellent shaving skills, which is one reason I recommend attempting to get the maximum number of shaves you can. The better your technique, the more comfortable your shaves are, and incidentally, you get more of them per blade.
AimlessWanderer
Remember to forget me!
I ditched a blade (Derby Usta) after 20 shaves today. It was still cutting perfectly fine against the grain, but on the first pass, going with the grain, it was tugging on the hair roots a little.
I have noticed in the past, that some people struggle more going against the grain than with the grain as a blade edge fades. For me, the against the grain cuts do have more drag, but taking the blade in the direction the follicles are pointing, is generally more unpleasant. Not on the skin surface, but below it.
A more aggressive razor would do absolutely nothing to change this. Having a greater range of working angle wouldn't particularly help either. It all comes down to the cutting resistance of a tired blade (even the sharpest blades have some cutting resistance) vs how much my face can tolerate hair being tugged along it's axis. Having heavily kinked beard hair, I do/can suffer ingrown hairs if I try to shave too close, but I also get bumps from inflamed roots on poor shaves, so I have a low threshold for tolerating online tugging.
While some blades might last me longer (30+ in some cases), it was time to ditch this one and move on.
Excellent comments @Guido75 @thombrogan and @psfred
@AimlessWanderer
Great tips from you all.
I don't know how the blade quality was 50 years ago but this poster made me think that getting 20 shaves out of a blade as minimum should be normal for me. I am used to get 10 to 14 shaves. I want to make 20 to 40 shaves a normal habit for me.
@AimlessWanderer
Great tips from you all.
I don't know how the blade quality was 50 years ago but this poster made me think that getting 20 shaves out of a blade as minimum should be normal for me. I am used to get 10 to 14 shaves. I want to make 20 to 40 shaves a normal habit for me.
Bar in mind that those blades were much thicker and so could take more resistance. Akin to todays GEM blades (not the same thickness by the way!)
I have found some keys to a closer shave and long blade life are counter intuitive, some you have observed.
1. Less pressure, not more.
2. Milder razor, not more aggressive (I only get a good shave with an aggressive razor on a new blade, first 2-3 shaves.)
3. Expectations: Assuming that you’re not getting a good shave because it feels like nothing is coming off, especially in the first pass. I wait 2-3 passes before judging a blade as hopeless; if using a light touch there shouldn’t be any face irritation. A lot more could be said about expectations and goals.
After a little practice, nearly anyone can get an effortless, quick and close shave on a decent new blade. Pushing a blade to more than 4 shaves (my best a few years ago) requires much more skill and attention to detail.
Of course there are many other items that need tending to such as at least a little face prep, for me washing with moisturizing soap, not letting the face get too dry between passes, and getting the lather right for your face and razor. On the last, I get my lather a tad thicker when I use a vintage SE of the Star, Gem, Ever-Ready (ASR) category.
Of course, all of these things are based on my own personal experience, and some may not work for everyone.
I think this ad illustrates some of my points. People transferred their skills and expectations when they went from a straight to a safety razor. People with straight razors didn’t have time to hone their razor every day. (Although they usually gave them a quick stropping.) They learned to use their razor with a less than a perfect edge, and they probably had to develop the skills to do it. I doubt they expected a perfect shave in one or two passes if their blade had not been recently honed.
But also note that Gillette is taking a swipe at his competitors, who in the early days only had single edged razors. He was trying to boost his blade business by introducing a disposable razor blade, and spin it’s effectiveness by claiming one could still get a lot of shaves without fussing with sharpening. In response GEM pushed honing and stropping their SE blades, and ran an ad with the rhetorical question, “You wouldn’t throw away a pen just because it ran out of ink, would you?” Little did anyone know how disposable our culture would become in less than half a century!
Excellent comments.
I just got shave 450 on my Feather Hi Stainless!
Hold your breath guys, just 1 minute for me if you can. I reached 20 shaves with Super-Max Super Platinum blade. My memory doesn't help me now but I think it is a record for me with a DE blade.
Things I am learning.
1. The blade feels dull but it works. No forced pushing is necessary, probably a few more clean up passes.
2. Blades are cheap so I must resist to the temptation to replace the used one with a new one.
3. Even if there is a rough edge, there is still a razor angle that makes it work.
Cheers and thank you for your support.
Things I am learning.
1. The blade feels dull but it works. No forced pushing is necessary, probably a few more clean up passes.
2. Blades are cheap so I must resist to the temptation to replace the used one with a new one.
3. Even if there is a rough edge, there is still a razor angle that makes it work.
Cheers and thank you for your support.
Due to a respiratory bogey, I didn’t make the full minute, but I am still happy for you, @albsat , even if I couldn’t perform that feat.
We have a stupid game speaker on TV that he comments always the start of the game by saying : keep the breath guys, a great game. Once he said : keep the breath guys for this 90 minutes of great game.
I got 25-35 shaves on a couple of Nacets, and I noticed they tended to chip. But my Feather with 451 shaves only has a couple of very small divets.
I am trying a Feather for the February One Month blade. Hope to follow your path..
