Good, now while everyone rushes over to investigate my ambiguously titled thread, I have a question. How do you maintain your DE blades? I've been wetshaving for nearly a year now, and my process has been pretty basic, simply wash each part, then put them back together and let the whole thing dry. The problem is that this creates patches of what looks like rust on the blade, so I usually end up having to toss it after only 4 or 5 uses. Also, I've noticed that bits of hair stubbornly stick to the blade and the razor itself. Running them under the tap doesn't get them off, and I have to actually scrub them off myself. So how can I avoid these pitfalls? How many uses should I expect to get out of a single blade anyway?
How do you guys do it?
- Thread starter Trueflame
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Unless your lather is too dry, it and whisker stubble ordinarily will rinse off your razor and blade under running water. Scrubbing your blade probably isn't doing it any favors, although if you're getting 4 to 5 uses from each blade, that's not bad.
I only use a blade for three shaves. The fourth shave is noticeably more rough than the third, so I end it at three. I don't have the pitfalls you seem to have.
Gillette recommended loosening the head, running it under water, and retightening. Works for me.
Get maybe 3-4 shaves before replacing, although I do not try to see how far I can go with one...
Get maybe 3-4 shaves before replacing, although I do not try to see how far I can go with one...
IMO, you're putting yourself through much more work and worry than you need to. After shaving, rinse the razor well, shake off the excess water and then let it air dry. I change blades once a week so I get 3-5 shaves out of a blade depending on how frequently I shave. I know I could probably push them further but choose not to. My razor doesn't really require any cleaning other than a wipe down every 2-3 weeks just to keep things looking neat. I've never seen rust on any of my blades, even among the discards in my blade bank where they've been sitting for months.
I wouldn't say I "maintain" my blades. Just a rinse under warm water as i'm cleaning up my brush and sink area is all I do. 4-5 shaves then toss.
I rinse it all after each shave without taking anything apart. I change blades every 2-5 shaves depending on the brand. I only take my razor apart and clean it every 2-3 weeks depending on how it looks. Trying to do more than that or extending the blades life much longer isn't worth it to me.
I shave my whole head and face, I'm a daily shaver, and I change my blade every Sunday morning (7 shaves on a blade). I don't do anything special to the blade or the razor. If anything sticks on the blade, I haven't noticed, visually or in the shave quality. I rinse it well with hot water, from under the head and from each end of the head, sending water backwards through the head and then along the blades. That clears out any remnants of lather. I give it a couple shakes and then drop it in the drawer. Good to go.
I would say different soaps, croaps, and creams will have different properties. I find some of them leave scum in my sink I have to scrub out every couple of days. Some of them rinse clean and take all the hair down the drain with it. Mike's Natural has been a good easy cleanup soap for me, as well as a top-shelf performer in the shave. VDH on the other hand always scummed up my sink and glued stubble to everything it touched. Get yourself a good soap or cream and see if that helps.
I would say different soaps, croaps, and creams will have different properties. I find some of them leave scum in my sink I have to scrub out every couple of days. Some of them rinse clean and take all the hair down the drain with it. Mike's Natural has been a good easy cleanup soap for me, as well as a top-shelf performer in the shave. VDH on the other hand always scummed up my sink and glued stubble to everything it touched. Get yourself a good soap or cream and see if that helps.
This may be overkill, but it's what works for me. After shaving, I remove the blade, rinse, and towel strop each side. Just a quick back and forth motion suffices. I pat the blade dry, dry the razor and reassemble. Since I've started doing this, my blade life seems to be much longer. 6-8 shaves per blade until discomfort sets in. Of course different blades vary. I use mainly Gillette 7 O'Clock Blacks, Silver Blues, and currently I have a Shark in the Krona.
Oh and, when I started out, I could only get two or three shaves on a blade. I did not put much effort into beard prep. I went like that for a long time. I figured cheap blades, comfortable shave, what the heck, right? Mantic on Sharpologist.com has some really good prep tips. I can't say enough about glycerin facial soap as a pre-shave. I lather it on with a brush, let it set under a hot towel and lift out all the dirt and whatnot that's imbedded in my pores. At the same time it really softens up the stalks. Rinse, lather, shave, you'll probably find you can use more brands/levels of aggressiveness of blades than you thought, too.
You can, but do not need to, buy expensive pre-shave soaps. They are marginally better than a good quality high-glycerin content facial soap, but at 4x (or more) the price, I feel it's not worth it. Your decision though, whatever makes you feel good. I buy Crystal 3-packs from the grocery store. They're natural, high-glycerin, the bars are huge compared to other bars, and a 3-pack costs less than $5.
Not sure if you were asking for all that, but there it is anyway
I take the razor apart and lay all the pieces on a towel. Then I fold the towel over the pieces and lightly press down. This takes care of the blade (without doing anything to the edge). I pick up the head, base and handle and lightly dry them with another lint free towel. Then I hand strop the blade and re-assemble.
I do all of this while I apply the witch hazel, dry my ears with a Q-tip, etc. It's probably overkill, but it takes less than a minute--much less, actually. So what the hell?
As for blades, I have changed each blade so far after 5 shaves. I didn't necessarily need to change the blades, but as I am trying a bunch of new blades, I get a big impatient--so 5 shaves it is, for now.
I do all of this while I apply the witch hazel, dry my ears with a Q-tip, etc. It's probably overkill, but it takes less than a minute--much less, actually. So what the hell?
As for blades, I have changed each blade so far after 5 shaves. I didn't necessarily need to change the blades, but as I am trying a bunch of new blades, I get a big impatient--so 5 shaves it is, for now.
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I take the razor apart, rinse the blade under running water (warm) if any stubble sticks, which is probably sticking to the wax residue on the blade more than the lather, I carefully wipe the blade between thumb and forefinger, place it on a small towel and fold another piece of towel over and press lightly, a lot of modern blades are coated so excessive rubbing/stropping will ruin this delicate coating IMO. I then place it on a magnet inside my cabinet. I only use blades a maximum of 4 times on average.
I shave/rinse/dry the razor until I feel the blade needs changing.
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