My Dad passed away before I began wet shaving with DE razors 7 years ago. All the discussion on the board on how many shaves we get with various blades always made me wonder how many shaves my Dad got back in the day with his Gillette razors and blades. I just wondered if maybe I'm a wimp because I change blades every 3-7 days depending on the blade. Do any of you folks have relatives that remember what kind of life they got from blades back in the day? Are todays blades better, worse or the same?
How many shaves did your Dad or Grandpa get from DE blades in the 50's and 60's?
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I don't recall how many my Dad got. But I started shaving in 1956 and at first used Gillette Blue Blades. I did two passes and usually got from three to five shaves with a blade. When Wilkinson introduced their SS blades with Gillette following suit I got up to seven shaves - but the shaves were much smoother.
Don't recall just how many shaves my dad squeezed out of Marlin blues, but when Wilkinson Sword s/s blades first came out in the early '60s, he'd get several months out of them. That suggests he certainly maxed out his blues.
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Wow, blades are cheap but I have probably left a lot of blade life on the table. I know my Dad used the same boar brush for at least 15 years. I inherited it and his Seafoam mug and re-knotted the brush and use it today. Shaving sure was a daily chore. My Dad had super coarse heavy black whiskers and I do remember him telling me when I start shaving you don't need to shave against the grain. He came home from work looking like he didn't shave that morning. He would be stunned if he knew how much money I put into this hobby. But I bet I could help him get a better shave with my equipment! Dad probably spent $15/year vs my hundreds and hundreds.
My dad preferred electrics: sad but true!
My dad too...
I remember when I was a little kid, maybe 8 or 9 years old, and my dad bought an electric shaver.
He got rid of the old razors and razorblades and was happy with the electric, at least for a year or two, and then he had a big beard until he passed away some 20 years ago
Same, my father and his father before him were Norelco men through and through. I used one too for probably my first fifteen years of shaving, but switched to Barbasol and a giveaway Mach 3 in my late 20s when I had the shaver head well and truly worn out after years of use. I wasn't getting good enough shaves to want to invest in a head or a new razor. Didn't find out about DE shaving until many years after that.
My dad has a beard...
My grandfather was rather poor and my mom says he used to buy a single new blade every month or so
My grandfather used straight razor.
So did mine. My father was never able to use it. I never asked him how often he changed his blades.
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I remember my dad mentioning that he could get over a month from a Gillette Blue Blade. We were rich in everything except money. He always tried to save whenever possible. He was generous in caring, but never had excess cash for things for his own comfort.
He often shaved at the kitchen sink because our one tiny bathroom was usually occupied by my two sisters.
He often shaved at the kitchen sink because our one tiny bathroom was usually occupied by my two sisters.
Dad used Gillette Thins when I was little. He changed them every shave.
When SS blades came out, it was a new world for him! From then on it was Wilkinson Sword.
When SS blades came out, it was a new world for him! From then on it was Wilkinson Sword.
Started shaving in 1958, used Gillette Blue blades, from
what I can remember maybe 2 to 3 shaves per blade.
They got pretty rough, today I don't go over 3 shaves per blade, I know I can go much more but that's what I do.
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what I can remember maybe 2 to 3 shaves per blade.
They got pretty rough, today I don't go over 3 shaves per blade, I know I can go much more but that's what I do.
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Why is that sad ? Use what you like . Personally I prefer electric in the winter , summer a DE .
Been shaving since about 1959 , back then I changed blades every 7 days as I remember. Gillette Blues .
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And some of us think changing every shave is the way to go. I personally think the best shave comes on the second day , just seems that way to me. Not sure why , but may have to do with a coating on the blade.
My grandfather died in the seventies and I never thought to ask my father but I use vintage blades, mostly stainless but a few carbon all from the sixties and seventies.
The carbons require post shave care to get more than a couple of shaves but with such care I get 5, more or less, and the stainless are good for 12 to 30+, depending on the make.
The carbons require post shave care to get more than a couple of shaves but with such care I get 5, more or less, and the stainless are good for 12 to 30+, depending on the make.
My father has been using the simplest twin disposable Gillettes for the last 15-17 years. But back in the 80s he used Schick Platinum DE blades made in Holland. A month and a half or so of everyday shaves out of a single blade.
When I started using a DE after decades of cartridge razors I asked my father who many shaves did he get out of a blade when he used a DE back in the day. He told me “as many as I could get”. I told him that I would aim for 7 shaves and then bin the blade. He told me that he would get a lot more out of a blade than that. He would use the blade until he thought that you could use it no more. Money was very tight back in the 1950’s the 1960’ and the 1970’s. Whereas it is not so much of an issue in this day and age.
So true ! And many people back then had come through the depression, and new how to get the most out of things that cost money. Waist fullness was avoided.
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