How many shaves do you get from a blade?

[steelwindmachine]

if you carefully dry your blades after use, I wouldn't suspect that your tap water quality would impact the cutting surface.

If you don't adequately dry the blades, then it's certainly possible the cutting edge could be negatively impacted by rust or mineral deposits.

I clean and dry my blades out of the razor after every shave. I place the loose razor on top of a little Altoids (mints) tin in my shaving drawer where any other residual moisture can evaporate.

Again, I toss the blade once it starts tugging. For me, for most blades that's typically 5-7 2-pass shaves. Your mileage will vary

 

[Shaveprentice]

Most DE blades that I use on a regular basis like - Astra SP's, Personna Lab Blues, Personna Platinum's, Nacet's, Gillette Platinum's, Gillette Perma-Sharp's and Derby Premium's easily last for 10+ three pass shaves. Occasionally some other less favored blades seem to go south after about 4 -5 three pass shaves. I always either shower before a shave or do pre-shave prep(warm wash cloth & face wash with pre-shave soap) which definitely seems to result in better more comfortable shaves and longer blade life. I always remove the blade from the razor after the shave, rinse everything and allow to dry.

 

[Marco]

3/4 shaves with 2 passes and some minor touch-ups.

 

[Skotch]

@nav ...I was not aware the 'hard or soft' water had any affect on a razor blade. That's interesting. Does it corrode the fine edge prematurely? Is there a chemical process dulling the blade?

b/r

ON_1

800 - 1000 PPM is way harder than you are likely to find in most places... in the US we usually look at 180+ as being very hard (hard is 120-180). @nav is likely in a different situation than most who have "hard water" in their homes.

 

[Old Navy_1]

@Skotch ...I live in FL, so I know my H2O is hard. Just curious.

b/r

ON_1

 

[nav]

@nav ...I was not aware the 'hard or soft' water had any affect on a razor blade. That's interesting. Does it corrode the fine edge prematurely? Is there a chemical process dulling the blade?

b/r

ON_1

It's not so much dulling the edge but actually the carbonates in the water coat the blade edge.

Using soft water prevents this build up on the blade edge and my razors also don't get any white build up for several months.

If I rinse my razors with tap water, they get a white coating within just a few days!

The carbonate coating on the blade edge kills the edge very suddenly. Whereas the dulling is much more linear when rinsing in soft water (our water softener output is around 50 PPM).
So even after the 5th shave, it's not like the 6th is unusable. It'll just be a touch less sharp.

I change out after 5 shaves because the natural dulling of the blade edge reaches a point where the 6th shave will still be ok but not optimal.

 

[Old Navy_1]

@nav ...thank you for the explanation. I also try to get to get 5 shaves from each blade.

I use a Shaving Scuttle and I fill the lower chamber with hot water, almost boiling, it heats the Scuttle, but not hot enough to destroy the foam. On occasion, I dip the razor head in the hot H2O. I also pour a little alcohol on the the head/blade every once in awhile. I don't know if any of that helps, but it's something I do.

I don't believe my 'hard water' is as hard as yours. I don't believe I've ever said that to any man, before. LMAO!

Thank you again for the thorough and thoughtful answer.

b/r

ON_1

 

[nav]

@nav ...thank you for the explanation. I also try to get to get 5 shaves from each blade.

I use a Shaving Scuttle and I fill the lower chamber with hot water, almost boiling, it heats the Scuttle, but not hot enough to destroy the foam. On occasion, I dip the razor head in the hot H2O. I also pour a little alcohol on the the head/blade every once in awhile. I don't know if any of that helps, but it's something I do.

I don't believe my 'hard water' is as hard as yours. I don't believe I've ever said that to any man, before. LMAO!

Thank you again for the thorough and thoughtful answer.

b/r

ON_1

It was this research that triggered me to try soft water, and it worked big time!
My razor/blade hasn't come into contact with tap water for the last 2+ years.

What Causes Razor Blades To Dull - Knife Steel Nerds

A recent article in the journal Science claimed that micro-chipping is the cause of dull razors. Is that true?

knifesteelnerds.com

I should also mention I've been making my lather with soft water for about 4 years.
It really brings the best out of all my soaps.

 

[Bobovata]

Tap water is fairly soft and decent quality here. But I might start drying my blades immediately after use and see if that does anything for their lifespan.

Not too fussed if I only ever get 2-3 shaves a blade. OTOH, if just drying them after use seriously increases their lifespan, happy to do that too.

 

[Abz88]

4 shaves for me regardless of number of passes per shave (usually its 3 but if I'm tight on time it can be 1).

 

[pellidon]

I do a three pass shave at home. I can get 3-4 sessions with all the blades I have tested. One or two went to five. Now that my right arm is broken, I've switched to the Dorco Pace 6, because my lefy hand has limited movement/dexterity. I'm doing a one pass mostly and the fourth day was rough with irritation. My beard doesn't grow fast but must be tough. I've never been able to get long life from any blade/cart.

 

[emwolf]

It varies based on my desire to switch razors and laziness. I generally get 3-7 shaves from one blade using a 3 pass shave on the face and head.

 

[HDSledge]

2

 

[Never Picked]

Back in the old days, I'd use the same blade for 2 months. Lately I've only used the same blade for one week. I also won't switch blades between razors, so if I change the razor earlier than the week, I toss the blade. I bought a bunch of new razors as of late, and I'm growing impatient to try them all out. Because I'm in a wasteful phase right now, I bought some really cheap blades, $0.05/each to use for now.

 

[rajagra2]

Years ago I took part in a challenge to see how many shaves we could get from a DE blade. I was *very* careful about soaking my beard to soften it, and cleaning the blade and letting it air dry. I stuck to a single pass, while ensuring it was a very good shave, so there were occasional touch ups.

After 6 weeks of daily shaves and the Derby (!) blade still going strong, the challenge had long since finished and the thread was quiet, so I showed mercy and retired it. I even hung it up for a while as a memento.

And no, I do not have thin beard. While some people have a few more hairs per square inch than I do, my hair is very coarse. Don't make me post a picture of me at 20 with a beard like Brutus from Popeye.

I don't agree with throwing blades away early just because they're cheap. I find they improve for the 2nd or 3rd shave, I then continue using them until I get a subliminal feeling that performance is about to decline. It's normally around 7 two-pass shaves. I don't count.

Blades can and should be treated as consumable items because... they are. I don't milk life out of them, but nor do I throw them for no reason.

 

[Runnin_Ute]

Typically up to about 30 two pass shaves. GSB is usually the most, Astra SP and Feather a few less depending on the razor and blade combination.

 

[reformedshavr]

I change up after 4 shaves.

 

[Ranyart Finn]

I've found I get 4-5 shaves (usually 2-3 passes per shave) from Astra Platinums, Rockwells, and Wilkinson Sword. Willy's blades (Indian) give me about 3 shaves, and I tend to reserve those for my Leaf Razor and head shaves (generally 2 passes).

 

[Merchant Seaman Z]

At home when closeness counts. It’s a 2 pass shave every 2 days, GSB blade. Work, 1 pass every, Astra, or my test blade tucks about every 3-4 days.

 

[rajagra2]

After every shave I clean the blade by pinching it between thumb and forefinger and gently wiping them outwards towards the cutting edge and beyond. (This may also strop the edge a little.)

Then I hang it to dry on this Duzzit hook for several hours or until the next shave. A drip forms on the lower side tab. I touch the droplet to remove it later on if I notice it, but this isn't really needed.

This may help explain how I get so many shaves per blade. Or maybe it's just the cleaning step. In any case, it's no extra effort.