Hypermiling Blades

[TFAshaver]

Hi everyone,

I stumbled across a video of a guy who is hypermiling his blades during DE shaves, while I might give it a go once, I thought I would ask a few questions:

1) Have you ever done this?
2) If so, do you have any tips?

Thanks!

 

[naughtilus]

Hi everyone,

I stumbled across a video of a guy who is hypermiling his blades during DE shaves, while I might give it a go once, I thought I would ask a few questions:

1) Have you ever done this?
2) If so, do you have any tips?

Thanks!

Here's some reading material.

Excalibur Club - Blade Longevity DE, SE and Injector

What: A club with a focus on getting the longest useful life from DE, SE or Injector blades. Why: There have been a number of posts on "above average" blade life in the Blades forum, and elsewhere. These include the legendary "One blade in February" threads, and of course the 100+ shave...

www.badgerandblade.com

 

[Dog Whiskerer]

What is hypermiling?

 

[TFAshaver]

What is hypermiling?

Hypermiling is generally a term used when trying to get more gas millage out of a car's tank of gas. The methods can be good, or dangerous, but some include: Turning car off at stop lights, coasting the car down hill, drafting trucks (very dangerous at times), and others. The video I saw on YouTube had a man that said he got something like 140 shaves out of a blade and called it hypermiling his blade. A very interesting idea to me as a newer DE shaver, I did something like it with my cartridge razor before and this included better prep, stropping the blade on my jeans, and keeping the blades very dry before putting away (I was just cheap and hated the cost of a pack of 5 cartridges), and I would get 2-4 months out of a cartridge before tossing it. With my DE blades I am managing a nice 4-6 shaves out of any blades (except for Derby and Baili which I hate from the first stroke), but my Merkur I got about 15 out of, and my Gillette Platinum is on 6 today and still felt as good as the first shave, hence my curiosity with hypermiling the blades. I have been tossing the blades at the moment I feel a tug, as I always though there should be no tugging with shaving, but then I realized I put up with 15 years of tugging with cartridge and electric shavers, so maybe just maybe I am tossing blades way too early. For now I don't mind as I have plenty of blades and am on a quest to find my favorites, but eventually an attempt to hypermile might be interesting, just looking for things to try really.

 

[TFAshaver]

Here's some reading material.

Excalibur Club - Blade Longevity DE, SE and Injector

What: A club with a focus on getting the longest useful life from DE, SE or Injector blades. Why: There have been a number of posts on "above average" blade life in the Blades forum, and elsewhere. These include the legendary "One blade in February" threads, and of course the 100+ shave...

www.badgerandblade.com

Thanks, I will keep reading the thread, but with 167 pages, might take me awhile to get through all the comments.

 

[sarimento1]

ZZZZzzzzzzz......

 

[Jgreenepa]

Methods to extend blade life include:
1) Palm-stropping
2) Corking

I’ve used both methods to extend the life of my AC Proline Blades, although I’ve never never pushed beyond 30 shaves on a blade.

 

[NPK]

There are guys on here that get over 100...regularly....I did not understand how they do it.

 

[Bogeyman]

There are guys on here that get over 100...regularly....I did not understand how they do it.

A. They have 10 or less hairs

B. Prevarication.

 

[Mouser]

There are guys on here that get over 100...regularly....I did not understand how they do it.

I don't get it either. I have an average beard as told to me by a barber friend of mine who gave me a couple of straight shaves and who is a good enough friend to be honest with me about it, and I could only get 3 to 5 shaves from modern blades when I used them. I only use vintage blades now and get anywhere from 12 to 30+ as most do with them....but 100!?!?

 

[ivan_101]

A. They have 10 or less hairs

B. Prevarication.

 

[StillShaving]

I don't hypermile my blades but I believe good preparation goes a long way to extending blade life. I have never shaved 100 times with the same blade but I believe it could be done with good shave technique and if not bothered by some tugginess, just because a blade tugs does not mean it will not shave.

I am more surprised by the guys who cannot get more than a 1-2 shaves out of a blade than I am by those who can shave every day of the month with a single blade.

 

[Invicta]

Thanks, I will keep reading the thread, but with 167 pages, might take me awhile to get through all the comments.

The first 10 pages should give you an idea about the intention of the thread. But maintain an acceptable shave quality at all times is the major theme. That in itself is subjective so that is why views widely vary.
February is coming up so you may wish to participate in the one blade in February challenge; the thread will start to appear around mid January 2020.

 

[Barney14]

O dear Jesus, madness, it's a bloody razor blade, no need to **** about corking, stropping or anything else.
Take it out of its wrapper, ignore the wax, put in the razor, use until shave is not great, remove and dispose of.

 

[NCJack]

Almost ANY other economizing in your life will save you FAR more than extending blade life will.

 

[BigJ]

Almost ANY other economizing in your life will save you FAR more than extending blade life will.

+1! However, it is interesting to read the Excalibur thread!

To me the key concepts of great prep and technique are applicable to most all of us here on B+B!

 

[deafficianado]

I think that drying the blade after each use is very important for subsequent better shaves. The water left behind when not drying causes a lot of corrosion.

 

[FarmerTan]

+1! However, it is interesting to read the Excalibur thread!

To me the key concepts of great prep and technique are applicable to most all of us here on B+B!

I have never really looked at the Excalibur thread, but I've got 43 shaves on a GSB right now, and it is as comfortable as it was on the second shave. It's all about the prep.

I don't hypermile my blades but I believe good preparation goes a long way to extending blade life. I have never shaved 100 times with the same blade but I believe it could be done with good shave technique and if not bothered by some tugginess, just because a blade tugs does not mean it will not shave.

I am more surprised by the guys who cannot get more than a 1-2 shaves out of a blade than I am by those who can shave every day of the month with a single blade.

Yes, I can only think that bad prep, poor technique, or cartridge habits are why gents only get two shaves on a blade.

 

[sugardaddy]

Some highlights of a thread where Century Club members gave us some advice:

, and things I've learned along the way:

+ Though my current longest blade is a Nacet, there have been several other popular makes (Feather, Astra, Gil. Platinum, Gil. Slvr Blue, PolSilver, Wilkinson Sword) that others have taken to 100 and beyond. So the blade is not the secret.
+ Sometimes it takes an aggressive razor to make a blade go its furthest. You may be able to start out with a mild one, but at some point you may need to change if you want to get into the big numbers. I personally really enjoyed this part, since the older blade made some of my more aggressive razors much more enjoyable for me.
+ Good technique (proper angle, pressure, and good lather skills) seems to be key.
+ There is a point within that first 10 shaves where a person senses that the blade is no longer cutting as new. Many assume the blade has dulled. However, if they just realize that the blade is easily able to keep going, but just is no longer knife-through-hot-butter sharp, then it is easy to roll through 30-60 shaves with no problem. And sometimes they discover a wonderful, smooth phase that is very enjoyable.
+ Sometimes a blade will do poorly one day. But in many cases, it was just a bad day and the user was most likely at fault. Often the shave will rebound and the blade will be right back in a day or two with nice, close shaves. I can verify this as true.

My own experience:

+ I don't do anything to my blade between uses other than rinse it off and gently pat it dry. Definitely no palm stropping or corking.
+ I don't prep my face with anything special, though some users say it is critical for them. I just wet my face before lathering up.
+ And no, I'm not continuing to shave despite discomfort. The worst of my shaves have been with only a slight amount of discomfort and tugging... or better. Mostly better.
+ My beard is not thick, but it is not sparse. I'd say it is either average, or slightly more sparse than average. Maybe a 4-5 out of 10 for density. However, I have heard from others that have taken blades to 100 with very dense beards.
+ My skin is not super strong/tough. I'd say it's average.
+ I have oily skin and hard water. I don't know if it makes a difference, but there it is.

My current highest use blade counts (and yes that is accurate for the Nacet)

Gillette - Nacet (M)	205
Feather (M)	41
Gillette - Silver Blue (M)	25
Gillette - Platinum	21
Astra - Platinum	20

 

[sugardaddy]

I use really wet lathers. I want to reiterate that. I think that's very important in keeping the blade lubed and working smoothly with less wear. Many folks use lathers that take great pictures, but are too dry, at least IMO.