Long Live the Blades

[luvmysuper]

I didn't want to say anything before, what with all the advice about "don't wipe off your razor", but I do just that - and I get a week easy out of a Walmart Personna.

I'm not some High School kid with peach fuzz either.

I haven't tried to go longer but after reading the article below, I think I just might.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/yourmoney/chi-ym-spending-1104nov04,0,936147.story

 

[talibeard]

Seems like " RINSE, DON'T WIPE" is just another marketing strategy after all!

 

[Shave Cat]

I notice the article refers to blotting the blade, not wiping it. IMHO, I believe if you "hand strop" or wipe a blade incorrectly, you will dull it. Also, if you are careless, you can cut yourself. Perhaps the blade manufacturers are trying to avoid personal injury lawsuits. We must be protected from ourselves, you know.

-Clarke

 

[tlanning]

I live just outside of Atlanta and love listening to Clark Howard. Hes like the "save you big money Guru" of the City/State. If he can get a year out of 17 cent 2 blade razor, I'm at least gonna try blotting mine after rinsing with HOT WATER just to see.(not gonna take the blade out each time). Maybe use my wife's hairdryer?

GREAT POST, THANKS

 

[luvmysuper]

I absolutely do NOT remove the blade from the razor. It gets a rinse for several minutes in water hotter than I can comfortably put my hand in. Afterwards, its a very gentle and slow wipe from the blade divider bar downwards to the guard on one side then the other.

I guess if you think about it, that is probably more of a blot than a wipe.

I'm sure the hot water bath probably promotes quicker drying too.

 

[StillShaving]

If you search for posts about rusting razor blades you will find a few. There is one specifically about Derby, another showing a Feather, another where I tried an experiment with a few unused blades. There are many more threads, with some folks stating they have had no problems, while others go to the trouble of dipping the rinsed blade into alcohol after the shave to displace the water.

I continue to keep an eye on this, since the blade can rust quickly and is ruined after that (plus have rust stains on your razor to clean). I have found no need to dry the blade with towel or similar physical contact, but have found it very helpful to take the blade out of the razor, rinse it thoroughly, flick it to displace the remaining water, and then set it back on the razor head. I have had zero cases where the blade rusted after doing this. Where as before even with the most thorough rinsing of the razor with a loaded blade it would still occasionally rust. The rusting problem was more likely with my Slim Adjustable (TTO) than Merkur Barberpole, perhaps because there is places for water/soap to accumulate.

 

[Audiolab]

Yes I am one of the rubbing alcohol guys, with some razors I swish the head in a alcohol bath and give it a shake. I tend to do this if it is a blade I may use beyone three days (eg a swede or feather), others I do not bother with.

 

[tlanning]

Well this thread may be so buried no one will read this but I have a great deal of respect for Clark Howard. I mean this nicely, hes got to be the smartest guy at being cheap I know. If he got a years worth of shaving out of a $0.17 disposable shaver by drying the blade off with his wifes hairdryer, I figured I'd try it.
I got my sixth, (6th) shave out of a feather in my Futur this afternoon. I have never gotten more than 3 good shaves without some blood.
Tomorrow will be # 7 and all I'm doing differently is after a very hot rinse, (as usual) I simply grab my wifes hair dryer and dry the the blade for 30 or 45 seconds.
I'll repost tomorrow.

 

[Koss]

I wouldn't want to spend even a day on shaving with a disposable razor!

But hey, I kind of do this already without knowing it.

I mostly use Sharp Stainless razor blades, but notice that if I do not dry them that they rust in certain areas just behind the exposed blade in my Parker Razor.

What I do is twist open the TTO razor only slightly, so the blade is loose but not able to fly out free on its own. Running it under hot water, insuring it is all clean from any stray whiskers inside. I then shake off any excess water before twisting the silo doors open completely.

Lastly, I set the razor on its side on a towel. Allowing gravity to pull down any last remaining droplets inside the razor down the sides of the razor blade and into the towel.

Sometimes I take the blade out only briefly to shake out or blot dry the inside of the razor if it is prone to having little drops of water under where the razor blade would sit.

Honestly, it sounds like a long, time consuming process. but it really takes about 20 extra seconds beyond rinsing the razor clean after my shave.

 

[tlanning]

Day 7, unreal, still good
be back tomorrow

 

[VolpeVerde]

I swish the head in a alcohol bath .

I usually swish the alcohol IN my head, but I admit I'm a blade blotter. Always take it out of the razor and give it and the razor a shot of Scrubbing Bubbles, a good rinse then gently wipe dry the razor and blot the blade. I know it sounds a bit much, but it's become part of my morn' routine and I don't like shaving with a soap scummy razor. I usually keep blades about a week or so, but after reading this thread, I'll see how long my present blade,which now has 3 shaves on it, will last.

 

[tlanning]

hello again for everyone not reading this.
Skiped yesterday's post but just finished my 8th shave.
Still can't tell any difference but I kinda am wanting to use a different blade. If it goes to 10, I'm gonna change it,

 

[1OldGI]

I hand strop prior to every shave and routinely get 7 shaves out of my SE blades. Regardless of condition I change them every Saturday. In the past, I have stretched out to as many as 15-20 shaves but the last couple in such a run tend to be pretty questionable. I decided new blade every Saturday would be the standard and have not had any problem since. Occassionally, like today I end up tossing a blade I'm sure would have been fine for two or three more shaves but what the heck, they're too cheap to use until you get a crappy shave.

 

[Left Coast DJ]

After one of my blades developed rust spots when left in the razor, now I take each blade out and blot it on my t-shirt after each shave.

 

[Unknownsoldier]

TBH, isn't hair dryering it for almost a minute each day gonna cost you roughly as much a new blade a week???

Tom

 

[82R100]

Nowhere close. Assuming an electric rate of ~$0.15/kWhr (and I believe that's high) and a 1000W hair dryer, he's at less than $.02/week for electricity.

- Chris

 

[blackfoot]

Nowhere close. Assuming an electric rate of ~$0.15/kWhr (and I believe that's high) and a 1000W hair dryer, he's at less than $.02/week for electricity.

- Chris

All I can say is wow.

 

[tlanning]

I never actually thought of it as way to save money! It was more less the principle of me having to replace a blade every 2 or 3 days and another guy using the same blade for months! Just had to see for myself!!
But its kinda nice thinking 100 Feathers could last 5 or 6 years instead of 1.

 

[klstclair]

I have well water in my house and found that the best way to get more shaves was to use a coffee cup filled with hot water from my water cooler/heater that I keep filled with deionized/reverse osmosis water purchased from a health food store. The hot water gets used to soak the brush and then to place the razor in between passes after rinsing in hot sink water. Works pretty well and since I live in Colorado, humidity is extremely low and the razor is hot when I put it away so it dries quickly and there is little to no residue.

Kevin

 

[tlanning]

I have well water in my house and found that the best way to get more shaves was to use a coffee cup filled with hot water from my water cooler/heater that I keep filled with deionized/reverse osmosis water purchased from a health food store. The hot water gets used to soak the brush and then to place the razor in between passes after rinsing in hot sink water. Works pretty well and since I live in Colorado, humidity is extremely low and the razor is hot when I put it away so it dries quickly and there is little to no residue.

Kevin

Wow, just Wow. Another something I have never considered. I have no clue as to the hardness/softness of our water. All I know is I did Tour of Duty near Colorado Springs 15 or 16 yrs ago and my wife just had to have a "water softener". I can't even describe how much I disliked the effect it had on my showering. To this day, she has never brought it up again. I have used water literally from the world over and for some reason that location was my least favorite!!!