What's new

Prolonging the life of a blade

I shave daily, and 9/10 shaves are with straight razors, the rest are DE shaves. I have noticed that the number of days between use also factor in. A blade that has been used one time, and if it sits in the razor for a couple of weeks it seems to be degraded, probably from oxidation.
I can usually get 4 to 6 good shaves out of most blades if I use one blade each consecutive day.
Some razors are also gentler on the blade. Rigid blade support seems to do worse.
Yes, while the grades of stainless steel used in today's DE blades are resistant to corrosion, they are not impervious to it.
 
Yes, while the grades of stainless steel used in today's DE blades are resistant to corrosion, they are not impervious to it.
I have not noticed much, if any difference if I leave the blade in the razor or if I take it out and dry it. It seems like the degradation starts as soon as the coating wear off, which probably after a shave or two.
 
I have not noticed much, if any difference if I leave the blade in the razor or if I take it out and dry it. It seems like the degradation starts as soon as the coating wear off, which probably after a shave or two.
The only times I've seen visual evidence of any corrosion is when I have a outlier blade that lasts well beyond the typical max 10-12 shaves from my best blades. When finally finished with the outlier Derby Extra blade that lasted over 20 shaves there were a couple spots of what looked like dried rust revealed on the inner parts of the blade when I opened my razor. Nothing on the business end that was always exposed. I shave on average 6 days a week so that blade was in use for almost four weeks.
 

Mike M

...but this one IS cracked.
I am one of those odd people who disassemble my razors after every use.
I always disassemble and clean my razor after every shave and I never store a blade in the razor, I take it out and put it back in the paper since I got a tea stain in a razor I hadn't used in a while.
 
I am one of those odd people who disassemble my razors after every use.
Me too. Against the manufacturer warnings, I also wipe the blades clean and dry. I then lightly polish the razor parts with an old torn up jeweler's cloth.

I am new to the game and when my Parker blade was on the sixth shave, I panicked and swapped it out, thinking I would preempt any facial disasters. I always have a backup razor lock and loaded, ready to go in case it happens mid-shave. Extending the life of the blade is a good sporting challenge, not motivated by minuscule economic gain, but motivated by changing wasteful behavior.
 
Last edited:
I am one of those odd people who disassemble my razors after every use.
I am also part of that group. Without exception, I disassemble my razor after every use, rinse the blade under hot water then pat dry. Clean razor plates with face cloth or TP then place the blade between plates, setting aside the assembly. Ready for the next day adventure.
 
Me too. Against the manufacturer warnings, I also wipe the blades clean and dry. I then lightly polish the razor parts with an old torn up jeweler's cloth.

IDK? I like knowing that when I shave, the blade I am using is nice a clean.

but motivated by changing wasteful behavior.

I am officially retired but work part time in restaurants.

I bring my drink home with me daily. If it is in a foam cup, I rinse the cup and use it with my morning coffee I bring with me to work the following day.

If it is a plastic cup, I rinse it and reuse it for soda or water the next day. Maybe for several days. Just don't see thd purpose in wasting something that is perfectly suitable to be reused?
 

musicman1951

three-tu-tu, three-tu-tu
MIT did an interesting study: Why shaving dulls even the sharpest of razors - https://news.mit.edu/2020/why-shaving-dulls-razors-0806

I keep track of daily shaves with a die. I quickly get an average time when the blade is dull enough to provide an uncomfortable shave (and, unfortunately, when I subconsciously start to add pressure in an attempt to get back to good results). It's absolutely true that blades are not 100% uniform and some are capable of providing more good shaves. I know this because I occasionally have a blade with such good performance that I ignore my rule for when to change the blade and go another day, with good results.

The truth is that I have no interest in getting to the uncomfortable shave. I fully admit to being a selfish shaver who only wants to experience comfortable shaves. I am, however, unbowed in this attitude. I admire shavers who push the boundaries of blade longevity just as I do runners pounding the pavement for miles a day, but I will not be joining you. I'm enjoying being spoiled way too much.
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
Another thing I will mention is I enjoy using the ASR razors that use the Gem blades and I have mild to upper middle range razors. What I do is use a new blade to start off with my milder Gem razor and progress to my more mid range and finish with my aggressive razors and I always seem to get 10 shaves per blade or $.02-.03 cents per shave & that is awesome IMO. My shaves are DFS++> mostly.
Single edge (SE) blades do get more shaves per blade for myself usually but that is not written in stone.
My DE Kai SS blades I can get 10 shaves out of a blade(better steel or heat treatment?).
blade_angle-se-de.gif

Have some great shaves!
 
Hard to say, since I've always gotten far more shaves from a blade (of any kind, including disposable multi blade monstrosities) that most people.

I shave after my morning shower with wet, thin lather. Two passes unless I feel the need to do a touchup somewhere when a blade is really old.

Rinse razor and put on the shelf or stand (I have four razors in use all the time).

There are a few blades I can't seem to get much use out of -- Derby Extra (old style) and Nacets for some reason (probably the wrong razor or wrong setting) -- but most give me 60 or more shaves each (currrent average is 67 shaves per blade) while good blades run over one hundred shaves each.

I've discovered that there is enough variation in blade width in my adjustable razors I need to find the correct setting for each blade. Israeli Personas (IP Red) are visibly wider than my other blades, and for a few shaves when new even at 1 on a Gillette Slim can peel me and give me weepers all over. Will get probably 160 shaves out of the one I'm using at the moment, just flipped to the second side at 84 or 85 shaves (lost count for a bit).

Polsilvers require a much wider setting, almost impossible to shave with on 5, painful below 7, work best around 8 or 9 on the Slim. Must be just a tiny bit narrower. Probably true of most PPI blades, I used the two Nacets I tried in a fixed razor and they probably need a more aggressive one than I used.

Shallow shaving angle, multiple short overlapping strokes, seems to work fine with minimal irritation, no weepers, and good shaves.

Very slick lather is required -- the only purpose shaving soap has is to make your skin slippery so the razor edge slides over it without cutting in. Thin slick lather is far better than thick pasty lather -- if you skin isn't slick for a while after the razor goes past, I personally don't think there is enough water in the lather.
 

OkieStubble

Dirty Donuts are so Good.
As brother @LeroyR said above:



Just gear goofin, really. Why not?

My own occasional forays into long-term use of a single blade have more to do with curiosity than economics.

Agreed. Plus, pinching a penny here or there and wringing the most value I can get out of the products I use is as much an entertaining hobby as is wet shaving to me.

I try and see how little Arko I can get away with rubbing on my face, to see if I can get the same amount of lather with less soap and see how long I can make the stick last.

Nothing better to do? That’s a sign of a good life! :)
 

OkieStubble

Dirty Donuts are so Good.
If we are talking about the longevity with just DE blades, I think the biggest enemy to dulling a DE’s edge other than dragging it against stubble everyday, is oxidation of the edge waiting between shaves.

The cleaner and dryer the blade is when storing and waiting on its next shave is important. I think anyway?

So I rinse razor and blade after my shave, take it apart and spray alcohol on my razor and blade. I then wipe down and shine the razor with a towel. The alcohol cleans all soap residue, hard water deposits and displaces any water on razor or blade.

I then tear off a couple of squares of toilet paper from the roll and pat down the blade. I then give it a quick blast if hot air from the wife’s hair dryer, which heats it up quickly to evaporate what ever moisture there happy to be.

I then store the blade in a very small plastic airtight cover that isn’t much bigger then the blade. Some will use their blade in the same razor until it’s done. But I like to switch razors everyday. Sometimes it’s a DE, Shavette, SE, Trac II, etc. When I’m back to a DE, I will get that blade from it’s storage container and use it again.

Admittedly, I don’t count my shaves on DE blades, but I do try to get as many shaves as I can from each one. Many say they change their blades when they begin to feel tugging, but this seems too late in my opinion. Because then the shave has to be finished with tugging? I have always seem to have bern able to tell when my DE’s edge begins to degrade before it actually starts tugging? I then switch out to a new blade accordingly.
 
Top Bottom