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Reversing Blades

i generally just shave 3 times and bin the blade....if a blade is good i will use it maybe 5 times. I can't recall the last time i flipped a blade....maybe when i first started DE shaving and was trying out new things.
 

musicman1951

three-tu-tu, three-tu-tu
+1! You have company! :thumbup: :thumbup:

I try to limit handling of blades, especially first thing in the AM!! I understand the bevel theory, but (for me) this theoretical advantage is counter balanced by an increased risk of injury before I am fully awake!

Me too! Over the years I've only had three bad nicks from a blade. The first was about my 4th day of shaving and I misjudged the distance to my chin and bounced the blade off it in a non-benificial way. The other two were fingertips while loading a blade. It's been quite a few years, but I'm always careful handling blades. The idea that I would handle it daily is unappealing.
 
Do any of you "reverse" your DE or SE blades after each use? By this I mean pulling the blade off your razor and turning it upside down so your next shave will be on the reverse side of the blade. I sometimes do this in order to wipe soap scum off my blade. Would this have any effect on the quality of the shave or extend blade life?

Every time, but I rarely DE shave anymore.

I think most blades are marked to distinguish one side from the other.
One even has each side of each edge numbered 1,2,3,4.
 
In my Gem 1912, I remove the blade to rinse under it because that area seems to collect hair sometimes. I flip the blade since I have it in hand and rinse the bottom as well. If I had to unscrew something I wouldn't bother doing either. Last blade I had just under a month of shaves shaving daily. I have no idea whether it extends the blade life. I just don't want to bother flipping the blade again after rinsing the bottom to return it to the original state.
 
Back in the days when I used to fall in for inspection,
one of the clever ways of indicating an unsatisfactory shave was
"You need to stand a little closer to the razor".
I remember those days! If it wasn't that, it was "Did you shave this morning? Was there a blade in the razor?"
 
I have two different methods, one for "regular" blades, which usually only give satisfactory results for between 2 and 5 shaves and the other for longer lived blades like Personna 74* or SPC blades that usually last two weeks or more.
For the standard blades I just rinse them thoroughly (in situ), shake dry and toss 'em in the blade safe when they start to feel rough, on the longer lived blades I often rinse them outside of the razor head and if they show any soap accumulation I'll do a palm strop, or carefully wipe the edge between my fingertips, this results in the blade being randomly reinserted, so it gets flipped, but not according any set plan.
I once got more than half a year worth of shaves from a coated P74*, I didn't use any special techniques aside from making sure to shake the blade/razor dry after each use.


Normally, I put the blade in randomly, so I would expect wear to be pretty even.

However, the Nacet that I've shaved 306 times with has never been flipped. I marked one side of it and always shave with that side toward the handle.

I think one can then draw the conclusion that not flipping may help to prolong blade life... or at least that being conscientious about the side you use just doesn't matter, especially when you only use a blade under 30 times or so.

Sent from my moto g stylus using Tapatalk

Nacets give me 3 solid shaves and another 1 or 2 before starting to irritate my face... I have no concept of how you can get more than a dozen surviveable shaves out of a standard blade without honing it somehow.

My hat is off to you sir!!
 
I considered purposely flipping the blade early on but it didn't seem worth it to me even if it doubled the blade life back when I was only getting 2 to 5 shaves from one but when I changed to vintage and started getting two weeks or more the math changed. So I tried it. Didn't make any difference.
Edit: let me clarify. Since I shave in a sink full of standing water soap film is more of a problem so I take the blade out to rinse afterwards. Therefore there always a random number of flips happening which is a factor.
 
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I get about 140 shaves per blade. Flipping doesn't make a difference to me. I do stick with the first edge for about 80 shaves and then use the second one.
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
I like to flip a blade because I remove and wash & dry, then blade is sandwiched between to magnetic business cards.
I will use my DE blade 6 shaves Max then tossed, SE 10 shaves Max and then tossed regardless because I use averages as a rule for myself after experimenting using them over time.)
I do not rotate my Schick injector blades unless I,m using my E2 type razor.
I like shaving with a large variety of razors in a rotation with different blade systems because it is more a hobby for me than a boring task when shaving with cartridge razors.
Blade storage 2 (2).jpg

Have some great shaves!Stay safe in these times!
 
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