Safety razor blade advice

INOMNIAC · Nov 5, 2012

Friends, just curious on average how many shaves do you get with your safety razors?

I'm fairly new to the game and find that I've only been getting only 2 or 3 shaves before my shave becomes really irritating. Also, other than taking the blade off the razor and drying over a towel should I be doing anything else to prolong the life of the blade?

Lastly do you suggest purchasing blades off ebay? Is there any risk involved in getting counterfeit or rejects?

Lion and the Fox · Nov 5, 2012

Well, welcome to the Badger and Blade. There have been a number of threads regarding this same issue, and I suggest you check them out by doing a search. Usually, YMMV (your mileage may vary), so what works for someone will not work for another. Much depends on the actual blade brand, the type of beard you have, the amount of passes you do per shave, etc.

I normally do 3-4 per blade and toss, as they're very cheap in bulk. Good luck and happy shaves to you!

PMT · Nov 5, 2012

It's an individual thing, I get at least a week with ASTRA SP's

jmsodpc · Nov 5, 2012

since they are cheap enough, i shave three days per blade...whether its a double edge or single edge blade.
ebay does have some good prices....at 20-30cents per blade...why would they make fake blades? doesnt seem like a big enough profit margin involved for counterfeit blades.
this week i am going to try a feather blade for the first time...if i like it, ebay seems to have the best pricing for them at $27 per 100 blades.

CGW409 · Nov 5, 2012

INOMNIAC said:
Friends, just curious on average how many shaves do you get with your safety razors?

I'm fairly new to the game and find that I've only been getting only 2 or 3 shaves before my shave becomes really irritating. Also, other than taking the blade off the razor and drying over a towel should I be doing anything else to prolong the life of the blade?

Lastly do you suggest purchasing blades off ebay? Is there any risk involved in getting counterfeit or rejects?

Welcome to B&B
About 3 is what I get before a blade starts getting tuggy though I can stretch a forth day out of a Feather.

DICE · Nov 5, 2012

INOMNIAC said:
Also, other than taking the blade off the razor and drying over a towel should I be doing anything else to prolong the life of the blade?

If you take your razor apart after each shave to dry the blade be sure that the edge is not rubbing anything as you dry it. I normally only take my razor apart when it's time to change blades. Normal cleaning after a shave I run under hot water...shake it out a couple times...wipe it down with a towel...and I hit it with high/hot blowdryer on the head to force water out and heat up the head to make any residual water evaporate. That last step might be overkill but I am a bit OCD haha.

HoosierTrooper · Nov 6, 2012

takeshi · Nov 6, 2012

INOMNIAC said:
Friends, just curious on average how many shaves do you get with your safety razors?

Highly YMMV. You can poll but you need to use whatever works for you.

INOMNIAC said:
Also, other than taking the blade off the razor and drying over a towel should I be doing anything else to prolong the life of the blade?

I don't do either and I get 7 with a Feather. Again, YMMV, do what works for you.

INOMNIAC said:
Lastly do you suggest purchasing blades off ebay? Is there any risk involved in getting counterfeit or rejects?

Buy wherever you're comfortable buying. Ebay isn't one seller and the specific seller makes all the difference. Some are reputable, some are not.

Have you actually tried a sampler or variety of blades or have you only tried one or a few?

dtezla · Nov 6, 2012

2. Every other answer is wrong. :sleep:

celestino · Nov 6, 2012

This is very subjective depending on your beard type and how many passes you do.
HoosierTrooper's post is very helpful. Good luck.

INOMNIAC · Nov 6, 2012

Thank you all for the feedback. Yes you too HoosierTropper's; the wiki link just made my day. Every other post in this forum has probably been discussed to death at this point. Just looking for personal feedback here not a wiki link. :thumbup:

I went ahead to bluegooseshaving.net and purchased a Gillette sample pack with the following blades:
* Gillette Permasharp (5 Blades)
* Gillette SharpEdge (6 Blades)
* Gillette Super Thin (6 Blades)
* Gillette Wilkinson (5 Blades)
* Gillette 7 O'Clock Dark Blue Super Platinum (5 Blades)

International shipping to Canada was $6.99 running a total of $17.79.

I've had about 7 shaves now over the course of the last 2 weeks. I find that my skin although smooth feels uncomfortably tight. I've been using Wilkinson safety razors and hope to clean up my technique a bit as I'm still experimenting with getting that perfect angle.

The neck by far is the most difficult for me to master and I need a lot more practice. Will be reading up in the forums. To bad there isn't a chat room though I don't know if many ppl would use it.

euro · Nov 6, 2012

I might stick to Feather or Astra SP (Used Derby blade and they just sucked). They're equally great in my opinion. I can get 3 shaves from an Astra SP (with 3 passes). Ebay is safe for DE blades, no one would replicate them because they're way too cheap. If I where you I wouldn't get a big batch, just get samples from a couple brands and check out which one works good for you.

saishoots · Nov 6, 2012

INOMNIAC said:
Friends, just curious on average how many shaves do you get with your safety razors?

I'm a n00b and was initially skeptical with the YMMV thing with blades, but there is definitly a difference in longevity between blades. I get anything from 2-3 smooth shaves with a Derby, to 6-7 smooth shaves with an Astra SP. So for me the Astra SP are better value for money. I could probably get a few more uses out of the blades, but they are so cheap, why bother?

INOMNIAC said:
I'm fairly new to the game and find that I've only been getting only 2 or 3 shaves before my shave becomes really irritating. Also, other than taking the blade off the razor and drying over a towel should I be doing anything else to prolong the life of the blade?

That's all I do as well. From my point of view it's not really worth the trouble to get an extra shave or two out of a blade that costs less than 10 cents.

INOMNIAC said:
Lastly do you suggest purchasing blades off ebay? Is there any risk involved in getting counterfeit or rejects?

Not sure about this one, but doesn't seem like it would be a huge risk considering there are so many other more profitable items for counterfeiters to copy. From my time poking around the forums it seems the biggest risk is with blades that are out of production.

jadium · Nov 8, 2012

I usually change blades every other week. I only shave every other day.

tmurzz · Nov 8, 2012

Don't dry your blade. Either keep it in the razor or place it into its wax packaging.

Also all blades are very different, and even more so for each individual. Find what works for you.

I use feather blades, which I purchase of eBay, and typically use them for 4-5 shaves. Could be more could be less.

talibeard · Nov 8, 2012

It depends on so many factors. I get two shaves out of a Feather and (depending on the razor) up to twelve out of a Captain.

Another YMMV thing.

mdevine · Nov 8, 2012

I get four or five shaves with most blades.

BarryP13 · Nov 8, 2012

INOMNIAC said:
Friends, just curious on average how many shaves do you get with your safety razors?

I hope my razors last many many years

the blades? average 3 shaves per blade, but everyones beard is different.

dpmtherrien · Nov 8, 2012

As you can see from the above, its all a YMMV thing. But with the cost of blades I only do 4 or 5 shaves per blade.

ShaveThis · Nov 8, 2012

As HoosierTrooper correctly points out, there are many answers out there for you on this. Search is a good thing.
About the only thing I'd like to add is, out of all the things I buy for shaving, blades are about the cheapest item. So I like to support our B&B vendors and get blades from them. Good folk.

Safety razor blade advice

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