Shave count

[DirtDiver]

How do you guys keep track of how many shaves you get out of a blade?

I know turtle has his own method, and some of you use dice (myself included) but what about the not so common or creative ways?

I have a few for the adjustable razors:

1: I will orient the razor so that the red dot is facing me, and use the top left corner. I will start the blade with #1 there, and after the shave, rotate the blade so that the number 2 is at the top left corner so that the next time i pick it up I just open it up and look and know that it will be shave #2 with that blade, and so on and so forth. This works quite well for me, particularly with Astra blades.

2: If the blade I am using does not have numbers... I will shave with it, and when I finish and clean up Ill set the dial to number 1. This way, when I pick it up I next time I will see that it has one shave on it, set it to the number that gives me the most comfortable shave and when I finish up I'll set it to 2 etc etc all the way to 7 or 9. The blade usually doesnt make it much father than that (unless it is a British Wilkinson )

Anybody else have any creative ways?

 

[chuckr9]

I use DE blade for 3 shaves - then toss. FOr Straights I keep track of shaves since last honing.

 

[elverdiblanco]

I can't get past 3 shaves with a blade at the moment and only have one razor so it is pretty easy to keep count

 

[chilliman64]

I like your idea of keeping track on the adjustables - very good!

 

[DirtDiver]

I like your idea of keeping track on the adjustables - very good!

thank you I had an epiphany the other day

 

[Bob L.]

I can easily get seven shaves out of a Feather blade. So, I change it every Monday. If I don't shave one day I don't worry about it. If I have to shave twice on one of the days I still will get good shaves through Sunday. It's an easy routine.

 

[mikey]

I change the blade if it is Monday.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[Mandina]

With the good prep and technique I've learned from B&B, I--like Bob L.--now get a comfortable 7 shaves from my Perma-sharp Supers, Gillette Yellows, and, used much less frequently, Feathers. I shave daily, so it's Sunday to Saturday with a blade.

 

[jwilock]

2 and out, or maybe 3 and out for some. That's it. I figure why buy good brushes and soaps and razors and spend a lot of time shaving with a blade that's anything less than at its best. If I could in fact get twice as many shaves out of those blades and I'm "wasting them" I figure that the annual cost of that waste at less than $10 or so, maybe closer to $5. That's a price I'm very happy to pay to make sure my blades are at their best when I use them.

 

[Shave_Rat]

I have 2 racks I put my DE razors in. If the blade has one shave on it, it goes into the first rack when done. If there are two shaves, it goes into the second rack. I never use a blade for more than 3 shaves, so if I pull the razor from the second rack and use it, the blade gets pulled and tossed after the shave.

 

[LAM&P]

Swap blades when the going gets rough or on a whim...whichever happens first...

 

[John Von Wuggz]

I'm still trying to narrow down which products I like and which perform best for me. After my daily shave I toss the hardware, software, and rating (1-5 based on specific criteria and overall shave results) onto a Google Doc spreadsheet. After awhile I get a feel for what blades last how long, what products I use more, and what combinations are leading to my highest rated shaves.

By now I've seen that blades don't perform long enough for me to bother with rotating them. I use one for 2-3 shaves and replace it.

 

[EloquentRune]

I like using 10 sided dice it is simple yet slightly different from regular 6 sided.

 

[Dalejr]

I keep track when using a new blade I've never tried before so I know as a guideline when to toss it for future reference.

 

[dalecooper51]

Normally, I only keep one blade active at a time.

I toss it after 3 or 4 shaves or when I get bored and want a change.

 

[awa54]

I fail... n/t

 

[awa54]

I like using 10 sided dice it is simple yet slightly different from regular 6 sided.

Oh... you are *such* a gamer if you have extra 10 siders around to keep track of shaves! ...do you play White Wolf games? ...are they just one or two standard 10 siders, or are they percentile? btw, it takes one to know one, I just keep my *gaming* dice for gaming

Personally I use the (flawed) 'ol memory thingy to keep track of shaves on a blade and when that fails I trust my face to tell me when I have mis-remembered and put one to many shaves on a blade.

 

[muskus]

Don't count, just change blades after about a week of use, which for me 4-6 shaves.

 

[rand77]

I always count, but its easy because I use one blade at a time.

 

[Cornishman]

2 then throw for me