Shaves per DE blade

[SoullessSingularity]

I can shave maybe 3 or 4 times on most blades before they start hurting me.

 

[been around]

two passes. One WTG one ATG daily. Personna red 5 shaves, Wilkinson 5 shaves. The sixth shave is a little uncomfortable so why do it to save about 3 cents.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Now that I have 3 razors, if I swap them around every day, 12 shaves in 2 weeks gives me 4 shaves per blade. That sounds about right from my experience.

 

[Vespasian]

Fewer and fewer. I am seeing the dulling more quickly (GBS, Fatboy) than I used to, and the shaves with a new blade are significantly better than the subsequent ones; three shaves per blade is my max now.

 

[been around]

The quality of everything is going down. The name of the game is earnings per share. Trac II and Atra blades were American made before. Now, China and Korea. I use to get 15 shaves from a Trac II with Gillette carts and now I get about 6 for more money. When I dug out my DE that I packed away in 1972 I found 4 Wilkinson UK blades and tried one. It was still sharp and I got 6 shaves from a 45 year old blade. Try that with a new one. All I can get is 5.

 

[SirNicksalot]

I change my blade every week unless it begins to get tuggy XTG on my neck. Then, it gets replaced sooner. I shave 6 days a week and most blades last about a week. I switched to DE to get away from frugal cart shaves (3 weeks on one cartridge) while getting ingrown hairs on my neck. Life is too short to have crappy shaves.

 

[albsat]

I have managed to get 6 shaves from a supermarket blade. I will try to go up to 10.

I respect those who go 20 shaves with a blade a bit more now. It' not easy to get 20 shaves for a blade at my current shaving technique status.

 

[Nosdoh]

I’m finding I shave on average 5/6 times a week. I’ve not perfected technique yet and I’ll pass 4 times minimum before going in for a “clean up” on those awkward areas on my neck. 4 passes left, up, down, right is the only way I can get to what I deem to be a good shave. How people can do it in 2 passes amazes me.

Anyway I can 3 to 4 weeks out of a decent blade with the above shaving habit, no problem. I find if it’s a cheap supermarket blade it last about half that.


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[been around]

SirNickalot hit it. Due to the cost, many of us pushed carts beyond their life and suffered for it with bumps, razor burn, and the dreaded ingrown hairs. I don't know why I ever left DE in the first place, but I'm glad I came back. The savings is the icing on the cake. The close comfortable shave with no side effects is why most of us are here. With dollar shave club $72/year and Trac II carts at $ 18 a 10 pack, we didn't have the luxury of frequent blade changes we do now, and I love it.

 

[stone and strop]

Wilkinson German Classic. 6 shaves in a shavette. At 7 you can feel it start to tug very slightly but that is where it changes.
I have no idea how some claim to get ridiculous numbers out of a blade.

 

[been around]

I can do it in two passes because I know my face, and that took some time. On my left cheek the hair grows down and toward my ear and on the right it grows down and toward my nose. This is why I only need two passes. I went DE to keep a razor off my face as much as possible, or I'd just use a Hydro 5 or Fusion and learn to enjoy the bumps and burns.

May I make a suggestion? For clean up I use a Sensor 2 disposable with the swivel head. It really does wonders on the chin and those impossible areas around the Jaw. I keep mine in baby oil so its always at the ready and cleans with a simple tap against the sink.

 

[ukbfg]

I started traditional shaving in October with a 2 razor rotation and had the same original blade in both until a couiple of weeks ago when they weren't giving as smooth results any more. I shave 3-4 times a week normally at a guess and that was 4 or 5 months ago, so I guesstimate each blade lasted around 40 shaves.

The blades were a Feather in a 6S and a Gilette Nacet in a vintage slim. As others have said, I wasn't trying to milk it or sufferng bad shaves, I was just natually using the blades until they stopped performing for me and was getting really nice smooth shaves.

I do remember noticing the blades were lasting well (I used to get 1 decent shave out of a cheap disposible zazor before) and thinking to myself that it must have been the disposible multblades getting clogged previously that stunted their ability and not the actual blade sharpness as I'd previously though.

 

[Ron R]

For me, the cost is not the issue. As you correctly pointed out, there's not a lot of money involved. For me, the issue is honing my shaving skills (so to speak). Better prep, better lather, and better technique makes the shave easier on the blade as well as easier on my face. How long the blade lasts is simply a proxy measure for how good a job I'm doing with prep, lather, and technique. As always, YMMV.

+1- I could not of said it better!

 

[joeyboy]

Some blades are better than others so I get more. I used to go for 10 with GSB until I went too far one time. Then I went to every Sunday blade changes. Now, I just shave. If I feel I need to change I will. GSB I still get six or seven but nacet maybe 3. I did have an exception and five last time. Voskhod gets better so i normally just stop at five. I notice a decrease in the shave quality at that number and don't want to increase passes just to not change blades.

 

[albsat]

Today I got 7 shaves from my Isana blade. I felt a bit of tugging, but then I remembered many posts read here about the angle. So far I got a very acceptable shave. My goal is to get 3 more shaves with this blade.

10 shaves out a blade means 30 - 35 blades per year. Not bad at all as numbers.