Should I be using one blade for multiple shaves?

[Gururajan]

I need to whether there's any advantage to use one blade for multiple shaves other than being economical? Curious to know the cons too...

On the other hand, if you are a person who uses a blade only one time, what are the pros & cons of it?

Thanks
Gururajan

 

[NorthernSoul]

Most blades improve on the second shave, believe it or not. The coating applied at the factory has a chance to wear down a bit.

Depending on the blade, your razor, soaps, etc. you could get 4 or more shaves. I usually get 6-8. Some people get much more. Just experiment -- keep using the blade until it begins not to give you good results. It is a good idea to rinse the blade well between shaves. I make sure mine can air-dry.

 

[Tanuki]

Well said, @NorthernSoul ! Especially:

Just experiment -- keep using the blade until it begins not to give you good results.

 

[LRod]

Some blades come with no coating though. The straight "stainless" ones have no coating. My #1 blade right now is the Astor Bic stainless and it's non-coated. It should theoretically give the best shaves on the first few shaves. I use one 3-4 times and then toss it. I'm sure I can get more shaves out of it but I want an optimal "sharp" shave every time. Blades are cheap enough to justify this (in my mind).
To @Gururajan , do whatever works best for you. Some people here on B&B toss out a blade after one use, some toss it out after a few shaves (like me) and some want to break a worlds record by using one for eternity
So to summarize:
Coated gets sharper so you can probably get quite a few shaves!
Non-coated will probably give you the best shaves for the first few!
In either case, really long term use is a money saving option but the shave quality will definitely decline.
And like I mentioned before, DE blades are relatively cheap so in the end it's your choice.
Good luck!

 

[NorthernSoul]

Some blades come with no coating though. The straight "stainless" ones have no coating. My #1 blade right now is the Astor Bic stainless and it's non-coated. It should theoretically give the best shaves on the first few shaves. I use one 3-4 times and then toss it. I'm sure I can get more shaves out of it but I want an optimal "sharp" shave every time. Blades are cheap enough to justify this (in my mind).
To @Gururajan , do whatever works best for you. Some people here on B&B toss out a blade after one use, some toss it out after a few shaves (like me) and some want to break a worlds record by using one for eternity
So to summarize:
Coated gets sharper so you can probably get quite a few shaves!
Non-coated will probably give you the best shaves for the first few!
In either case, really long term use is a money saving option but the shave quality will definitely decline.
And like I mentioned before, DE blades are relatively cheap so in the end it's your choice.
Good luck!

All stainless blades are coated. At a minimum, they will have PTFE (Teflon). It was the coating that made stainless blades acceptable to the customer base. They were considered uncomfortable until the coating was added.

If the blade edge is coated with a metal, such as Platinum or Chrome, this is a separate step to the PTFE. The metal coatings are applied using a sputtering process. Teflon is sprayed and baked on after this.

 

[ivan_101]

All stainless blades are coated. At a minimum, they will have PTFE (Teflon). It was the coating that made stainless blades acceptable to the customer base. They were considered uncomfortable until the coating was added.

If the blade edge is coated with a metal, such as Platinum or Chrome, this is a separate step to the PTFE. The metal coatings are applied using a sputtering process. Teflon is sprayed and baked on after this.

This!
There are no blades made of stainless steel without coating. At least PTFE will be sputtered.
The majority of blades designated "Stainless" or "Super Stainless" actually have chrome and PTFE.

 

[Dave himself]

All stainless blades are coated. At a minimum, they will have PTFE (Teflon). It was the coating that made stainless blades acceptable to the customer base. They were considered uncomfortable until the coating was added.

If the blade edge is coated with a metal, such as Platinum or Chrome, this is a separate step to the PTFE. The metal coatings are applied using a sputtering process. Teflon is sprayed and baked on after this.

I also thought SS blades had no coating. Thank you for the for the information much appreciated.

 

[ERS4]

I usually use a blade close to 30 times, whatever blade I can get, and think it's usually more comfortable after 5 to 10 times.

I'm not doing this on purpose to save money, just want to know how much usage the blades still comfortable.

 

[awk_m4]

Experiment and have fun with it.

In my case I enjoy shaving with a fresh blade so I’m one and done.

 

[Eric_75]

Experiment and have fun with it.

In my case I enjoy shaving with a fresh blade so I’m one and done.

Same here, friend.

 

[Dave himself]

I've found through trail and error, that I can push most blades to four or five shaves. So I toss blades at three shaves as the last two shaves are not as enjoyable for me.

 

[Mitzie]

Same here, friend.

Here too, barbers will use one blade for every shave, apart from hygiene reasons, for maximum efficiency, and for preservation of the skin.

 

[JCarr]

I would recommend using a blade for a minimum of three shaves. As was said above, a blades best shave is its second or third shave.

 

[Cumberland Sausage]

Some blades reach their "peak" sooner than others, and get dull quite quickly, too. I always found Feather DE blades to get dull after just a few shaves, whereas some vintage blades like Wilkinson Sword Light Brigades give great results into the teens of uses. Most are in between these extremes, and the number will differ according to the technique and perception of the user.

 

[musicman1951]

Don't should on me and I won't should on you.

It depends on a few things: your beard/face, the blade, how you feel about the economy/challenge of how many days you can use one, and probably most of all - your personal preference.

Some shavers need to change the blade daily. They have beard hair that resembles barbed-wire and they just eat them up. On the other hand, some people can get 4,352 shaves from a blade. I think they finally change them from boredom.

Some shavers use a blade until it produces a bad result (hopefully, only on a few strokes before changing). Personally, I'm way to important (read: spoiled) to experience "bad things" from every razor blade, so I change them just before that happens. With Many (PolSilver/Wizamet, Med Prep/Labs) I do 12 passes and change. Feather blades give me only 2 good shaves, but sometimes I push it to 3. Lots of blades aren't sharp enough to give me any, so it's very much a ymmv thing.

Do you want to change the blade after one shave? it's OK with us. But why not keep track for a couple of weeks and see what that second and third shave feels like? Many blades provide a smoother shave on the 2nd and 3rd shave. Why not find out what the experience is for you?

The only con is that at some point the blade will be too damaged to provide a good or comfortable shave. Will that be shave 4, 5 or 17? Only one way to find out. A fair amount of good shaving information can only be obtained through trial and error. Good luck, and enjoy the journey.

 

[LRod]

All stainless blades are coated. At a minimum, they will have PTFE (Teflon). It was the coating that made stainless blades acceptable to the customer base. They were considered uncomfortable until the coating was added.

If the blade edge is coated with a metal, such as Platinum or Chrome, this is a separate step to the PTFE. The metal coatings are applied using a sputtering process. Teflon is sprayed and baked on after this.

Interesting, news to me!
Is this something certain?
We had previously discussed this on another thread at some point. And what I recall was that straight stainless blades had no coating. I remember I joined in on the conversation because I was getting some face allergy with what was classified as coated blades. And as soon as I started with stainless blades, the allergy went away. Another thing I noticed with the straight stainless blades was that the shave was optimal beginning with shave #1. Something that didn't happen with coated blades since they shaved better after a couple of shaves.

 

[dotKomo]

Don't should on me and I won't should on you.

It depends on a few things: your beard/face, the blade, how you feel about the economy/challenge of how many days you can use one, and probably most of all - your personal preference.

Some shavers need to change the blade daily. They have beard hair that resembles barbed-wire and they just eat them up. On the other hand, some people can get 4,352 shaves from a blade. I think they finally change them from boredom.

Some shavers use a blade until it produces a bad result (hopefully, only on a few strokes before changing). Personally, I'm way to important (read: spoiled) to experience "bad things" from every razor blade, so I change them just before that happens. With Many (PolSilver/Wizamet, Med Prep/Labs) I do 12 passes and change. Feather blades give me only 2 good shaves, but sometimes I push it to 3. Lots of blades aren't sharp enough to give me any, so it's very much a ymmv thing.

Do you want to change the blade after one shave? it's OK with us. But why not keep track for a couple of weeks and see what that second and third shave feels like? Many blades provide a smoother shave on the 2nd and 3rd shave. Why not find out what the experience is for you?

The only con is that at some point the blade will be too damaged to provide a good or comfortable shave. Will that be shave 4, 5 or 17? Only one way to find out. A fair amount of good shaving information can only be obtained through trial and error. Good luck, and enjoy the journey.

Good advice. Do whatever works for you. There are a lot of variables, so experimentation will help you figure that out.

Me? I generally get 5 shaves from a blade - some more, some less, depending on the blade. Nacets? 6 easy. Feather and Kai blades? 3 max.

 

[thombrogan]

Is this something certain?

It’s only a blade-on-blade scratch to verify if your stainless blades are coated with PTFE or air.

So far as I know (which isn’t much), Personna Accutec 95-0068 are uncoated stainless.

 

[Albert V]

Depends on the blade but in general I use a blade 3 - 4x then toss it.

Also, in general a lower number of uses might be wise if one shaves a tough beard every 3+ days with 3 passes, and a higher number of uses if one shaves daily with only one or two passes.

 

[Brutus]

All stainless blades are coated. At a minimum, they will have PTFE (Teflon). It was the coating that made stainless blades acceptable to the customer base. They were considered uncomfortable until the coating was added.

If the blade edge is coated with a metal, such as Platinum or Chrome, this is a separate step to the PTFE. The metal coatings are applied using a sputtering process. Teflon is sprayed and baked on after this.

And even if they weren’t, any straight shaver could tell the OP that, even without coating, a blade gives better results after the first initial shave(s). Most likely, the small irregularities at the cutting edge of the blade get worn away during the first shave(s).

So much for not stropping a DE blade. You still do it - with your skin.

My view has always been that DE shavers who unnecessarily toss a blade after the first shave don’t know what they are missing.


B.