Double Edge Blade Maintenance

I remember when I used to look at shaving as a chore. Which meant that I would spend as little time preparing for and doing it as I could get by with to get the job done. Most of us here have elevated shaving to a hobby.

This poll is designed to answer one specific question:
How much effort do you put into keeping your DOUBLE EDGE BLADE in good shaving condition?

I have listed what I think are all the options. You can pick any and/or all options that you currently use.
If you currently exercise an option that I have not listed, please make sure to leave a comment and share.

THANKS for sharing!

 

I just remove it from the razor, rinse in hot water and put it back into the razor for the next shave.

 

This ---> STROP BLADE AFTER USE - remove, strop, and replace in razor to REUSE
Does it do anything? Can't say it does or doesn't. In my mind it does. I figure can't hurt, might help.

 

Not a thing. I rinse the razor out, blow as much water out of the razor as I can and put it back on the stand. DE blades are so cheap that I see no real sense in taking the time to do anything to prolong its life.
Now, I do strop carts because they can be a bit expensive but not DE.

 

Nothing. Rinse in hot water and move on.

 

So I guess I should post my approach here.

I generally do NOTHING... just leave the blade in the razor until the blade seems to need attention. Then I will remove, clean and inspect/strop the blade.
I am more likely to strop occasionally if I am using a TTO DE razor, because it seems easier to get to the blade (to me anyway).

I admit, I was firmly in the NOTHING AT ALL camp until I got interested in Straight Razor shaving.
Once I got started with straight razors, I started to pay more attention to the maintenance of the blade itself.
I guess that carried over into DE, shavette and even cartridge razor shaving for me.

 

Nothing...with a very slight variation. I remove the blade, pat both it and my razor dry with a towel and place them, separately in whatever wooden box is designated for it. I rarely, if ever, count shaves with a blade...when the blade tells me it time to change it, I do.

 

What I feel like at the moment but basically, nada.

 

I remove the blade, clean it off, strop it, and put it back in the razor for the next shave.

 

SR is carbon steel. DE (almost all) are stainless steel and carry a Teflon coating. It's not even close to the same material. The biggest key to DE blade longevity is low angle of attack. Thus presents the bevel more head on, and prevents the edge from curling as fast. Stainless steel is harder than carbon steel, and stropping will have less of a benefit than with carbon. I've been able to get 21 shaves from a Derby with no maintenance efforts. This I because I used a low angle and the blade is made of hard stainless . Cutting human hair keratin will not dull a stainless blade very fast, eg hairdresser shears. Shaving with a high angle of attack with DE will speed plastic deformation of the bevel edge and reduce life. Whether or not that may be remedied on a soft surface like denim or skin is nebulous at best. The notion that DE requires anywhere near the level of maintenance that carbon SR blades require is misguided, as they are very different animals. IMHO, DE blade maintenance is a fool's errand, they are cheap and intentionally disposable. If I wanted to strop, I'd put down the shavettes and use SR. No strop is the point of modern DE.

 

+1

 

Rinse in hot water, put razor head down in cup of 90% alcohol while cleaning up.

 

Rinse, shake a little, put in stand until tomorrow.

New blade every Saturday or so.

 

Alcohol would serve as a good water displacer in addition to its antimicrobial activity.

 

I leave the blade in the razor until it is time to change it.

Most of the time, I will rinse and then shake the razor before it gets put away post shave.

 

Do you have issues with the alcohol evaporating?

 

Exactly why I do it.

 

I have these nesting coffee cups, the alcohol is in the bottom, the top cup holds my nose hair trimmer, tweezers, and styptic pencil. The alcohol evaporation is lessened to a large degree by being covered. I top it off every couple of weeks.

Important note about the alcohol bath; do not forget to remove the razor after clean up! A day soaking in 90% alcohol will damage the finish of your razor. I learned the hard way.

 

Blade maintenance? really? if it has come down to that you need better job... blade maintenance... WOW....

 

That's my routine too.