Flip blade to extend its life.

A DE blade cost about 10¢ right? Why bother with flipping and stropping. Comfort over frugal. Two shaves and bin it.

 

Modern blades are stainless, and aren't as malleable as old style carbon DE blades. The technique surely worked on carbon steel DE, and they're were products sold for the task. This argument is why most straight razor makers avoid stainless. It's difficult to sharpen, even on stones, much less soft organic material like skin.

 

Not talking about honing or sharpening, talking about stropping.
And yet there are stainless steel str8s that get stropped on soft organic material called leather.
Str8 users are encouraged to strop before or after every shave. Why is that edge different from a DE or SE edge that it requires stropping?

I have no scientific proof of what happens to the edge of a DE or SE blade as a result of stropping. I'll continue to hand strop. I know it hasn't degraded any of my shaves. It may be helping. Prove it isn't.

 

Ground beef at nearly $4/lb, milk at around $7/gal, coffee and iced Tea at $2.50+ a serving in restaurants and I'm going to worry about extending life of a dime razor blade by maybe one shave, assuming it works at all? There must be more important things to waste time on.

 

Not saying you must do it, or even believe it works.
I do on both counts, therefore, for me, it isn't a waste of time.

There are those who would say pets are a waste of time - feeding, walking, cleaning up after them, "I've got better things to do than waste my time on a ___."
(By the way, I love dogs and wish I had one to "waste time" with )

 

Please offer evidence for your theory. That's how science works. Your question commits a fallacy in its premise. However, informal logic is probably too heavy for a holiday weekend.

Also, please look up "str8" and its meaning. It's something you should actually mean if you write it. You're embarrassing yourself trying to be hip and you don't realize it.

I hope you feel better soon.

 

I flip my blades after every shave and I’ll continue doing that. I toss them after 4 to 5 shaves anyway.

Is it right or wrong? Don’t know and don’t care. It’s my shave and I’m enjoying it!

 

Wow.

 

I used to always pull the blades out, wipe the edges on a towel and then put them back in flipped over from their first orientation. I didn’t really notice much of a benefit. One day I slipped and jabbed a corner of a blade into my thumb. Decided the cleaning process wasn’t really worth it anymore.
Now I just leave the blade in the razor and push the razor forward across a towel a couple times to dry the topside of the blade and clean the cap a bit.



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I can see why maybe in the “old days”, with carbon steel blades, it may have had a tangible benefit. I personally cannot see why or how it could make much, if any difference on a modern SS blade. And feel r me, at pennies a shave at best, I really don’t care.

If you ask me, it’s kind of like blooming soap; or soaking a synthetic brush. Do it if you want. It sure ain’t hurting anybody.

 

I soak my synthetics just to heat 'em up for warmer lather.
Same with all my brushes. Do badgers need to soak? For me, yes they do, if I want a warmer lather.
And I do.

 

It makes a difference to YOU and that's what counts.

Herm

 

I just stand in my head.

Herm

 

It’s your mantra: “It is your shave. Enjoy it your way. “ No snark, no curmudgeon here.

 

I also palm strop blades. Extend the life? Who knows but I find the shaves smoother if I palm strop, I don’t do it to extend the life.

 

No snarkiness taken

 

I "hand-stropped" for a while, still do on rare occasions, and there is *no* difference. I now use a blade twice & toss it. I have more blades than days left.

 

I got lost. This thread was asking about flipping blades... a total waste of time. I do not strop blades other then if I have a straight. But I have known people that I pay attention to who swore by hand stropping. A leather strop is tougher then your hand. But I am a bit less pig headed about hand stroppers. I still stick by my original answer. It's right if it works for you.

 

I dont do it and I dont see how it would make much difference.

 

So your tender hand skin is going to hone a hardened/tempered hunk of steel, OK, if you think so have at it. There is a reason razor strops are made of everything from fire hose fabric to shoe sole leather.