GEM Style Blade Life

Discussion in 'Shave School' started by BigD, Mar 18, 2019.

  1. BigD

    BigD Well-Known Member

    I've just had my second shave with my Blackland Sabre using the L2 and L1 baseplates with a GEM PTFE blade. The second shave was just as smooth and nice as the first shave. No nicks, no cuts, no irritation.

    So, here's my question. How many shaves can I expect to get from a blade? To give a baseline I get about four to five shaves for a Dorco Prime DE blade before my pick ups become more trouble than they are worth to keep using the blade.

    I also have the plane Jane GEM SS, Gem Blue Star, Pal, and Pace/Dorco SE GEM style blades waiting for trial. Will these blades give the same longevity as the GEM PTFE?
     
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  2. richgem

    richgem suffering from chronic clicker hand cramps

    As the saying goes, you're mileage may vary. But, most of us seem to get more shaves out of a SE than a DE. Stropping an SE between shaves (even just on the palm of your hand) may extend its life even further. Naturally, there will also be some variations even among the different brands and coatings on SE blades.
     
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  3. Ron R

    Ron R Well-Known Member

    That is a good blade & nice looking razor L2 and you should get close to 8-12 face shaves but YMMV. So if I get to 10 shaves I'm thinking about giving it the toss on averages & not push my luck. That works out to about $.02-.03 a shave and that is great, about the same as a cheap DE blade giving about same amount per shave IMO. If you are into flipping a blade you can increase the amount of shaves possibly?
    Have some great shaves!
     
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  4. ordinaryshaver

    ordinaryshaver Well-Known Member

    13.
    13 shaves from an SE blade.
    Just kidding. I find that I get more shaves from the stainless blades than I do from the carbon steel blades.
    The stainless are sharper, the carbon are smoother.
    Ymmv
     
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  5. jtface

    jtface Well-Known Member

    I am going to run this very experiment using my 1912. I have gotten 6 before now and just binned it because it had been 6 shaves, but I was swapping and changing razors and I'm sure that'll have an impact! I do palm strop the blade before the first and between subsequent shaves to tell myself that it's smooth (placebo probably)! I assume the coated stainless blades should last longer than their carbon counterparts. YMMV

    Sent from my EML-L09 using Tapatalk
     
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  6. MR41

    MR41 Well-Known Member

    I can tell you about my experience: I shaved with an OCMM exclusively for about a year. I shaved about every 3-4 days,; my beard is very coarse, and as soon as a blade tugs I trash it. I was trying to get as many tug free shaves out of a blade as possible so I stropped the blade on as piece of jean material and flipped it for each shave. I chased the baby every time. I got 4 Sharp no tug shaves out of a carbon steel blade.
     
    Last edited: Mar 18, 2019
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  7. jmudrick

    jmudrick Type A Man

    Three beard and head shaves
     
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  8. wchnu

    wchnu Duck Season!

    I use carbon steel blades and do not keep count. One piece of advise though.... throw the pace SE away. Not even good for cutting wet butter.
     
    Last edited: Mar 20, 2019
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  9. BigD

    BigD Well-Known Member

    If the Dorco/Pace blades don't work out I can always use them for work. There's always something that needs to be cut, even if it's boxes. I appreciate the advise. I bought these when I ordered some Dorco Primes at dorcousa.com. Figured what the heck, why not?

    Third shave today. Still buttery smooth and super efficent.

    I'm really paying attention to everyone's replies here. It means a lot to me you guys are helping me out. Thank you.
     
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