I can tell a fresh razor blade from one that has been used say 4 or 5 times. And as soon as I replace a used blade, I just know from the subsequent shave that the decision to replace was correct. But it is impossible for me to tell when a razor is past its potency and needs to be replaced. There are times when I have shaved up to a dozen times with a blade but still feel the shaves are good enough, though as soon as I replace it I know I was wrong as my shaves are suddenly far far better with the new blade :ashamed001!! So then I started mentally ticking off how many times I have used a blade. I took it up to five or six shaves and then replaced it. This worked fine when I only had one razor. But now with a few razors that I rotate regularly, even the mental count is failing me :mad: I just cannot keep track anymore and sometimes end up binning fresh blades, and at other times end up using a blade way past its prime :sick007 Anyone else face this problem? Do you have any more effective method of tracking how many times you use your blades and when they are due for replacement
I only use a straight but I have heard some people say they use a little notebook and keep track of the usage. Also you could just use the shave of the day post and mention blade usage on there.
I don't take chances. I keep a mental tally going as best I can, but if I lose track, I just load a new blade. I've pushed a Feather too far and paid the price for it.
Chart Maybe start out simple with one razor and one blade, keep track of how many times you use the blade with that particular razor, keep track of it on a piece of paper and pencil or erasable pen. Then when you feel you have reached the maximum amount of comfortable shaves (notice I said comfortable, not up to your pain tolerance, unless that is your goal), write down total number of recorded shaves with that particular blade and also what particular razor you used (never changing the razor during the blade trial). Then you will know how many times you can shave with a certain blade in a certain razor. If you have muliple razors and blades, this will be a very time-consuming project, but in the end you will have empirical evidence of how many times a certain blade will shave with a certain razor. If you want to do this thoroughly, you would have to use the same razor for all the different blades you have. Once you have recorded how many times each brand of blade will shave for you in that specific razor, then you can move on to the next razor, repeating the process trying out every blade (one of each brand) you have and how many times you can use it with your next chosen razor, you will know how many times you can use a certain brand of blade with your most current choice of razor. Repeat this process until all blade brands have been tried with all of your razors, then you know how many times you can shave with any given brand of blade coupled with your choice of razor for that day. You don't even have to memorize it, just consult your chart that you recorded down your data. In time I suspect you will begin to remember, and that will truly be an accomplishment in my opinion. If you don't want to do all of this, just do this experiment once, using the blade you use the most or like the best with the razor you use the most or like the best. Good luck.
I don't use this myself, but I've heard of gents using a die... on day one you turn it to 1 uppermost... day 2 on to 2... etc.
By hand stropping I can get 7 three-pass shaves out of most every blade I've tried. That being said, I put in a fresh DE blade in every Monday morning and shave. When I'm done shaving, I take it out, hand strop it and put it into the razor I will be using tomorrow (it WILL be a different razor ). After Tuesday's shave, I repeat the process, moving the same blade to the next razor. Repeat through the week. The weekends are for SEs. On Saturdays I use a straight razor, and on Sundays I use an SE. For the SEs, I put in a fresh blade the first Sunday of the month, hand stropping and moving to the next razor as I do with DE blades. So there you go - a fresh DE blade every Monday and a fresh SE blade every first Sunday. I don't worry about counting shaves. Like Aaron said, blades are cheap.
I use a different razor every day as well, usually in a 12 to 14 day rotation. I used to try and keep a mental note of which blade had been used how many times, but with so many razors going, I had to start writing it down. Every razor pretty much has its own blade and I use a blade three times before I toss it.
+1, mostly. If I'm getting really good shaves, I may push it to 4 or 5, but 3 is pretty much the norm regardless.
Excel? Or the rule of three. Even with Feathers it is still way cheaper than carts. The die sounds like an awesome idea too, however.
Lipstick on the mirror and tell SWMBO that it is a tally of my other girlfriends... Actually I just stick to three shaves and then switch blades. Blades are inexpensive enough that I see no reason to try and push a blade for a subpar shave just to save a few cents.
DE and SE blades I use for consectutive shaves until they're done. Because I shave every day, I have no trouble remembering how many shaves I have on them. In some cases I might switch a blade to another razor. Injector blades give me more shaves per blade, so I rotate to other razors before finishing them. I keep a small notebook in the bathroom and make tick marks to keep track of how many shaves are on each.
Every once in a while I'll try to keep one alive as long as possible. I can keep a blade alive for a week if I hand strop it. I had a Feather last for 8 days without hand stropping, so one day, I'll hand strop one, just as a side project. Make that $.50 s t r e t c h
I just use my blades 3 times. 4 max. and if in doubt I just change it. they are cheap. I would rather throw away a 40 cent blade than risk a bad shave. and I only have one Razor. so tha makes it even easier.
I understand making it stretch, but also don't use expensive blades. Shark Super Chromes, Red Pack Personna, and Thai Gillette Super Thins round out my top 3 DE blades. All the blades range from $.14 to $.17 a piece and I have a stock pile of about 800 blades. If I could comfortably get 5 shaves per blade, I would. Unfortunately, when I try to push it, the shave suffers.
If in doubt...throw it out. I replace every blade after 3 shaves. Blades are cheap, I would hate to miss a great shave for the sake of a few pennies.
My solution is that I when I put a blade in a razor, I use it for four days without switching razors and then toss the blade. When I started head shaving, I've gone to either using two razors each with its own blade, or using a single razor and blade for just two days. To me, changing the razor/blade combo every 4 days is sufficient for variety.
So, how I read your post is that every razor always has a blade in it, thus the reason it's so easy to loose track. From what I've seen so far, folks are using the same blade - either keeping it in the same razor or rotating it to the next - until they decide it's time to change the blade. The number of shaves seems to be anywhere from 3 to 5. Have you come to a solution yet?
Blades I was about to ask a question about when to change a blade. I used my first Astra blade 3 times and then changed it. Since I'm still learning, I don't need a dull blade to make things tougher! I was told that Feather blades can last a full week, and some use all their blades for a week. I'm guess I'm going to stick with a 3 day rotation for a while until I develop my technique. Using a blade for 4-5 days would be great. It would make the process that much cheaper, but I don't want to sacrifice that close shave!
Yes thats the way it is - every razor has a blade in it. Haven't found a solution yet but I like the one with the dice someone posted earlier. I could have a different die for each razor. Taking the blade out from one and putting it into another before a shave seems like too much of a faff :ashamed001
