No sense in arguing with you, as you seem pretty set in your ways. There are others to espouse the same "1 and out" philosophy, but based on posts I've seen here and elsewhere, you're in the minority, but that's fine. If blades degraded after one use, I certainly wouldn't use them a second time, but that's simply not the case (or should I say, that's rarely the case). The cool thing is, it's your shave, you get to enjoy it your way.
There are some blades which mellow after the first shave. He never said they didn't dull, but it's not like you ran them across a cinder block first. Certain manufacturers have blades that just come too sharp out of the package, for some faces - after a shave for two, up to the 4th and even 5th use they are still quite sharp but have mellowed out.
This discussion made me curious... As I go through my dozens of different blades to determine what I like, I log each shave, giving it a rating on a 15 point scale, 5 points each for sharpness, lack of irritation or weepers, and closeness. Out of curiosity, I went back to my log and sorted the shaves based on 1st shave on a blade, 2nd, and 3rd. Though I'm sure I could get more great shaves than 3 out of a single blade, I usually limit my blades to just 3 shaves because I'm eager to get through my sample packs and see what I like. After I do that, I'll go back and start looking at longevity. Anyway, after sorting the shaving, I get the average ratings for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd shaves on a blade. 1st Shave: 10.53 2nd Shave: 10.91 3rd Shave: 10.65 I find it interesting to note that the first shave is actually my lowest rated one. They peak with the 2nd shave, but the 3rd is still a bit better than the first. All that said, I find the differences between the three ratings to be nearly insignificant, though very illustrative. Though I didn't include 4th or 5th shaves above, because of limited sample size, those ratings are 12.2 and 10.25, respectively. While these results only reflect my shaves, and my equipment, and my rating system, I wouldn't be surprised to see similar results from many of those here who get more than a single use out of blade.
hey , i respect both urs and justins replies, i do. im using prep blades now in a slant and still discard after one use , i dont know . it seems only ridiculously sharp blades are the only smooth and effect way for me to shave. stinks now that i think of it but what else can i do....straight razor ?? also , just wondering not beefing but if a shaver is looking for a duller blade on the first go , why not go with a duller blade at first? like derby or dorco...i be upset if my 2nd shave was better than my 1st. imo...every shave should be a 10 out of 10.
I have 2 main blades (but I continue to experiment with more), the Voskhod and the Personna Super "Lab". Each blade will give me a minimum of 3 excellent shaves. Not acceptable shaves, but great shaves. If, as I'm shaving, I noticed that a particular blade is not up to my standards then I toss it and grab a new one. I'm not advocating for putting up with mediocre shaves in the interest of shaving a few pennies. What I'm saying is, if there is more than 1 great shave in a blade, there's no reason not to use them. If the new blade isn't going to give me any better shave than the used one in my razor, I'm not going to change it (other than the fact that I'm limiting most blades to 3 shaves simply so I can more quickly test the 30+ different blade brands I have). Now it may be that with your beard, 1 great shave is all you can possibly get out of blade, but for most other folks, 2, 3 or even more is just not a problem. BTW, The ratings I have above for the averages of the 3 first shaves are close enough that I consider them tied.
I'm on day 4 with my Voskhod, it's still going strong - every shave is still very smooth and enjoyable for me - and I do have a coarse beard. Not many provide as close of a shave though as my straight razors however, but if you thought DE AD's were bad...look out if you head to straights lol. Have you thought about something like the R41 which has a much more exposed blade and could help give you that sharpness you desire without having to toss daily?
5...i hear u brotha, im hearing alot about these Voskhods... i will have to give them a go. are they sharp like feather and per prep ? please lmk . justin, i was thinking about a futur razor actually , since the slant only exposes part of blade.... u or 5 have any experience with the futur? also , i just looked up the r41... .. i will def give it some thought now. thank you for your input guys...it can only make me less naive
I haven't personally used a Futur - for an adjustable razor I much prefer my Gillette Slim Adjustable; I like the classic design of it a bit better than the Art Deco style of the Merkur There are a number of members here though who do use it and absolutely adore their shaves every single time - so that has to say something for its performance. Always happy to help!
roger that...ill also check out the Gillette slim. so is the futur all looks ?? but the r41 looks like thats my next razor as it seems more aggressive then my slant. anything that comes outta germany is worth a shot ....imo . thankx justin
No problemo. I have to say I love my R41, the fit and finish is just amazing for that razor, it's just as much art as it is a shaving tool. Gillette adjustable razors are always around in used circles and auctions, but you'd be better checking locally. I happened to be browsing and it looks like a lot of sellers on eBay are cashing in on wetshaving - there's no way I'd pay $96 for a FatBoy that hasn't been touched in 50 years and needs replating lol.
Commander, I have no experience with the Future. I usually use my Merkur 38M and occasionally and old Gillette Tech. If you send me your address via PM, I'll send you a few Voskhods to try out. I won't get them out until next week though. I'll be driving up into Canada all weekend. If you like them, you can find them pretty cheap right here at the The Shave Den store. Just $12 per 100.
lol i just saw the same on ebay justin, unfortunately no r41's yet . but i did find a few sites with it so...once i use it ill def lyk if i cut my head off or got a wicked weekend shave with it . the adjustable Gillette razor.. how long is the razor overall , ballpark est will do? 5.. canada eh lol yea id love to give the voskods a go, ill pm you man. seems that the futur is just modern huh not better then the past but just fancy. btw.. when you get to canada spread the word....LETS GO RANGERS !!! lol thankx to the both of you, much appreciated
I always do 3-4 no matter the blade, as cheap as blades are I can make do. I also shave every other day normally so its a blade a week usually.
I find the microscopic analysis of different blades on B&B very interesting. The gentleman's ratings for various blades are, of course, just his personal experience and preference. But what is interesting to me is the various blade geometry's he identifies. My go-to blade is the IP - and I can get 4 shaves out of these, that remain smooth and comfortable. I also like the Personna Lab - but I find them very inconsistent, and only get 2-3 shaves from them... I think the Lab is noticeably sharper than the IP, but in a YMMV way, wonder if it has an intrinsically more fragile edge geometry? Then there is the "coating" issue - and I have definitely found that some blades improve on the second shave. If one of these was my go-to blade I would possibly become a blade "corker" to try to compensate - but who wants all that trouble?
I BELIEVE they are around 3 1/4 to 3 1/2 inches in length total for the slim adjustables, I just can't find the tape measure right now.
LOL good enough for me, dude. u dont have to tear ur work bench apart for it. god knows where mine is haha . but do you know of a solid adjustable around 4inch +? my butcher hands like a longer handle.....but if not i can always try to adjust to a new style
Totally agree, I have the R41 Grande and absolutely love it, it was quite a steep learning curve at first, and I nearly gave up on it a few times, but now I use it most days, I have to say that you're right about some blades being Too sharp, I have had a feather in the R41 a few times and didn't feel comfortable at all, I much prefer either Derbys or Astras, and 3-4 three pass shaves seem to be the norm per blade!!!!
@emmijack & chappys4life Congratulations , and if ur using derby 3 to 4 times u must have a 12 year olds beard brotha . ease up
I also follow the 3 and out rule. I've never pushed mine to the absolute limit but I did go 5 shaves once and they were still fine but since I buy my blades in packs of 100 they are so darn cheap that I don't have any incentive to push my blades to their limits. I prefer to switch them out sooner.
I received an Iridium Super from awake2shave and I'm on my 7th shave with it and will be going for the 8th tonight. As I mentioned before, I rate each shave as so I can evaluate blades. This Iridium has had 11.5 or 12 (out of 15) for every shave out of the 7th. Very good, very consistant. I'll be running this one until it dips below 10.
