Sorry if this is an odd question, and somewhat (make that very) subjective. I read in another thread (can't remember which) that to expect 6 shaves from one blade was not always realistic, and the average was 3. Since so much of shaving is good technique rather than the blade, and newbies like I haven't developed a sense for these things, is there a rule of thumb to tell when the blade really does need to be changed? I want to get as much life as I can from each, but avoid cheese-grater-face, of course. The common advice for a set "blade changing day" each week seems to suggest it is possible to get a full week. What say you? Is it time to change when a 2x or 3x pass shave is no longer satisfactory?
There is only one rule of thumb - change the blade when your face tells you to. When your face starts feeling the blade tug and pull, change the blade. Or you can change the blade when ever you want. I never get to the point a blade is tugging, here's how I do it: Monday, fresh blade, hand strop and put into razor of the day. When finished, take blade out, hand strop, put into Tuesday's razor. Tuesday, shave, take blade out, hand strop, put into Wednesday's razor. Wed - same Thur - same Fri - same. After the shave, I toss the blade. So that gives me five 3-pass shaves out of every blade. Hand stropping - some say it works, some say it doesn't, some say even if it does work why bother, blades are cheap. I think it helps to smooth the blade out and make it last for a couple more shaves.
Yep, your face will let you know. If you are super new, no longer than three shaves until you get a little bit more knowledge, then listen to your face
Question: When you chaps count the number of shaves, are you flipping the blades over every shave? Just curious as to how the number of shaves per blade is being determined. Thanks, Frank Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk 2
I don't. I think being so thin, flipping doesn't much matter. Haven't seen any real evidence for or against it though.
I use a blade for one week usually. When I first started DE and was testing blades if a blade didn't last a week for me I quit using it...that said the length of time a blade lasts I.M.O. is a factor of technique, skin and beard type and so is unique to every individual..Some people will change a blade everyday or so I've heard...I've never bothered to hand strop a DE blade nor do I flip it daily, although I see no reason why either or both wouldn't work..In fact I may start to flip my blade daily and see what happens(change in smoothness or longevity) since the action would be consistant from day to day...I did hand stropped my Trac2 for a while and it did give me longer blade life... Another thing you need to consider is the blade itself...For whatever reason some blades of the same brands or even the same pack will simply last way longer than other blades...I call these "the one in a thousand blades", they just seem to last longer.....I have one in my razor now (Weber, DLC head/BullDog handle)...It's a PolSilver Super Iridium and I'm on my third week with this particular blade....
I attempt to get 4 to 5 days on a blade (Astra SPs)—no hand-stropping. I have a light-growth beard. By the 4th day, I am sometimes detecting what Steve described as a 'tug' or 'pull' during the shave. If this tugging & pulling detracts from the enjoyment of the shave, the razor doesn't make it to the 5th day. Life is too short and my morning shave time to precious to warrant milking a relatively inexpensive blade for one more shave. I really don't want to look like that poor fella in my avatar most mornings...
For me, it depends on the blade and razor. Some set ups I get 3 shaves, some 5 and some 6 for DEs. For SEs, I'm closer to 8 or 10 per blade. Here's when i know it's time to change--my shave is a bit rougher, may cause some burns or ingrowns or nicks. Next time with that blade in that razor, I change one shave earlier. Seems to work for me. Face feedback tells you when to change.
First, welcome to the Den. Be sure to sign up for the July Newbie Give-Away. Hand stropping, if you go back up to the top of this thread, the second post has a video of hand stropping. Basically it's just using the meaty part of your palm between your pinky finger and your wrist to act as a strop, the same way you would strop a straight razor. I make five light strokes on each edge, flip the blade and make five more light strokes on each edge. I figure a blade is a blade and if it works for str8s, why not DE and SE blades? And I've heard the comments before - "Boy, that sure looks scary and dangerous." I've been doing it every day for almost five years and I have NEVER (honest) cut myself.
Every blade goes through what I call 3 stages: 1. Best/efficient stage; 2. signs of tugging/less efficient stage; and 3. major tugging/degraded stage. I know some that consider the last stage "OK" for them, and go a month or more on a blade, and in my youth I did that myself at times. As I got more into this hobby, and started pursuing perfection, my toleration for the last 2 stages eventually ebbed completely. I know from experience how many stage one shaves my blades can give, and I switch them out before they peter out in the middle of the next shave, which is about 3 shaves for most blades.
I'm with you in that I toss a blade BEFORE it starts to tug and pull. Yes, I get five shaves, but for me I've found I could get a couple more if I pushed it. But, as many say, blades are cheap so really no need to push. Besides, by popping in a fresh blade on Monday and tossing it after Friday's shave, I never have to try and guess how many shaves I have on a blade, thus I never reach the tug and pull stage.
Your hand stropping, I must say, does work. Several times on trips I have needed to extend blade life and used your method with noticeable success. However, I found that once I started stropping, I needed to do it after each shave, including flipping the blade to counter edge-bending. Like a str8t, it must be stropped after each shave to even the edge.
Hmm. I change my blade whenever I feel the need. I use mostly Astra blades and I will guess I get almost two weeks with daily two pass shaves. BTW - I do favor Astra blades. In my humble opinion, the best blade for any of my razors.
I am a complete noob at this, but I will say that it looks like I am getting three days out of a blade. I am using Astra SPs with a '54 flare tip SS. I am not hand stropping. I just notice in the third day that I start to get some tugging.
Hi, as with straights I've made the experience that blades last longer when you give them a day or two to "recover". If you have several razors available, this can be a quite simple trick to keep them sharp -- for more shaves out of one.
I use to changed Astra SPs after three shaves, Feather and Personna Med Preps after four of five shaves. Nowadays the number is arbitrary, I changed blades on the whim of a mad man.
I use my DE to shave my head and it tends to stubble up pretty fast so I will shave it 2 times a day. Because of this and the lower cost of blades compared to cartridges I'll change out every other day.
