YMMV. I got 21 shaves from a Shark Super Chrome blade back in September. It was an experiment. I cleaned and palm stropped it after each use. I could have gotten more I think, but I got bored. I usually change blades after 7 shaves unless I get a bad one. However, I am stropping on the inside of my forearm now after each shave.
Your getting more shaves out of a Derby than I get. I put a fresh hand stropped DE blade into my razor Monday morning, shave (3 passes), then take the blade out, hand strop, and put it into the next razor. I do that every day. After Friday's shave, I toss the blade. Five 3-pass shaves, regardless of the blade. On the first Sunday of the month I put a fresh hand stropped SE blade into one of my SE razors, shave (3 passes), then take the blade out, hand strop, and put it into the next razor. I do that every Sunday. After the last Sunday of the month's shave, I toss the blade. Four 3-pass shaves. Oh, and on those months with a fifth Sunday I use my Rolls Razor. No tossin' those blades!!! Saturdays are for my str8s. I don't toss them. Doing the way I do prevents me from forgetting how many shaves I have on a blade - Start fresh Monday, toss on Friday. I like things simple. And as I get older, the more simple I can make it, the better it is for me! Bottom line, though, is that it doesn't matter how many shaves we get out of a blade. Everybody is different. The thing to know is that you toss the blade when your face tells you (not us) that the blade is starting to tug and pull, regardless of the number of shaves it's been through.
I think this varies more than any shaving variable. I have a CPA friend, that is always honest. He gets a year out of A GILLETTE "Good News" disposable razor, without and stropping or cleaning. When I used disposables I had times when I'd get only one shave. With DEs I now get three to five on average.
I'm learning that I can get three good to great shaves from top blades (for me, Gillette yellow, PolSilver, Astra SP), but any more than that is pushing it. Sometimes I get a fourth good shave, but just as often I get burn. The blades a pretty cheap, so I don't feel the need to push my luck. I guess my beard is a tough one.
I use Gillette/Wilkinson blades and I get seven great shaves per blade. If I splurge on the Gillette Blacks, I can get 17 great shaves per blade.
Wow. Since I really slowed down today, it didn't eat my face and it was the second shave. Is there a link someone could post on hand stropping your blade?
Yup, that fast and easy. There are three schools of thought about hand stropping, though. 1 - it doesn't work, why bother B - even if it does work, blades are so cheap, why bother Fourth - it works I believe it works. Just so you know, it does NOT sharpen the blade, it just smooths it out, similar to stropping a straight razor. Even a straight razor will eventually loose its edge and require a proper sharpening.
Depends on a few things for me. 1. the razor - a milder razor seems to make blades feel usable longer. 2. technique - mine's still getting better and if I'm really using no pressure, I can use a blade longer 3. the blade - some last longer than others But in general 3 is the low end and I usually don't try for more than 5 or 6.
