I thoroughly enjoy using vintage SE razors, but I'm finding that even with premium blades I'm only able to get about 3 good shaves per blade, which means that I'm going through blades fairly quickly. I was wondering about the experiences of other SE shavers -- how many shaves per blade do you generally get? Thanks for the feedback.
I hand strop and can get seven 3-pass shaves. Lately I use a blade for five shaves because I like to put a fresh blade in every Monday. My week's routine is M-F DE, weekends SEs. I might even be able to get another DE shave or two, but with blades as cheap as they are... I am starting to use straights, though, so I was just thinking earlier this evening as a matter of fact, of the following routine M-W-F: DE T-T: SE S-S: Str8 I'll use the DE for two weeks for six shaves. Should be sweet!
You'll get a variety of answers. For me 1 to 4 depending on the blade. The cheaper end GEM stainless blades get four shaves and shave the best for me.
For me, the stainless coated Gem blades last at least four and usually five shaves. That includes the Walgreens Gems, and also some that I bought in bulk on Amazon, probably the same as the Pellas. Also tried Treet carbon steel blades. They are very sharp and work well, except that they rust incredibly fast even when I dry them carefully right after the shave. No more than three shaves before I don't want to risk them any more, and the last one only lasted two.
hand stropping makes a huge difference for SE blade longetivity, I find. with hand stropping I've gotten 5 good shaves from a GEM stainless blade. w/o hand stropping I can get two.
