Making a blade last longer

nick_s said:
I have found that the razor in which you use a blade has a bearing on how long it lasts.

For example, an Astra Superior Platinum blade on average lasts me the following in each razor:

Merkur 39C: 10x 3 pass shaves
Gillette Tech: 7x 3 pass shaves
Muhle R41: 7x 3 pass shaves
RazoRock Bazooka: 30x 3 pass shaves

Yes you read that right. 30x 3 pass shaves. I suppose the geometry of a razor helps a blade play to its strengths. I'm itching to try one in the Futur next.
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WOW!..That's an amazing amount of passes using just 1 blade for each razor, i have to confess whatever make of blade i shave with, its normally binned after two 3 pass + picks up's shaves..But after reading this, i'm tempted to try a Astra SP using this method with My Merkur 37C/39C & muhle R41..
 
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Palmolive fox said:
WOW!..That's an amazing amount of passes using just 1 blade for each razor, i have to confess whatever make of blade i shave with, its normally binned after two 3 pass + picks up's shaves..But after reading this, i'm tempted to try a Astra SP using this method with My Merkur 37C/39C & muhle R41..
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It's worth a go. I know they are cheap, but I fail to see the point in throwing out a blade that may well have good shaves left in it. I will always bin the blade at the first sign of tugging however :)
 
nick_s said:
It's worth a go. I know they are cheap, but I fail to see the point in throwing out a blade that may well have good shaves left in it. I will always bin the blade at the first sign of tugging however :)
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I consider the price of most DE blades very cheap compared to the price you pay for cartridge & disposible razors..One of the main reason's i bin my blades after 2 shaves, is because i've anough blades to last me for at least 2-3 years..Impulsive buying boughts..however i will give the Astra SP a try out very soon.considering the slant razor, ten 3 pass shaves from 1 blade is amazing.;)
 
Palmolive fox said:
One of the main reason's i bin my blades after 2 shaves, is because i've anough blades to last me for at least 2-3 years...
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Only 2-3 years stock of blades? I admire your restraint.

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If I am shaving a day's worth of stubble, I find a number of blades to be too sharp (even in a really mild razor e.g. DE89) for 24 hour's worth of stubble and quite often I find the adequate amount of sharpness after I have used the blade for a shave or two, for example a Nacet or a Personna Red.

As a relative beginner to DE shaving (about a year or so into the DE addiction) as my technique has improved (e.g. prep, light touch, getting the angles right, building a good lather) I've noticed the lifespan of the blades I use has generally increased.
 
As well as the blade itself of course, a number of factors such as the coarseness of hair and technique can impact on longevity. However as blades (with the exception of NOS) are so cheap, I wouldn't loose any sleep over it.

I bin most after 3 shaves, Treet carbon steel after 2 and Gillette Goal and NOS after 5.
 
Before I began shaving with a decent razor (the tragic cart days), I proved empirically that stropping on a (commercial) hard rubber pad lubricated with lather made a significant difference to blade life. I am of the opinion that this is due to the stropping action removing skin and hair debris from the blade, rather than the alignment of the edge.
I have continued with this practice with DE's - 3 or 4 reverse strokes per edge, followed by a thorough rinse.
 
buy polsilver si while you still can - my current blade is up to about 20 shaves - it's ridiculous. while they don't usually last that long i normally 10 shaves out of one and don't see the sense of throwing it out just because it's cheap
 
I used to use a Personna for five shaves, but have recently just started changing the blade on a Thursday when I've finished work for the week and have been getting along just fine. Occasionally one goes downhill faster and gets changed early but by and large one a week seems to be working. That was about what I got out of a cartridge too.
 
I get 4 shaves out of what ever blade I use then change I like my Russian blades best but as I now have around a 15 year supply and still bought some Gillette platinum this week as I had not got any of them I'm not worried of running out
 
I hand strop my blades after each daily use. I change blades every week (Sundays) with no problems in performance. I could comfortably get more than 10 days shaves from one blade, but I'd start to lose count.
 
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If you really want a longer lasting blade for a longer lasting shave, about 25 or up to a maximum of 30 daily shaves depending on your stubble as YMMV. Than get yourself a Single Edge razor for example Above the Tie SE, Colonial Razors, Claymore SE, Mongoose II or a RazoRock Satin Silver SE v2.0, all compatible using either a Feather Artist Club Professional, Feather Artist Club Professional Super, Kai Captain Titan Mild (Pink) and a Schick Proline P-30 single edge blades.
 
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