Blade Longevity

nick_s

nick_s

Joined
Thursday May 28, 2015
Location
Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire
I've been tracking the last 100 shaves for various reasons, one of which is morbid curiosity. Anyway, to the point of this post, I've been tracking the number of blades used versus the amount of time they last. I've come up with the below chart:

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Heads and above the rest are clearly the Astra Superior Stainless, followed up by the Feather then the Gillette 7 o'clock Yellow.

What blades last the longest for you, whilst maintaining an acceptable shave?
 
First off, can't stand Astra blades whatever the variety. BiC PCs used to last really long (at least five) but have fallen out of favour with me of late. Perma-Sharp Supers can do five but usually four. Sputniks are an easy four shaves, sometimes five and Lab Blues mostly turn in four. English Wilkies are another four and Rapira Swedes the same. I don't do Feather or Gillette SharpEdge as I find them both harsh. Astor BiCs are two at most and I don't like them near as much when I first tried one. The Ri-Meis are another short lived blade but are otherwise excellent. I've never used any Egyptian blade that will last more than three shaves but the Shark and Lord Super Chromes are pretty good blades (identical?). Same goes for any of the Israeli blades I've tried.

Excluding NOS English Wilkies, I be delighted with just Sputniks, Lab Blues and Perma-Sharp Supers as my only blades. All three are sharp, smooth and with good longevity.
 
My experiences echo those of Gairdner, except that I can use the Astra SP, however I don't fawn over it like many do. I think the Lord Platinum & Gillette Sputnik are better daily utilitarian blades with any Personna thrown in to make a trifecta. That said I usually 'throw in the sponge' on most blades after three shaves, unless they are some of my NOS that can go 5 to 6 easily and sometimes even 7 shaves. New modern blades are just too cheap and life too short to push the envelope for more than 3 shaves IMO. After all, the reason I got into this was to get a better shave with less irritation & to eliminate infected hairs and not set endurance records. Too many lose sight of the end goal here as it's damn easy to fall prey to the call of the Sirens re blades, creams/soaps, etc.
 
I'll toss a blade in the bin when I start to feel any degradation of the shave. As soon as it starts feeling less than stellar it goes in the empty blade box. So far, the Astra has impressed, and feels good up to the last shave, which for a DE averages over 6x 3 pass shaves. Including shavette useage, it's a bit less, but still impressive for me.
 
nick_s said:
Some blades are definitely one shave and we're done for sure. I'd never stretch beyond comfortable shave limit though. Do you feel that the blade is duff after the first shave? Morbid curiosity getting the better of me here :)
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It is not that one blade or another is totally done for after one shave (well,a Feather is!),it is more down to the fact that my favourite blades are so cheap,and I have so many of them,and I have a very inquisitive,razor obsessed 3 1/2 year old,and I only shave twice a week,that I HAVE to dispose of a blade after every shave!.
I say 'have to',as when I was a youngster,I used to always be playing with the 'old mans' razor (minus a blade),and one night,when I was 4 or 5,when I should of been sleeping,I crept into the bathroom,and started to play about with his TTO....
Needless to say,he had left a blade in it,and for some reason or another,I thought it would be a good idea to snap it in half....
Much blood loss ensued...So for my peace of mind,one shave,blade out,wrapped up safe,in a packet,in a drawer,is the reason I only use a blade once!.:)
 
Gairdner said:
First off, can't stand Astra blades whatever the variety. BiC PCs used to last really long (at least five) but have fallen out of favour with me of late. Perma-Sharp Supers can do five but usually four. Sputniks are an easy four shaves, sometimes five and Lab Blues mostly turn in four. English Wilkies are another four and Rapira Swedes the same. I don't do Feather or Gillette SharpEdge as I find them both harsh. Astor BiCs are two at most and I don't like them near as much when I first tried one. The Ri-Meis are another short lived blade but are otherwise excellent. I've never used any Egyptian blade that will last more than three shaves but the Shark and Lord Super Chromes are pretty good blades (identical?). Same goes for any of the Israeli blades I've tried.

Excluding NOS English Wilkies, I be delighted with just Sputniks, Lab Blues and Perma-Sharp Supers as my only blades. All three are sharp, smooth and with good longevity.
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Pretty similar to my core blades, although currently Nacets replace Permasharps (which I must try). I started out pushing everything for 5 shaves, but now apart from Sputniks its 4.
 
Use DE 's now only when I'm in a hurry and don't have time to use a 'straight'. Mainly dry shave with the DE' and use a blade only once.
 
Usually, I toss a Feather after 7 shaves (yup, they work for me...).

The "old" Iridium Super lasted 5 shaves, but yesterday I toss a "new" IS after 6 smooooth shaves.. and I think it could have tolerated another one!.

Others, it depends, 3-5 shaves.
 
Johnus said:
Use DE 's now only when I'm in a hurry and don't have time to use a 'straight'. Mainly dry shave with the DE' and use a blade only once.
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Dry shave? No water or soap/cream? That sounds like bloody torture [emoji15]. Talk about sorting the men from the boys!

Polsilver SI's are my preferred blade and I get 5 shaves easily out of one. I reckon I could get more, but let's face it they're so bloody cheap why risk a crap shave?

Others I've tried:
Feather - 2
Bic Chrome - 3
Bic Astor - 2
Personna Chrome Platinum - 3/4
Personna Lab Blue - 4
GSB - 4
Gillette 7 o'clock Yellow - 3
English Wilkie - 4

... Horses for courses [emoji6]
 
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