How long do you persevere with a bad blade?

Canuck

Canuck

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1: You've just been piffed some Sputniks... you load one up and you don't really rate the shave, how long do you persevere? Do you give it a few goes to rule out a rough coating? Or do you bin it and move on?

I can't persevere, there are smooth sharp blades on the market and I can't be bothered with a blade tham seems bad on the first date, we'll usually split up there and then. But I see a lot of guys say "The first shave was bad, but the second and third were much better!" I'm trying to get my head around this concept of giving them another go.

2: You have got to your 4th shave with a blade and you feel that the performance is dropping off. Do you change it, or persevere?

Personally I'd change it way before that happened, (after 2 shaves usually) but from SOTD posts and blade reviews I see that some will push the issue until it's pretty much blunt. Again I can't really grasp that concept.

Do you persevere?
 
If I get a blade of a make new to me I'll give the entire packet a go just in case there are quality contro, issues with some of the blades in the pack (for me that's what happened with Derbys). I'll also always give a new make of blade at least 2 shaves just in case it "beds in". I'll also try it out in both my Slim & my Slant. Since as we know some blades do perform differently in various razors, for whatever reason. If all that produces what for me is a dud I just forget that make entirely. As you say, there are too many nice blades out there to mess around with unsuitable ones.
If I'm using a DE then it's mostly Feathers or Timor & since I have found out that I get 3 good shaves with either before they get sticky I bin them after 3 uses. Again, I do agree that at the cost of a blade I'm not going to spoil a shave by going for a record no of shaves with it.

Mainly though this month, I shall be using mainly GEM single edge.

JohnnyO. \:icon_razz:
 
The lasers I tried lasted half a shave...Ditto Derbys.....I put Naff blades in a separate box and if they don't frame themselves on the second go they get binned......or passed on with my opinion of them, for somebody else to experience..saves them buying 'em to find out they're Naff.....

I like my Feathers and Yellows.....life's too short to endure crap blades or as JohnnyO says...to go for a world record number of shaves with one blade..........They get binned anyway after three shaves regardless...I always end up nicking my lip with dull blades like Derbys...........But never get nicked with really sharp blades like Feathers..maybe I'm more careful with them.
 
JohnnyO said:
If I get a blade of a make new to me I'll give the entire packet a go just in case there are quality contro, issues with some of the blades in the pack (for me that's what happened with Derbys). I'll also always give a new make of blade at least 2 shaves just in case it "beds in". I'll also try it out in both my Slim & my Slant. Since as we know some blades do perform differently in various razors, for whatever reason. If all that produces what for me is a dud I just forget that make entirely. As you say, there are too many nice blades out there to mess around with unsuitable ones.
If I'm using a DE then it's mostly Feathers or Timor & since I have found out that I get 3 good shaves with either before they get sticky I bin them after 3 uses. Again, I do agree that at the cost of a blade I'm not going to spoil a shave by going for a record no of shaves with it.

Mainly though this month, I shall be using mainly GEM single edge.

JohnnyO. \:icon_razz:
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That's pretty much my protocol as well.
 
I'll try the blade in different razors - I like the Sputniks, and the Leningrads (same blade) but find they work for me in a heavy razor (iKon) and are less good in a lighter razor (ball end tech).
Only two blades I will not ever use ever again, never.
Supermax brown (which made me want to tear the skin off my face they irritated so much) and Wilkinsons Lasers whcih are made out of old milk bottle tops.
 
If a blade is shite, it's usually shite from the start. I don't give a stuff about the "variable quality, might just be one dud blade", my life is short enough to be wasting time (and cash) on subpar shaves, so if I get a duffer on day one, they go in the recycling on day one. I go through the whole pack and if no duffers, they go on the "maybe" pile otherwise straight in the outbox as soon as a poor shave appears.

So at the end of a journey through a zillion blades, I've ended up with 5 or 6 brands and types that I like.
 
hunnymonster said:
So at the end of a journey through a zillion blades, I've ended up with 5 or 6 brands and types that I like.
Click to expand...
THAT many???
I alternate between 3 and god knows what'll happen in 2023 when my own personal shaveapocolypse occurs and I run out of Bleue Extras, Yellow Sharp Edges or Super Thins.

God forbid I have to use Derbys....

Im just hoping that I die before then.
 
Generally after the first shave I can tell if it is a no go. Blades like Dorco for me where in the bin after the first shave followed by the rest of the pack.

Regarding the number of shaves from a blade; I get 5 days of good shaves. I would add the rider that while I have heavy stubble on my goatee area, the checks are pretty well just "bum fluff". Can't wait for puberty to kick in!!

Cheers, Rousey
 
If I get a poor or lacklustre shave I will use the blade again (though usually not the next day) to see how long it lasts. Then I'll stick it the review my spreadsheet and mark "buy again?" as No.

I generally get 3 shaves from blades but I will test a blade that's new to me till it goes blunt for the same reasons.

In the past I have bought a lot of a blade if it was mediocre (but not bad) if it was cheap enough. Now I wouldn't bother, but those blades go to my fiancee!
 
"do not suffer- bad blades- gladly". It's one of the principles that we should live by!
If it bad at the start, it's not going to get any better. Shuck it and start again with another.
 
I'm with Johnus on this one.
If the first blade out of a new pack gives a duff shave, it may just be bad luck, but it certainly isn't a good start. If the second is pretty much the same as the first then the rest get passed on or dumped. I just don't see the point in persevering with something, that for me at least, is second-rate.
After much experimenting I have settled on two makes - Astra SP for the Merkur - Gillette Green for everything else. Both will give 4 or 5 perfect shaves - and at 10 - 15 pence a blade I can live without pushing the blade to the point of discomfort.
 
I sit with hunnymonster on this one.

If the first shave is a stinker i may give the blade a 2nd shave to see if it is any smoother. Also may try a 2nd blade, if it is the same scenario with a 2nd blade then I'd rather not waste my time.
 
I would not bother using Laser blades for more than 1 shave. I did find Feather blades 'bad' when used in the EJ Chatsworth Barley razor, but really good in the Merkur 25C. So sometimes it can be the combination of razor and blade that makes the difference.

Feather - good in Merkur 25C
Gillette 365 - brilliant in EJ Chatsworth Barley and up to 5 shaves
Israeli Personna - good in both razors
Lazer - awful
Merkur - unsure - only used 1 sample blade
Superdrug/Dorco 301 - okay in both razors
Wilkinson Sword Classic - good in Chatsworth Barley
Most are good for 4 shaves. I have a blade sample pack - Treet, Astra, 7 O'Clock (Yellow, Green), and quite a few others.
 
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