How many shaves out of a blade

Gordy said:
DPTC said:
A newbie to the DE blade setup, I get 4 out of my Wilko ones and then bin it, works well, though may strike it down to 3 as the 4th shave tugs slightly.

How the hell does anyone get 12 shaves out of a DE?!
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I can only tell you that I put it down to -
1. Pre-shave preparation
2. Good technique; optimum cutting angle.
3. No pressure
4. A light strop post shave to clean
5. A good blade to start of with

I trialled quite a number of blades until I found the one that gave me the most close and comfortable shave; no tugging. It came down to two blades, Gillette Silver Blues and Astra SP's. Astra won on price as it was too close to call. Before I found a routine that worked for me, I was getting five, but now that's jumped to twelve.
YMMV I understand, but I did not get on with the Wilkinson Sword, I found much better blades.
I intend to revisit my blades as my beard has changed so much since my DE epiphany, yours will too in time.
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Wow I tried getting 14 out of a multiblade, I just think its near impossible to get anything more than 5 from a DE! I guess a lot of time and care is put into the maintenance of the blade, but as they're so cheap people prefer to just change after 3-4 or whatever.
 
True, they are very cheap. It has absolutely nothing to do with economics for me, but I just don't like throwing something out if it hasn't outlived its purpose. To me it would be like changing your car tyres with 10,000 miles left on them, or getting halfway through a lovely steak dinner and just leaving it. I'm not trying to prove I can get oh so many shaves out of a blade either. My face is the thing that matters the most here and while I'm still getting very comfortable and close shaves, I'll keep using that blade. I firmly believe the reason behind getting more shaves per blade is improved preparation and improved technique. The two went hand in hand with blade longevity and there are no nicks, cuts, weepers, burn, whatever's anymore. I'm simply getting no nonsense BBS shaves every time. I changed after twelve shaves on my last blade because it simply wasn't efficient anymore, therefore outliving it's intended purpose.
 
Used a treet blade for the first time the other evening and had a second shave on the blade last night. Smooth but certainly lost its edge. Bloody awful as far is longevity is concerned.
 
Re: RE: How many shaves out of a blade

Ben88 said:
Used a treet blade for the first time the other evening and had a second shave on the blade last night. Smooth but certainly lost its edge. Bloody awful as far is longevity is concerned.
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If we are talking about the Durasharp they have the advantage of never deteriorating. They retain their bluntness throughout.

The platinums aren't bad though
 
It was the orange packed Treet Plats. I've not got particularly tough facial hair but even after 3 passes it hadn't quite taken things down to where I'm usually at after 2 with a lab blue for example. I got them free with a razor but I certainly won't be buying any!
 
I'm currently shaving with a Gillette Silver Blue and done 8 3 pass shaves so far and still feels good. I'm going to see how many I can eek out of it just for experimentation and curiosity more than anything.
 
I use Astra SP blades and I change after four shaves. I can stretch it all the way to eight, but the last couple of shaves feel like a Merkur on my face (not good). I've just gotten into the four shave - new blade pattern and I'm pretty comfortable with it. I read a post about using a die from a board game (or Las Vegas) and keeping it in your shave area. You rotate the die to reflect the number of shaves on a given blade. Neat.
I have noticed that some blades seem to give their best on the second shave. I've tried the palm strop and even corking the blades (which I will do if/when forced to use a blade I don't care for - seems to help).
I've absolutely no interest in attempting to earn a Guinness book of records listing.
~
 
Re: RE: How many shaves out of a blade

Corking? Please do tell... :)
PotatoRazor said:
I use Astra SP blades and I change after four shaves. I can stretch it all the way to eight, but the last couple of shaves feel like a Merkur on my face (not good). I've just gotten into the four shave - new blade pattern and I'm pretty comfortable with it. I read a post about using a die from a board game (or Las Vegas) and keeping it in your shave area. You rotate the die to reflect the number of shaves on a given blade. Neat.
I have noticed that some blades seem to give their best on the second shave. I've tried the palm strop and even corking the blades (which I will do if/when forced to use a blade I don't care for - seems to help).
I've absolutely no interest in attempting to earn a Guinness book of records listing.
~
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Re: RE: How many shaves out of a blade

ajh101 said:
Corking? Please do tell... :)
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Get a cork or bit of polystyrene and draw the edge of the blade across it. Same idea as palm stripping, removes any little burrs left by the production process.
 
Used a new to me blade this week, a Sputnik. Excellent blade. My third shave tonight and I had to swap it out for a new one halfway through the shave. Pretty typical for me. I shave every other day and do a three pass shave. I think my technique is fairly good now so I can only put the shortish life of my blades down to my thick and tough facial hair.

When I get Ravey's SE blades it will be interesting to see how long those blades last in the 1912 I have coming.
 
I second - the Feather blades are overrated piece of crap.Sensitive skin, especially with acne, always results in a blood bath - tested with 3 different razors.Itchy, scratchy, not smooth at all, as if someone did not strop it properly.
Same with the WS blades, made in Germany.They seem dull to me and I need lots of passes, which also results in a blood bath.I have over 200 of them, and I will have to sell them dirt cheap to some friends and lose a lot of money:icon_cry2:
I like the green box of Astra, and also some BIC.
 
Re: RE: How many shaves out of a blade

Fixt00l said:
I second - the Feather blades are overrated piece of crap.
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That is why I get five good shaves from a Feather blade?

I get ten shaves from a "Made in England" Wilkinson Sword; sadly discontinued. Most other blades give me between four and seven shaves.
 
To each his own...Everyone`s skin, technique and water is different.I also like the UK-made WS, and I did not know they were discontinued...From the German-made ones, I get 2 shaves, one from each side, but they are so dull, that I would not bother.I am now going to the carrier`s office to send the blades and get rid of them.
 
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