A-Ha Moment (Reusing Razor Blades)

[cranewarrior]

Just move on to another thread if you don't care about prolonging the effective life of a 10 cent razor blade...

So, I have been reading various threads about reusing razor blades. People have mentioned using short strokes at shallow angles, stropping on a towel or your palm, drying thoroughly, even outright sharpening with vintage blades. I find all this interesting, not so much because I think 10 cents is a lot of money, but as I get older I like more and more the idea of consuming less and being minimal. So if I can get a couple of weeks out of a single blade, that's great!

I've used the same Treet Platinum blade as mentioned elsewhere for 13 shaves now. On #9, the blade was leaving some stubble and getting louder when cutting. On shave #12, the blade was outright not cutting some stray hairs and I had to go over the region carefully several times to complete my shave. I have been using a Van Der Hagen TTO and various people have reviewed this as a medium to aggressive razor. I was close to binning the Treet blade because its performance had deteriorated past an acceptable level for me.

Well for kicks I tried the blade for a 13th shave this morning in one of those dollar safety razors. The blade exposure is a lot more than on my other razor. It looks cheap, feels cheap, is cheap. But the aggressiveness of the razor changed the cutting qualities of my spent Treet Platinum. I had no issues at all getting a PFS on a single WTG pass.

When people say that blades behave differently in different razors, I now find for myself they are exactly correct.

 

[TheVez2]

Have you seen this thread?

Excalibur Club - Blade Longevity DE, SE and Injector

What: A club with a focus on getting the longest useful life from DE, SE or Injector blades. Why: There have been a number of posts on "above average" blade life in the Blades forum, and elsewhere. These include the legendary "One blade in February" threads, and of course the 100+ shave...

www.badgerandblade.com

After 10 years of shaving, I routinely get 60-100 shaves per blade. My current blade just hit 300, from a one-blade February challenge.

 

[Brian H Shaves]

I'm just genuinely impressed that you shaved your face with a Van Der Hagen TTO and Treet Platinum 12 times.
Well done sir !

 

[BigJ]

Have you seen this thread?

Excalibur Club - Blade Longevity DE, SE and Injector

What: A club with a focus on getting the longest useful life from DE, SE or Injector blades. Why: There have been a number of posts on "above average" blade life in the Blades forum, and elsewhere. These include the legendary "One blade in February" threads, and of course the 100+ shave...

www.badgerandblade.com

After 10 years of shaving, I routinely get 60-100 shaves per blade. My current blade just hit 300, from a one-blade February challenge.

+1! One of the most ‘CLASSIC’ B&B threads IMO! And a source of much wisdom.

 

[Wombat ESQ]

Stroppers/sharpeners/stones/glass/metal for razors, be they straight/wedge/single edge/double edge ... old as history itselfs.
So why not prolong your 10 cents, I would, I'm not frugal, I'm skungee, tighter an a fishes bottom
I do hate the fact people sell old used blades with razors, throw 'em out if they really rat spit, no one wants some old rusty ick blade, unless it is RARER an rocking horse but I do sharpen 'em for workshop use, or blunt them for use as trial blades in assembly so u no cut u fingers, or just a blunted display blade.

I'm sure I could resharpen a blade until it was back under the cap and it would still shave.

 

[cranewarrior]

Another note about this: sanitary practices aside, blades seem to last longer for me if I don't rinse them off. If I just wipe them down to get rid of the hair and foam, the usable edge lasts longer although I don't have a firm figure yet of how many additional shaves it is possible to squeeze out.

Of course I realize this is saving me only a few cents and yeah it is a bit yucky thinking about the bacteria. It's more of a game than anything else at this point for me as I am content with 1 week and done.

 

[TheVez2]

blades seem to last longer for me if I don't rinse them off. If I just wipe them down to get rid of the hair and foam, the usable edge lasts longer

I don't know if I've ever noticed any discernable difference in a blade that's used under 10 times, between wiping and rinsing. But over extended use, 30 shaves and up, wiping a blade will absolutely dull an edge faster than rinsing.

 

[cranewarrior]

I don't know if I've ever noticed any discernable difference in a blade that's used under 10 times, between wiping and rinsing. But over extended use, 30 shaves and up, wiping a blade will absolutely dull an edge faster than rinsing.

What did you use to wipe? I've been using toilet tissue.

 

[TheVez2]

What did you use to wipe? I've been using toilet tissue.

When I tried it, I was using a soft paper towel. Only wiping straight down, never across.

But also, if you're not rinsing, you're still leaving soap and stuff on the blade that the paper can't reach, right? Like especially under the blade.

 

[cranewarrior]

When I tried it, I was using a soft paper towel. Only wiping straight down, never across.

But also, if you're not rinsing, you're still leaving soap and stuff on the blade that the paper can't reach, right? Like especially under the blade.

No, I remove the blade from my razor. I wipe down the blade and make sure it is visibly dry. I do rinse and clean the razor.

 

[TheVez2]

No, I remove the blade from my razor. I wipe down the blade and make sure it is visibly dry. I do rinse and clean the razor.

ok, misunderstood.

 

[GaryTha]

My blades last over 100 shaves because I'm too lazy to change them.

 

[Wombat ESQ]

What did you use to wipe? I've been using toilet tissue.

Yeah .... I tried one them new fangle toilet brushes .... once

 

[Stikeyoda]

I found a couple of tricks beyond what has been discussed so far:
1 - blade dryer (see pic)
2 - spritz of 99.9% alcohol
3 - sewing machine oil

Some people store their blades in oil, some just put the oil on them. Keep in mind the risks of a slippery blade and potential skin reaction to the oil ingredients (mineral oil works too, sewing machine oil comes in easy-to-use containers). I only use oil when I am experimenting to see how long a blade lasts in use (the oil prevents the oxidation over time that is variable to heat, and humidity and has no direct correlation to shave use).

 

[euro]

No, I remove the blade from my razor. I wipe down the blade and make sure it is visibly dry. I do rinse and clean the razor.

I have been doing that since the first day I started DE shaving and thought that it's normal.

Have you seen this thread?

Excalibur Club - Blade Longevity DE, SE and Injector

What: A club with a focus on getting the longest useful life from DE, SE or Injector blades. Why: There have been a number of posts on "above average" blade life in the Blades forum, and elsewhere. These include the legendary "One blade in February" threads, and of course the 100+ shave...

www.badgerandblade.com

After 10 years of shaving, I routinely get 60-100 shaves per blade. My current blade just hit 300, from a one-blade February challenge.

I have around 2000 blades in my inventory. Imagine if I was able to get 300 shaves from one blade

 

[cranewarrior]

I have been doing that since the first day I started DE shaving and thought that it's normal.


I have around 2000 blades in my inventory. Imagine if I was able to get 300 shaves from one blade

I've seen a few photos of corroded razers with the dried soap foam, blade rust marks, and human hair still remaining. Yeah, not for me.

I believe I'm around 2000 myself. I went a little crazy on Amazon with a gift card. It's more than enough for me, but I'm like a kid in a candy store every time someone here writes a good review about xyz razor blade. The funny thing is with my skin and hair profile, I think every razor blade works - now they indeed can be optimized by pairing the blade with a complementary safety razor. I would like to find a universal blade (for me) that just works great in every razor I own.

I've been able to get 14-16 shaves out of a single blade by nursing it carefully with drying, etc. It's sort of fun to do it, but as wetshaving becomes less new to me, I could see just going to a one week schedule for simplicity.

 

[Stikeyoda]

I've seen a few photos of corroded razers with the dried soap foam, blade rust marks, and human hair still remaining. Yeah, not for me.

I believe I'm around 2000 myself. I went a little crazy on Amazon with a gift card. It's more than enough for me, but I'm like a kid in a candy store every time someone here writes a good review about xyz razor blade. The funny thing is with my skin and hair profile, I think every razor blade works - now they indeed can be optimized by pairing the blade with a complementary safety razor. I would like to find a universal blade (for me) that just works great in every razor I own.

I've been able to get 14-16 shaves out of a single blade by nursing it carefully with drying, etc. It's sort of fun to do it, but as wetshaving becomes less new to me, I could see just going to a one week schedule for simplicity.

The closest I've found to a universal blade are the AccuTec Lab Pro or Med Preps. Of course $$$.

 

[euro]

I've seen a few photos of corroded razers with the dried soap foam, blade rust marks, and human hair still remaining. Yeah, not for me.

That is disgusting, why can't people simply remove the blade, rinse it with water and dry it with a towel?

I believe I'm around 2000 myself. I went a little crazy on Amazon with a gift card. It's more than enough for me, but I'm like a kid in a candy store every time someone here writes a good review about xyz razor blade.

Yeah I can absolutely relate to that. I think we fear to miss out on something? I got a sample pack of the Fatip blades and they're really good, I'm going to buy a couple 100 of them. I also read some great reviews about the Saponificio Varesino soaps, the voice inside my head tells me to buy all their soaps. This, while I get a full BBS with almost any blade and razor which IMHO is the best achievement you can achieve in wet shaving. Do we need all those extra blades, soaps, AS, razors? Nope.

The funny thing is when I joined this forum 12 years ago I thought many of these people here are just a bunch of hoarders. I considered myself a minimalist shaver, hehe now I became one of them

 

[Wombat ESQ]

I've seen a few photos of corroded razers with the dried soap foam, blade rust marks, and human hair still remaining. Yeah, not for me.

That is disgusting, why can't people simply remove the blade, rinse it with water and dry it with a towel?

Well when grandad died, I don't think he was all that worried about cleaning his razor, like. And his grankids are only interested in the $ value, not the cleanliness or anthrax

 

[ShavingPrimate]

After each shave, I remove the blade and rinse it under running water. At the same time, I am wiping the edges of the blade between my fingertips to get the gunk off.

Afterward, I lay it on top of a paper towel and blot it dry by folding over the towel.

At no time am I applying any undue amount or unequal amount of pressure to the blade. Only wiping the edges of the blade lightly with the tips of my fingers while rinsing.

Never interfere with the blade tip itself only wipe along the edges.

I let the blade sit out to allow any small amounts of residual moisture to completely evaporate.

Will flip the blade over for the next day.

Also have adhesive magnetic dots along the side of the mirror, arranged vertically.

I use these in the event I am alternating with two or more blades as I was doing in 2022. In this event, I place a dot on each blade after use with a black Sharpie to keep track of the number of shaves.

I move the blades from the top to the bottom as they are used. There are 17-dots along side of the mirror.

I can't see any reason that rinsing and wiping the edges of the blades with my fingers should adversely effect the blades performance or longevity? There is no friction involved.

The blades stay clean and dry. Always in air conditioned environment. The bathroom sink is outside of the shower room.