Heard of Cryogenically Tempered Razor Blades?

[SALBONE]

They're supposed to last 3 times as long.
Check out this website.

They freeze the blades in the package to -300F.
They sell them already tempered, or they'll temper whatever you like.

Here's an excerpt from their website:

Why do GreatRazors last 300% longer?

The shaving cartridges we sell are Cryogenically Tempered.
Our Cryo process freezes the razors in the package down to -300 F.
Our patented process improves the durability of the metal.
Go from 7 shaves to 28 shaves for each GreatRazors.com cartridge.
Customers with light beards report using the same cartridge for 7 months.
Everyone's hair is different, so your results will vary.​

 

[CyberJCM]

I'm sorry, that just sounds ridiculous to me. They take regular commercial Gillette or whatever carts and dip 'em in liquid nitrogen, then sell them to you at a higher price plus shipping. Carts by nature last a long time, longer than I bet most guys that use them have ever tried. I can't see how this would do anything to improve the life of the blades, if anything I bet it makes the whole cart and all its parts (blades, plastic, rubber, lube strip) more brittle. I've seen "How It's Made" enough to be pretty sure any cold tempering is done in the manufacturing of the raw metal into the blades. Malarkey I say!

Granted I could be totally wrong, and in either case thanks SALBONE for sharing this. It was entertaining!

 

[gfdoto]

FWIW, these were my go to cartridges for years and in my experience these cartridges did shave well longer than the non treated ones. I've used the same cartridge for a month or two. Of course, I've never done any controlled experiments where I alternated between treated and normal cartridges and I never really thought cartridge shaving was a terrible chore. After I got into DE shaving I did give the rest of my crogenically tempered blades to a friend who was still using the Mach 3.

 

[ZJ68]

I'd like to see more information on what their technique does, how it does it and some controlled test that prove 300% longer life.

 

[Gordy2]

When I used carts they lasted 3+ weeks and I was shaving daily. This is just a new gizmo/ploy they are using to help sales. I think everyone agrees carts last but they don't shave as close and are expensive per cart.

 

[SALBONE]

They don't dip the blades in Nitrogen. They freeze them while they're still in their package.

If you check out their website, its not just carts they sell. They have Wilkinson Sword DE blades that are treated. And they'll treat whatever you have!

 

[ZJ68]

I think everyone agrees carts last but they don't shave as close and are expensive per cart.

They shave just as close for me.

 

[sir-nix-alot]

My buddy swears by them.

 

[dpmtherrien]

Interesting that they give themselves an out with the YMMV.

 

[global_dev]

ICarts by nature last a long time, longer than I bet most guys that use them have ever tried.

i think i may have used carts longer than they were sharp enough causing some of the issues that led to irritation.

 

[Klos Shave]

The part that kills me is that you can buy 8 Gillette Fusion ProGlide Power carts for $33. Last night I bought 100 Feather blades for $29 and they'll last me the entire year! I know, to each their own, but when the numbers look like that, I don't care if they're frozen, thawed or room temperature, I'd rather have the Feathers

 

[Hammertime1]

Not sure about that compmany but the freezing steel to subzero temps is very popular in the sporting industry. Several well knowing companies and custom barrel makers have their barrels frozen saying it cause a slight improvement In accuracy. Supposed to be other benefits I just don't remember what they were. Knife makers also do it. There is some intresting data available on the process. I have seen a few places that offer the service and its amazing what they will do. I don't remember who but one of the straight manufactures has razors offered that had it done too.

 

[koreysmith]

I'm sorry, that just sounds ridiculous to me. They take regular commercial Gillette or whatever carts and dip 'em in liquid nitrogen, then sell them to you at a higher price plus shipping. Carts by nature last a long time, longer than I bet most guys that use them have ever tried. I can't see how this would do anything to improve the life of the blades, if anything I bet it makes the whole cart and all its parts (blades, plastic, rubber, lube strip) more brittle. I've seen "How It's Made" enough to be pretty sure any cold tempering is done in the manufacturing of the raw metal into the blades. Malarkey I say!

Granted I could be totally wrong, and in either case thanks SALBONE for sharing this. It was entertaining!

 

[@ngel]

If they freeze me I will last 300 years!

 

[Dzaw]

There is some minor benefit to some steel alloys. When steel is quench hardened it goes from a solution state called austinite to its hard crystalline structure called martensite (assuming a fast enough quench to avoid other structures like pear lite).

Some steels (especially stainlesses with a high chromium content) do not finish that transformation at room temperature, and additional retained austinite can be converted to martensite with cold treatments. This will result in a small, but measurable increase in hardness and wear resistance.

TL/DR: stainless blades could see an extra shave or two.

 

[Climb14er]

I've been using David's Sensor Cryo Excel cartridges for MANY years. I used them way before I got into DE and Feather AC shaving. Now use 'em mostly for traveling and an occasional quick shave.

The Cryo blades work EXCEPTIONALLY well! FOUR TIMES longer than conventional Sensor Excel blades that I'd been using since its inception years ago.

I'm down to my last five cartridges and these should last me quite a while.

The cryo Sensor Excels give me an incredibly close shave, each one lasts and lasts

Bottom line... Very Highly Recommended!

 

[BigJ]

There is some minor benefit to some steel alloys. When steel is quench hardened it goes from a solution state called austinite to its hard crystalline structure called martensite (assuming a fast enough quench to avoid other structures like pear lite).

Some steels (especially stainlesses with a high chromium content) do not finish that transformation at room temperature, and additional retained austinite can be converted to martensite with cold treatments. This will result in a small, but measurable increase in hardness and wear resistance.

TL/DR: stainless blades could see an extra shave or two.

Great explanation!! Thanks.

 

[bobmsp]

There was a test in the Blades forum:

Blade Wars: Personna Lab Blue vs Cryogenically Frozen Personna Lab Blue

 

[Dzaw]

This issue pops up every few years as the new miracle snake oil. As always, there is a lot of confusion and misinformation. A lot of people pontificating about "steel molecules" (they don't exist) and super performance enhancements.

There is some fascinating (from a materials science perspective) evidence of some steels having super fine carbide formation when cycled repeatedly over long periods at super low temperatures, but no real empirical evidence of the wild claims some folks make.

Back in 2006 there were "freeze your CD collection" proponents who swore it made their music clearer. Others who promised your amps, head units, speakers, etc. would magically double in performance, get clearer and louder, etc. There were others claiming magic enhancements to edge holding capabilities on any kind of knife or sword (or razor for that matter).

When these magic claims hit the knifemaker's forums I was a member of at the time, there were a lot of very vocal proponents of this magic. It turned out some of that was people who paid to have something frozen, (thus had first hand experience!) and could not fathom the idea that they had been had. As this drama played out for months, and evidence mounted up from people who really -REALLY- know their steel began to pull aside Oz's curtain, these vocal proponents sort of just faded into the background.

As I said above, there is some actual benefit to some heavily alloyed steels. Stainless alloys in particular. However, that benefit is pretty limited in the grand scheme of things.

 

[SuperChris]

The part that kills me is that you can buy 8 Gillette Fusion ProGlide Power carts for $33. Last night I bought 100 Feather blades for $29 and they'll last me the entire year! I know, to each their own, but when the numbers look like that, I don't care if they're frozen, thawed or room temperature, I'd rather have the Feathers

I don't man, $29 is kinda pricey, my go to blade for the last several years have been Dorco ST-301's and I can usually score those for about $10 per 100, sometimes as low as $8