Third Annual "One Blade in February" Challenge

[rajagra]

Shaves 22/23 with Astra SP. Still great. Since the blade is now so smooth I decided to speed up shave 23. Reduced prep and used long carefree strokes. No problem. Felt some hesitancy ATG at points, but put that down to the short prep.
Took 14 minutes all-in for the 3-pass shave, including clean-up etc. Not super fast, but a few minutes shorter than my normal, leisurely pace.

 

[man00ver]

Shave #24 ('18 Old Type, shimmed Personna 74, antique German badger brush, Speick MEN SC & ASL, CeraVe moisturizer)

I'd rate this outing as DFS plus, and I went a full 4 passes to get there. Another skosh of blade sharpness lost since yesterday, but it's still putting in a darn decent performance without facial injury. I'm very curious how the clean-up razor will affect the performance during tomorrow's finale!

 

[RSC]

Blade 2, Shave 13:

Brush: Parker synthetic.
Razor: Parker 91R.
Blade: Regular US Personna.
Soap: VDH Luxury.
Post Shave: Thayer's witch hazel aftershave.

I said that I was going to be done, but since it's so close to the end, I decided to try for another with a more aggressive razor. This was actually okay. I hadn't realized that an aggressive razor would help with a blade that's a little less sharp. Sometimes I get a little frustrated with the mildness of the Tech, but the Parker 91R is a little too much to the opposite end for me to enjoy using every day.

Going for the last one tomorrow.

 

[goby]

Tomorrow is the big day!! The Dorco is going all the way!!!!!

 

[OldSaw]

Shave 32 with the Feather and I am looking forward to tomorrow being the last shave with it, as I have one stubborn whisker that will not fully yield to the worn Feather.

 

[mpp]

21st and 22nd shave have been completed ... blade is still rocking and rolling.

Final shave for February on February 29, 2012.

Final shave today with the Treet razor blade. That makes it a total of 23 for the month of February.

Full disclosure time ... the Treet blade I have been using in February has had 23 shaves. On Janurary 31, 2012 it had 87 shaves on it.

That makes a grand total of 110 shaves on this Treet razor.

How about you guys ... what is the most shaves you've gotten with one razor?

 

[man00ver]

Final shave today with the Treet razor. That makes it a total of 23 for the month of February.

Full disclosure time ... the Treet blade I have been using in February has had 23 shaves. On Janurary 31, 2012 it had 87 shaves on it.

That makes a grand total of 110 shaves on this Treet razor.

How about you guys ... what is the most shaves you've gotten with one razor?

Remarkable! This event is the most I've ever done with a blade. I've got a Personna 74 injector blade with 20 shaves on it, still loaded. 3rd place in my experience is 8 shaves on a Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Platinum (India Black Pack). Then again, I'm doing full-face shaves with 3 passes plus buffing for BBS, everytime. One hundred ten shaves is almost inconceivable. Good work!

 

[goby]

I did it!! I did it with a Dorco 301!! And just to show how awesome the Dorco is, I did it with Williams!!! lol

I never thought a Dorco could do it. 28 shaves, and only one nick (today, but I blame the Williams).

This has been a great challenge. Let's give props to the blades who went all the way (let's call "all the way" 20 or more shaves).

So Dorco 301, here's to you!!!

 

[man00ver]

I did it!! I did it with a Dorco 301!! And just to show how awesome the Dorco is, I did it with Williams!!! lol

I never thought a Dorco could do it. 28 shaves, and only one nick (today, but I blame the Williams).

This has been a great challenge. Let's give props to the blades who went all the way (let's call "all the way" 20 or more shaves).

So Dorco 301, here's to you!!!

That... definitely... ROCKS. The power of Williams!!!

Next year, I may try with a similar mundane blade. Or not.

 

[denfelo]

Day 29

Brush: Eveready 200T
Razor: EJ89 DEL
Blade: Wal-Mart German Wilkinson
Cream: VDH Deluxe Soap
Post Shave: Aqua Velva

29 days, 28 shaves. I'm glad this was the last day. A few more days of this and the blade would be combing, not shaving.

 

[BlackBard]

Day 29

Brush: Eveready 200T
Razor: EJ89 DEL
Blade: Wal-Mart German Wilkinson
Cream: VDH Deluxe Soap
Post Shave: Aqua Velva

29 days, 28 shaves. I'm glad this was the last day. A few more days of this and the blade would be combing, not shaving.

Yes, but it made it. Fantastic!

 

[RSC]

Blade 2, Shave 14:

Brush: Parker synthetic.
Razor: Parker 91R.
Blade: Regular US Personna.
Soap: VDH Luxury.
Post Shave: Thayer's witch hazel aftershave.

Definitely time to change the blade, but it wasn't horrible. I was a little unprepared, coming in late with a blade that I had been using in January. I think that I could do better next year, making sure of always having good prep and going to a more aggressive razor early on in the process.

I haven't tried the ST301, but I have a couple of ST300s lying around. Anyone care to speculate how an ST300 might do in a challenge like this? I know that it's reputed to be not as sharp as the ST301, but maybe it has good durability.

 

[goby]

I haven't tried the ST301, but I have a couple of ST300s lying around. Anyone care to speculate how an ST300 might do in a challenge like this? I know that it's reputed to be not as sharp as the ST301, but maybe it has good durability.

I've never tried to ST300, but it's not wildly like on B&B.

 

[man00ver]

The veteran Personna 74 blade executed its 25th shave in my Merkur 37C Slant, "Der Klingenmeister." This blade-bender is well-known in my den for wringing the juiciest drops of performance out of any blade, and tonight it did not disappoint. It all felt brand spanking new, and I got BBS in 3+ passes. Heck, I had a DFS after the second.

Well, my challenge is done, but the blade is obviously not. I've still got a few shaves to squeeze out of my Speick SC, and a few splashes left of Speick ASL, so I'll let this combo keep going until it's finished. I'll check back in with the final number. Here we go roaring into March!

 

[mpp]

Remarkable! This event is the most I've ever done with a blade. I've got a Personna 74 injector blade with 20 shaves on it, still loaded. 3rd place in my experience is 8 shaves on a Gillette 7 O'Clock Super Platinum (India Black Pack). Then again, I'm doing full-face shaves with 3 passes plus buffing for BBS, everytime. One hundred ten shaves is almost inconceivable. Good work!

Thanks man00ver. I was doing full face shaves with at least 2 and in some areas 3 passes. I was also doing the sides of my head and on top. The back of my head I use a headblade. The funny part is that when I first started using this razor I didn't care too much for the feel of it. With my daily maintenance to the blade it just felt better and better. I'm not trying to set any record but being very frugal I do enjoy using a blade for as long as it reasonably performs ... and this Treet is still keeping on. At this rate it will be a long time before I get through my 110 blade sampler kit.

 

[rajagra]

Shave 24 with Astra SP. Decided to move the blade from my Aristocrat to my Ikon OC in anticipation of open comb march.
Kept the blade the same way up. Rinsed it but didn't wipe.
Wow. Same smoothness, but with a crisper more direct feel and louder feedback. BBS and absolutely no tingle from the alum!
I don't know if the change of razor will affect longevity, but I'll stick with this blade for as long as it stays this good.

Edit> Last update in this thread I guess. Just a pic of the gear used, and an observation that things went even better than last year. I think the alcohol rinse played a big part in that.
Shave 25 on 1st March was equally blissful, I'm wondering if the blade will last another month.


Edit> Final, final update... Shave 26 was not as good. Definite signs of hesitancy ATG under the jaw even with good lather. Result was BBS on the face but only DFS on the neck. I could keep using it, it still feels mild, but it is definitely past its peak.
Still, 25 truly wonderful shaves has left me impressed with this Astra SP.

 

[OldSaw]

33 shaves on the Feather. I'm pretty pleased with that. I am looking forward to tomorrow's shave with a new blade. The blade stayed smooth right to the end, but just wasn't cutting BBS close.

I removed the old blade tonight and cleaned my razor. It is loaded with a new Feather blade and ready to go.

 

[xraygun]

Had to heal from the mess of the other day.

Today I took the Toggle on the maiden voyage with a new Schick Plus Platinum. Big difference.
Yeah, that 74 was dull.

 

[JCinPA]

Well, I did not participate in this, but now that it is over, I'd like to thank you all for posting. I followed with interest.

Although I did not jump in at the beginning, in the middle of the month I did leave a Gillette Super Plat (Black/India) in the razor for two full weeks. What I found out was that the shaves were still comfortable, but it was taking more effort and time to get that DFS bordering on BBS shave. In the last 2 days or so, BBS was out of the question, but I still got a DFS and it was still smooth and comfortable.

What I gleaned from all this is that I don't need to worry about if I am on shave #4 or #5, or what day of the week I started. What I have decided is to just change my blades weekly every Monday. It's easy to remember, and I know they will shave close and comfortable all the way through that week. They are cheap enough I don't have to squeeze every last shave out of them. But the one-week standard is going to be my procedure from now on. Thanks much, gents! Enjoyed it!

 

[awa54]

Final shave today with the Treet razor blade. That makes it a total of 23 for the month of February.

Full disclosure time ... the Treet blade I have been using in February has had 23 shaves. On Janurary 31, 2012 it had 87 shaves on it.

That makes a grand total of 110 shaves on this Treet razor.

How about you guys ... what is the most shaves you've gotten with one razor?

Holy smoke, what do you do to get that many shaves out of a single blade?? Did it require blood sacrifice? I remember seeing hones for sharpening used DE blades, but was told that the results were so awful that it wasn't worth doing.

Is that Treet a stainless or carbon steel blade?