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Making a blade last longer???

Hey,
My dad (who has one of the most coarse old man beards that I have ever seen) told me recently that by drying off his blades they stay sharp and usable longer. This makes sense to me as water tends to break down most elements. Has anyone ever heard this?:confused:
 
G

gone down south

Yes, that's true, but it was more an issue with the old stainless steel blades and less so with today's coated blades.
 

luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
Drying the blade does extend the life. Documented evidence supports the premise.
But blades are very cheap, so the more effort required to to the drying means diminishing returns.
Even a moderatley priced blade is only about $0.10, so how much of your time and daily effort is worth that ten cents?
 
Drying the blade does extend the life. Documented evidence supports the premise.
But blades are very cheap, so the more effort required to to the drying means diminishing returns.
Even a moderatley priced blade is only about $0.10, so how much of your time and daily effort is worth that ten cents?

+ 1

Compared to the price of the Gillette Fusion blades I used to buy, the cost of DE blades is so laughable that I don't care at all about extending the life of the blades. I use blades for 4 shaves on average and I would not be concerned even if I would be throwing them only after 2 shaves.
 
Drying my blade after every shave is just a part of my normal cleanup now since I strop the blade also. I dry all the parts of my razor before reassembling it and hanging it in the stand. It doesn't take much time and I enjoy doing it. I generally don't push my blades for more than four shaves, but I am sure that I could. Whether or not that is because of the drying and stropping is debatable. For me it is just a part of my ritual.
 
Drying the blade does extend the life. Documented evidence supports the premise.
But blades are very cheap, so the more effort required to to the drying means diminishing returns.
Even a moderatley priced blade is only about $0.10, so how much of your time and daily effort is worth that ten cents?

I have heard you debate this before, I have said it before and I say it again.

This very peculiar habit of extending the blade life is all about having some peculiar habit for the love of wet shaving. aI do it for that sakes. I hand strope the blade to dry the edges. I am really not interested if indeed the blade lasts longer or not. Its just part of the ritual that makes me feel so good about wet shaving....

My cost of shaving comes down to 50 paise per day for any blade (1 rupee = 2x50 paise) and 50 rupees = 1 USD, so its insanely cheap.

For me its all about having some cranky ritual for the love of wet shaving :D ;):biggrin:
 

luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
I have heard you debate this before, I have said it before and I say it again.

This very peculiar habit of extending the blade life is all about having some peculiar habit for the love of wet shaving. aI do it for that sakes. I hand strope the blade to dry the edges. I am really not interested if indeed the blade lasts longer or not. Its just part of the ritual that makes me feel so good about wet shaving....

My cost of shaving comes down to 50 paise per day for any blade (1 rupee = 2x50 paise) and 50 rupees = 1 USD, so its insanely cheap.

For me its all about having some cranky ritual for the love of wet shaving :D ;):biggrin:

No debate from me on that, for sure.
I did say "how much of your time and daily effort is worth that ten cents?"
If the answer is that your time is worth it, then great. If the answer is that your doing it as part of a ritual, then great.
If it's not, that's great too. To each his own, and YMMV.
Actually, my previous debate on blades has been that the old "blade in the glass trick" had no supporting evidence, not about drying blades. All of my previous posts on drying blades has indicated that evidence supports the premise.:001_smile
 
Drying my blade after every shave is just a part of my normal cleanup now since I strop the blade also.

I've read that a couple of times now, that some people are "stropping" their blades. I understand the act of stropping a straight razor, but what do you do exactly to strop a DE blade ?
 
No debate from me on that, for sure.
I did say "how much of your time and daily effort is worth that ten cents?"
If the answer is that your time is worth it, then great. If the answer is that your doing it as part of a ritual, then great.
If it's not, that's great too. To each his own, and YMMV.
Actually, my previous debate on blades has been that the old "blade in the glass trick" had no supporting evidence, not about drying blades. All of my previous posts on drying blades has indicated that evidence supports the premise.:001_smile

+1
Read the instructions for yourself:
http://www.mr-razor.com/Anleitungen/1963 Slim British Mark II.jpg

John
 
Drying the blade does extend the life. Documented evidence supports the premise.
But blades are very cheap, so the more effort required to to the drying means diminishing returns.
Even a moderatley priced blade is only about $0.10, so how much of your time and daily effort is worth that ten cents?

My thoughts exactly.
 
G

gone down south

I've read that a couple of times now, that some people are "stropping" their blades. I understand the act of stropping a straight razor, but what do you do exactly to strop a DE blade ?

Basically, rub the edge of the blade across the heel of your palm a few times on each side. It's called 'hand stropping', if you do a search here a couple threads with pictures should come up.
 
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