Blade question--# of shaves?

[americanarmsdealer]

Just wondering how many shaves I should expect from a blade on average. I know YMMV depending on how thick/coarse your beard is, how often you shave, etc. But how do you know a blade is shot? Does it simply stop cutting the hair, does it get uncomfortable to shave with, start tugging and pulling, or what? I used a Personna Chrome Platinum blade for the 3rd time last night, and it took me 4 1/2 passes to get decently close, and I still wasn't real happy with the results. But the blade never dragged or pulled, it was just like it wasn't cutting anything. Is this typical? Just looking for some help from you old hands around here on what I should be expecting. I have a very light beard, and I've read that a lot of guys change their blade on the same day every week. If a Personna only lasts me 2+ shaves, what blades are the guys that change once a week using? Also, for the guys that have multiple razors in rotation, do you use the same brand of blade in each one, and if so, do you transfer the same blade from one razor to another each day, or load up all the razors, and change the blades when they are used up? Thanks.

[RichGem]

As you noted, YMMV depending on the blade, your beard, how many passes you make, and how often you shave. That said, 3-4 complete shaves seems to be the average. Some blades I can get a full week out of, some blades I want to chuck after just one shave.

[tsmba]

There is an entry in the shave wiki that addresses this, see the link beneath the "de" at the end of Badger & Blade on the upper-left part of your screen.

As you noted, this varies among shavers. I usually get 4-6 shaves/blade and have taken to simply changing every five shaves unless I notice a problem. Some blades seem to be more consistent than others (a problem I notice with the Derby Extra). My personal favorites (so far) are Israeli Personna (RPs), Israeli Blues (Crystals), Gillette 7:00(Yellows), and Wilkinson Sword. I've done some experimentation and am always open to sampling new blades, but that can lead to some disappointments. The two Israeli blades I listed sell for $10 and $12/100 (respectively) from WCS, and are both solid performers, making them hard to beat!

[texbilly]

The definitive YMMV variable in shaving. I'm currently on shave #6 (and still going) with a Gillette Swede but rarely go more than four shaves with Red Personnas.

[DE Shaver]

It's exactly the same as the number of licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop, which is 3. Actually, as someone else has said, its a factor of YMMV and depends on beard density, hair toughness, number of passes, whether you dry your blade or not after use and so on. To avoid any confusion, I discard after three shaves as DE blades are quite inexpensive when purchase in bulk.