Feather Blades - Crazy longevity...!

[MeanGene]

Feathers have been my go-to blade since late last year and they generally last 3 or 4 shaves before they begin to tug on my beard. Over the past 2 months, the blade longevity has increased substantially and now I get 7 or 8 shaves out of a blade before they begin to pull. The only difference in my routine is that I am predominantly using one soap maker, Mystic Water, otherwise it's the same razor, same prep, same face, etc.

Frankly, I am in shock that these blades are now lasting so long and the only variable that has changed is the soap. Has anyone else experienced this? I feel like I'm shaving with a magic, mystical blade now.

[rivieraranch]

Maybe the soap has clay in it so it is stropping the blades as they go.

[Mandina]

Another response from South Florida: The same thing has happened for me: I went from 2 shaves with a Feather blade (#1 too harsh, #2 good, and then the blade had to be discarded) to 6-7 excellent shaves. At the same time, however, the longevity of my go-to blades has also increased (Perma-Sharp Supers and Gillette Yellows: from 5 to 6-7). I've tweaked my prep during the period of longevity increase, but not enough, I think, to account for the increase, and my soaps are pretty much the same as before. I've now been DE shaving for 7 months or so. I'm guessing that the improvement in blade longevity is due to three interrelated factors: (1) my technique has greatly improved and so (2) I've reduced the number of passes from 3 + touch-ups to 2 + touch-ups, as (3) I've come to aim for no closer than DFS. Whatever the reasons for the improvement may be, your experience and mine show why blade experiences and preferences can change over time. (P.S. Given that my house is air conditioned during most of the year, I don't think that anything related to heat/humidity is relevant to my improvement.)

[Predict]

I hope this happens to me. I get two shave from a feather.

[VerbaVolant]

One extra minute spent with a facecloth and hot water soaking stubble = 4 Feather quality shaves. If I use an exfoliating cream and facecloth I can squeeze the fifth Feather quality shave.

[dharasick]

One extra minute spent with a facecloth and hot water soaking stubble = 4 Feather quality shaves. If I use an exfoliating cream and facecloth I can squeeze the fifth Feather quality shave.

+1

The better the beard prep = the softer the hair = the easier it is on the blade = blade lasting longer.

[Useless shaver]

I get 7 smooth shaves out of each Feather blade. I change them every Saturday morning. YMMV

[deafficianado]

Keeping your blade dry substantialy increases blade longevity. After the shave, shake your razor dry and what I do is dip in alcohol, and then in oil. Doing this is giving me extra shaves. Stropping also works.

[tbress]

Perhaps you've been keeping your Feathers under a pyramid?

[TallyShave]

Perhaps you've been keeping your Feathers under a pyramid?

I thought it was a magnet?

[vreddy2000]

increasing my prep time, i lather up and keep the lather on my face for at least a min..two if i have the patience and it did the same to me..any blade..
i do 2 pass _ touch up as well..
and the prep time made all the diff..
smoother shaves and longer lasting blades..

[MeanGene]

Glad to know that I'm not the only one keeping my razor underneath a large pyramid shaped magnet. Seriously though, it is quite the difference, again, no change in prep, only the frequency of use of same maker of soap. I changed my blade out this morning just because it feels strange to go so long with one blade! How silly is that.

The one thing that has not changed for me with the Feather is that the first shave with a new blade isn't as forgiving as the following six or seven.

[Monkeyboy]

Soren getting a hundred shaves out of a derby blade, that's crazy longevity.

What were you using before mystic waters? Seems it's doing a better job of softening the whiskers.

[Sledgehammer39]

That's pretty amazing, I could never get more than 2-3 shaves from a Feather blade.

[MeanGene]

What were you using before mystic waters? Seems it's doing a better job of softening the whiskers.

Before latching onto Mystic Water, my regular rotation included Tabac, Proraso Green, Penhaligon's EF and BB (new formula), Razorock Chianti Lavender and Razorock King Louis. I used those most of the time, ordered MdC and Mystic Water about the same time and did 30 days of MdC. Kept coming back to MW. Bought the La Famiglia line and tried them but always kept coming back to MW. While I have many of the scents, I am working on finishing up my CLV puck. I am down to the last 25% and it has seen a lot of use. When I used MdC exclusively, I didn't get near the blade life out of it.

My end-of-shaving routine is simple, rinse off the razor, shake it a bit, and set it in my wooden tray that holds my gear and it air dries on the counter. No magic, fast and easy, and a bit lazy on my part. EJ89 if anyone was curious.

[woodfluter]

I went from the typical 3 or 4 decent shaves per Feather gradually to 5 and sometimes 6, probably because I started to shave at a lower angle without being aware of that. Later went through a protracted spell using only Micromatics, with the head flat against my face, and eventually was getting ~10 shaves per single edge.

When I returned to DE shaving, I loaded up a short-comb NEW with a Feather and deliberately tried to apply the same low-angle approach as far as possible. I was astounded to get ~20 good shaves. Similar results with Astra SP and others.

I don't blame anybody if they find this hard to swallow. I would have. I recently began keeping a hache mark tally of shaves per blade (so I can switch around and not lose count) on a card in my medicine cabinet. The last two Feather blades gave 19 and 20 shaves, and a 7 O'Clock gave 18. I've gotten 21 from Feather on occasion. Mostly using Milord and 1947 SS these days.

This is with coarse beard, about 3.5 passes or more, no prep apart from showering, typically Mitchell's Wool Fat soap. Blade and razor always thoroughly dried out before storing. Nothing changed but the angle.

A whole lot seems to depend on technique in all its glorious variables.

- Bill

[ElliotR]

Before latching onto Mystic Water, my regular rotation included Tabac, Proraso Green, Penhaligon's EF and BB (new formula), Razorock Chianti Lavender and Razorock King Louis. I used those most of the time, ordered MdC and Mystic Water about the same time and did 30 days of MdC. Kept coming back to MW. Bought the La Famiglia line and tried them but always kept coming back to MW. While I have many of the scents, I am working on finishing up my CLV puck. I am down to the last 25% and it has seen a lot of use. When I used MdC exclusively, I didn't get near the blade life out of it.

My end-of-shaving routine is simple, rinse off the razor, shake it a bit, and set it in my wooden tray that holds my gear and it air dries on the counter. No magic, fast and easy, and a bit lazy on my part. EJ89 if anyone was curious.

..

[ElliotR]

I went from the typical 3 or 4 decent shaves per Feather gradually to 5 and sometimes 6, probably because I started to shave at a lower angle without being aware of that. Later went through a protracted spell using only Micromatics, with the head flat against my face, and eventually was getting ~10 shaves per single edge.

When I returned to DE shaving, I loaded up a short-comb NEW with a Feather and deliberately tried to apply the same low-angle approach as far as possible. I was astounded to get ~20 good shaves. Similar results with Astra SP and others.

I don't blame anybody if they find this hard to swallow. I would have. I recently began keeping a hache mark tally of shaves per blade (so I can switch around and not lose count) on a card in my medicine cabinet. The last two Feather blades gave 19 and 20 shaves, and a 7 O'Clock gave 18. I've gotten 21 from Feather on occasion. Mostly using Milord and 1947 SS these days.

This is with coarse beard, about 3.5 passes or more, no prep apart from showering, typically Mitchell's Wool Fat soap. Blade and razor always thoroughly dried out before storing. Nothing changed but the angle.

A whole lot seems to depend on technique in all its glorious variables.

- Bill

Can you explain this lower angle approach?

[MeanGene]

A whole lot seems to depend on technique in all its glorious variables.- Bill

+1 I certainly can't rule that out, though I don't think I'm doing anything differently. The only variable change I can identify is the soap.

[woodfluter]

Can you explain this lower angle approach?

Sure. I've written about this before, but in brief:

(1) Head cap against skin, to degree that *without any pressure* the blade edge and guard don't touch your face.

(2) Apply just enough pressure to bring the blade edge into contact with your skin and beard. The head flattens your skin somewhat, making for a better contact per stroke with a linear object (the blade). The angle between your skin and the blade is quite low. Don't apply more pressure than needed, but this technique seems more forgiving in terms of pressure than higher-angle shaving.

(3) Stay flexible about all this. Hard rounded surfaces like the chin, and places where the hair grows oddly like the neck may (likely will) require changes in pressure used and the optimal angle also to a degree.

(4) You may remember when you started shaving with traditional gear. There was a learning curve. Same applies when you attempt a change in technique, so if you want to give this a spin, don't expect to figure it out perfectly in one try.

I think the blade longevity is due to a cutting angle rather than a paint-scraper angle. If you use a very sharp knife to scrape paint off wood, it would dull very quickly. If you use it to slice through wood at a low angle, the edge will hold for a long time.

I'm not the only person doing this here, but it's a minority viewpoint...not sure why. YMMV etc etc. Interestingly enough with respect to DE shaving, a very early (pre-WWI) Gillette tutorial emphasizes keeping the cap against your face and increasing the angle only to the point where the blade starts to cut.