I can't be the only one that uses a blade once.

I've found that my second and third shaves for the vast majority of blades exceed the first shave in terms of smoothness. It goes mostly downhill from the fourth shave onwards...

Also when I remove the blade from the razor is when I give it a thorough clean with a toothbrush. I don't have the time to do that each time I shave.

This way everything is kept in perfect harmony.

277Volt said:

Shaving your head and face (I do too, one blade per shave) is pretty much equal to two regular shaves so we're essentially pitching them after two shaves. My hair grows in much denser than my beard so that's extra work on a blade too.

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Cheers to that.

Fresh blade each and every pass!

I change the blade whenever I think about it. Sometimes that's after the first shave and other times its when I go "Ouch!"

I can use a blade about 3 with equal results. I don't have very thick hair and each shave is usually 3 passes.

One and done here. I only shave every 3-4 days, so I can make it about a year on an $11 box of Astra SP's.

I can get 2 days out of a Feather, then it drags, 4-5 days out of an Astra SP, 5-6 from a Lab, and have gotten 7+ from a Med Prep.
My rule is to change the blade at the lower end, Feathers after 2 days (cost $45/yr), Astra SP's after 4 days ($10.50/yr), Labs after 5 ($9.50/yr), MedPrep after 7 days ($20.75/yr).
None of those break the bank, and all provide clean close shaves...

Now, thinking about Polsilver SI's...

D33K4Y said:

I've tried using more than once, but by the atg pass I get tugging and irritation, so I say why go any further. I head shave every time so I guess that could count as two.

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Lot more hair on the head.. so probably around 5 faces full of hair... well maybe not that many but there is a lot more hair there.

orcldba said:

Now, thinking about Polsilver SI's...

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Try Permasharp they're very good almost comparable to the Feather and Polsilver SI's.

rweb82 said:

Some blades- such as Feathers (IMO), get a little smoother after the initial shave.

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What this guy said! I shaved the 5th time with a Permasharp and the shave went very smooth, no razorburns or irritations at all. The blade is still sharp as hell, I think I can shave 3 more times with it. And with a Feather I can shave 7/8 times till it starts to tug and pull skin. With some blades they start immediately tugging on the first shave.

The hair on the back of my head is still quite dense. The second ATG/Buffing pass I think kills it.

I think I should try one blade for face only see how long that lasts vs same blade for both face and head.

N1CK said:

Sometimes the best shave from a blade is the second shave not the first.

Or am I imagining things?

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That's where the logic of "use it once & throw it" falls flat.
Many of the 20 or so blades I've used definitely shave best on shaves 2-4. Shave 1 feels a little rough & shaves 5+ can start to pull a bit for me.
Some people may well not only be costing themselves money, but also missing out on the best shave(s). Every time.

Ender78 said:

Lot more hair on the head.. so probably around 5 faces full of hair... well maybe not that many but there is a lot more hair there.

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You're right on the money. With more hair and more real estate at the very least a noggin's worth two or three shaves of the face.

I'm currently using Feather blades - I find the 3rd and 4th shaves with a blade to be the best

Depends on the blade I guess. I had some Dollar General DE blades that I disliked so I only used each blade once.

Two & out. But I did manage 6 solid good shaves before tossing one in the February challenge. That was cool. But you do have more real estate to cover so that may contribute to your need for a new blade every shave.

I usually just use a blade until I feel it tug or leaves my face feeling raw. I rarely keep count of the actual number of shaves I get out of each blade

It really depends on the blade in use. Of the brands I've tried, I get a smoother shave 2 or 3 shaves into using the blade:
I change blades once a week when I use Astra SPs or Wilkinson swords. However, with Polsilver SI (my main blade now) I've been known to get (about) 9-10 shaves. Feathers I get about 4 acceptable shaves without nicks or drag.

I primarily use Polsilvers now as I change blade weekly as a matter of habit now - and I can trust Polsilvers to give me a week of smooth shaving without having to think/worry.

I just started DE shaving and am using the Astra SP to learn with. I've actually only shaved 6 times so far but I have already noticed that my 2nd shave with a blade is not nearly as comfortable as the 1st. I've tossed all 3 blades after my 2nd shave.

Part of it is probably my beginner technique and part of it is probably not finding the right blade for me yet, but if nothing changed and I was going to use these long term I would replace them every shave.

I only use blades once. I have a tough beard. If I use a blade a second time the shave I get doesn't last as long.

Occasionally I get a barber shave. My barber does 2 passes with a Dovo Shavette which uses half a DE blade. On the first pass he does half my face. He then changes blades for the first pass on the other half of my face. He says he can feel the blade deteriorate and tug after shaving the first half of my face. He then changes blades again for the second pass. So he uses 3 half DE blades (1 and 1/2 blades) for the shave.