With blades being ~ $0.10-0.15 apiece, do we really need to try and stretch them to 6 or 7 shaves? My general rule is 3 shaves and change.
Do we really need to stretch blade life?
- Thread starter msayani
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I feel the same way. No need to sacrifice a good shave when you can put in a new blade.
I'm with you two.
Of course not for that reason.
But if you want to make sure that your technique and prep are top notch in order to enjoy your shaves to the maximum stretching the blades life is a very good method IMHO.
I have for the last 5+ years enjoyed daily BBS shaves and have been refining my technique and prep to the extent that I just last week finished 56 shaves on a Polsilver SI blade. The first as good as the last one!
I stretch them out as far as possible with my first couple when trying a new brand, but then I tend to stay with 2 and toss afterward.
I don't really try to stretch them. I just use them for a week and toss them on Saturday. It's just what I do. As long as my hundred pack lasts me the year I'm happy.
I also use this method with my smoother blades. One or two weeks of daily shaves and out it goes. I don't try new brands any more, however.
I stretch out Gillette yellows and blacks out to 6 shaves without any effort and get bbs results. I could throw those out at 4 shaves, but why would I throw out a blade that is still preforming flawlessly? YMMV
I bin 'em after a single shave. (My favourite blades are 6-10 cents each.)
I leave a blade in the razor as long as it continues to shave well. I get 10+ shaves out of a dollar general blade.
- DE blades are cheap.
- DE blades are readily available when you need a new one.
- DE blades are designed to be DISPOSABLE.
I change blades after 2 shaves, regardless of brand.
I am with Bosse on this. Just binning them because they are cheap seems wasteful to me. I too believe that with enough improvement in technique, you should be able to get a lot more life from a blade. Of course, I haven't been able to stretch them to the milestone levels of Bosse, James or turtle, but max I've got from my Indian Gillette greens is 12 shaves, and I am keeping a target of being able to stretch them to a month.
Of course they are disposable, but they can be disposed after one shave or a hundred.
Of course they are disposable, but they can be disposed after one shave or a hundred.
As long as I get comfortable shaves from them, I use them. Depending on the razor and blade I use, that can be 1 shave only to many shaves before tossing. Currently I am trying out a Polsilver SI and I am still getting good shaves after having used it for 8 shaves.
I wouldn't continue with a blade after it starts to become at all uncomfortable, but the vintage Gillette Super Silvers I'm using now are still better after eight shaves than most modern blades are when new, so why throw them away?
+1. Maybe its the OCD thing in me, but I want to shave with a nice, sharp, clean blade each time. Also my brand of choice (Wilkinson Sword) are dirt cheap, I can pick up 100 for about £10. I shave every other day, so approx 200 days worth for a tenner
Shaving with a blade for as long as your technique delivers good results from it is the way to go for me.
Mostly that's at least 7 days.
Because I like to luxuriate in my weekend shaves, I break out the badger brush, MdC and a brand new blade on Saturday mornings.
Even though I may get another few decent shaves from the one that's served 7 days.
To each his own.
Mostly that's at least 7 days.
Because I like to luxuriate in my weekend shaves, I break out the badger brush, MdC and a brand new blade on Saturday mornings.
Even though I may get another few decent shaves from the one that's served 7 days.
To each his own.
I'm with you. Shave them 3-5 times and ditch 'em. Blades are cheap.
I don't think there's any need to go out of your way to stretch the life of a blade. Just use them until they no longer provide you a good shave. I change mine usually after the 4th shave.
After about the 4th shave mine get tossed. @ $12 per 100 blades that adds up to about $.03 per shave. I probably can get more shaves but why bother?
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