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the ONE blade challenge.

How interesting. I'm old enough to remember the Stainless Revolution (1965?) Maybe I had been duped by Gillette into tossing my blades after one shave, but I do know that the Wilkinson Stainless gave better shaves for a longer time. I do this from memory.
There seems to be several observations of this kind. I myself am on an expedition to find out about the Wilkinson old blade.

I do have some inside information as to why this would be the case, but that will have to wait until I find out if the blade I'm using will deliver. There seems to have been around at least a few varieties of these, including the repacked US version. This was, according to my source, largely an effort to avoid customs fees.

Of course all of this is theoretical in the sense that these blades are no longer available in greater numbers. :001_cool:
 
I could do this with a Gillette Super Platinum and my pre war Tech
I'm unable to do at this time as I am completing my blade sampler and using my New.
I have 2 blades left and a couple more that I want to "re do" just to give them a fair review.
 
Good for the longevity crowd, but I'm out. Blades are so cheap that I just use 'em until my face tells me it is time for a change.
 
Hmm, this is intriguing. I have been talking about stretching blade life for the last few days. I used to use blades once and toss them, because I didn't want any irritation, but have recently found that I can use blades longer WITHOUT ANY irritation. I couldn't before, so I came to the conclusion that it must be due to better technique. So, I have started to monitor how long my blades last before they show any signs of causing discomfort.

I would definitely be in, but I still like to rotate razors, and I don't like the same blades in different razors. So, what I'm doing is rotating my three razors daily, but keeping the same blades in them for as long as possible. My goal is to get fifteen total shaves among the three razors (for me five shaves on a blade is still more than I have gotten before). When a blade becomes unacceptable by my standards, I will stop using that razor, until I get down to one razor. When that blade meets its end, I will take score and start over. Right now the razor/blade pairs are: Muhle R41 with Astra SS, Parker 82R with a Shark, and 1968 Gillette Knack with Personna Red. So far the Astra has one shave on it, and the other two are sparkling fresh. When I shave before work tonight, it'll be shave one on the Shark. I've never used one before, so I don't know what to expect, but in general, I would be surprised if I make my fifteen shave goal.
 
I'll join in. I just finished shave 5 with a Perma-Sharp Super. It was just as smooth today as it was on day 1. One wild-card is that I also shave my head. Head hair (even if it far apart and missing some) seems to chew through blades faster than whiskers. The current blade has 2 head shaves on it. So I will start with a fresh blade in my Weber tomorrow for face shaving and move the used Perma-Sharp to a Tech for my head shaves.
 
Interesting, especially the Gillette razor ad. My father (87 now) actually used Gillette blues in their heyday. He told me he often had to change a blade before a single shave was over! And his beard is much less coarse than mine is. I'd probably have to change the blues on a per pass basis. My dad much preferred Wilkinson blades, although he has moved to a beard now.

Personally I'm exclusively an SE shaver now, but I still change the blade every week.

Good luck with the challenge!

Eric
 
For me it's not about saving money as there's no need but more about working on perfecting my prep
+1
I'd add an additional goal in stretching a blade to reduce just a bit the volume of blades that go to landfill (recognising that steel is far less a burden in landfill than the plastic junk that cartridges are swaddled in).

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Having done this before, I have realized now the actual blade life span of most blades. I was always 2 and toss, but I learned that my usual brands, Israel Personna and Gillette swords can both make it a week. The weekend shaves are a little tuggier, but not uncomfortable really. So I've upped my blade use to 5 without a problem. As I start each work day in front of a crowd of people giving orders and speeches, I think my days of pushing things is over. 5 days on a 10 cent blade is way better already than 3 days on a 30 cent cartridge.
 
I will pass on this for December and may play again with the one blade February. I think I went for about 16 shaves last February on a vintage Gillette Stainless (The Spoiler). I get 5-7 shaves on any blade I use and I'm sure I "could" go 7-10 on most if I really wanted to but I have no need to experiment and have a couple shaves beyond what is comfortable for me with the cost of 10 - 20 cents per blade.

In general, I do think that many guys bail out way before a blade is done. I'm commenting about the "one and done" crowd or the 2-3 shaves per blade club. But, whatever works for you. Blades are cheap and do what you think best.
 
the point of this isnt an effort to save money nor to cause discomfort, in fact with blades especially derby what money is there to save? a years supply costs the same as a sandwich.. i hate discomfort more then most, when i was using carts i got the worst ingrown hairs and razor burn, awful awful stuff. my goal here is to prove to myself that by taking the extra time with prep and focusing on technique i can comfortably use a blade longer then i currently do,as soon as this blade becomes uncomfortable however its out!

that said today was:
Shave 1
woke up at 5am (always do) chucked my one and only brush (omega boar hair) into a bowl of water and massaged my homemade pre-shave oil onto my face prior to hopping into the shower. post shower i got the TOBS jermyn st soap soaking as i dried off and worked another few drops of oil onto my now wet beard, the shave was my daily 2 pass, comfortable and smooth with no sting from the alum and finished it off with some nivia sensitive post shave balm. off to a good start
 
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I'll just say that I once used the same Feather blade for 28 daily shaves. I was aiming for 30 days, but decided to quit sooner due to rapidly declining performance. I now change blades (Astra SP) after 7 days, but I am sure I could certainly go longer. Weekly blade changing is just easier to remember.

I hope you all have fun, but I will just continue with my routine.
 
This is an interesting challenge for every shaver. It's my firm belief built on own experience that the blade longevity and the shaving technique are somehow connected. During the last year I have been noticing that my shaves get more predictable and effortless without losing quality when I manage to do more shaves on each blade. I have been enjoying daily BBS shaves for over five years now but the shaves during the last year have been noticeably better because of this extending of blade life.

I am now on daily shave No. 41 on one of the NOS British Wilkinson Sword-Edge blades. The blade still cuts very well as measured by the amount of stubble after 24 hours. The blade feels very sharp as compared to the current production Polsilver SI I did 56 shaves on. I have all reason to believe the Wilkie will outperform the Polsilver blade. I report weekly on the progress of this experiment here: http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/431416-Excalibur-Club-Blade-Longevity-DE-SE-and-Injector .



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The discontinued Wilkinson Super Sword-Edge blade I presently use​

The important thing is to enjoy your shaves - I do. :001_smile

Just curious, do you do any blade maintenance between shaves such as drying and oiling the blade between uses?
 
I'm in!

I usually shave 3 times per week, I work in a factory and I don't need to shave daily. I typically change blades once per month so that is about 12 shaves per blade. My favorite blade is Polsilver SI but for this challenge I will use a Derby.
 
hmm I've decided to join in with a derby, i have the derby i begun DE with handstropped and ready to go with two shaves on it (I'm only 3 blades into DE) i set it aside to sample different blades, might as well see how many shaves i can pull out of it i shave a few times a week as I'm still a teen and my facial hair doesn't grow fast enough to require more than a shave every two or do days
 
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