How many shaves on a GD 208 between hones?

I realize this is variable as all get out, but here goes.

I've got a pair of GD 208's that I use as my "daily drivers". I use one every day till it starts to pull with good prep (shower and Noxema) and switch to the second. Once they're both in need, I hone them together. (4k/8k/1u/CrOx/leather)

I've been getting 3-4 weeks on a hone/blade. I do have a CrOx strop, but it only seems to add about a week of shaves. So lets say I get 35 ish shaves on an edge. Additional trips to the pasted strop don't seem to help much.

Does that seem typical or should I assume there's something amiss somewhere in my shave/honing/stropping process? I've read posts where people have said they get 3 months of shaves and there's no way I'm getting that

jim

3-4 weeks on each one or a total between the two, that to me seems pretty frequent either way but alot depends on beard type, stropping techique, face prep etcc

I can usually go months by just stropping but as I said it depends on alot, the GD 208 I had lasted several months after honing and just doing a good daily pre/post strop on leather.

Why not ask paco...

Its possible too keep the edge very long on these....i personally dont do this because i hone a lot and usually dont keep the razor that long in this condition. I would say 10-20 shaves then i touch up...

There have been tests on german shaving boards where they GD in this case the 66..was used over 1 1/2 years...with frequently shaving...if this can work for everybody depends on many factors as mentioned earlier so there will be differences

Well I used a gd 66 for 94 shaves before it needed a touchup(clean linen and leather daily). I think that's about in line with the rest of my razors. The steel in the 208 is similar enough to me to say they are the same. The only gd I find to be more than that is at stainless 800 and 900. Otherwise the same imo.

panther308 said:

3-4 weeks on each one or a total between the two, that to me seems pretty frequent either way but alot depends on beard type, stropping techique, face prep etcc

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Call it 4 weeks on each.

keeping a very low angle when shaving (almost flat against face) also helps edge longevity.

I think the person to talk to on this would be @Krodor. If I remember correctly, he tried to go 1 year on a 66 (edit - looks like he touched it up every so often on a surgical black going by his first post).

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/376976-Krodor-s-year-of-the-GD66

Generally I never have to re-hone. Unless I just want to. I strop on diamond pasted balsa after every shave, then unpasted thin balsa sheet, then hanging leather.

A point to remember is that if the blade is struggling to shave you, it is also dulling much more quickly. More you can do to produce a slick easy shave, the longer it will last. That said, I can keep my GD's shaving indefinitely with just linen and leather, but the linen part is important, and faster makes a better edge. As mentioned by another, if I do hone, I rarely go back further than 4K. Just my 2 cents.

I get about 20 shaves before I touch up the edge on my razors. Back in the 'old' days using cartridge razors I would get 5 shaves from a double blade cartridge razor before it would start to give me a rash. My friend gets 3-4 months using the same cartridge razor. Skin type and beard thickness plays a big part too. I have honed razors for people that say "I saved with it this morning and it has just starting to tug a little". The edge is so blunt it slides straight over your thumb pad and wouldn't even pass my bevel set sharpness test.

Frictionite said:

I've never had any luck with GD's.. It's nice to see you guys do, after some modding of course.

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I will hone one for you for postage if you like. Pm for details.