Blades dull while not in use??????

When I rotate razors, I feel that if a blade has been used and then sitting for a few days I don't get as many shaves out of it total. Has anyone else experienced this phenomenon?

I've been so lax in keeping track of my rotation that I've either been throwing blades away in case they're dull or overusing the same one accidentally and wondering what's gone wrong with my razor that morning. Have now solved the problem by only using one blade at a time and transferring it to whichever piece I'm using. It makes sense that corrosion would occur if a blade'd been left with soap-scum,PSO or hair/sweat on it but I suppose it depends how long it's left. I think wet-shavers make huge demands of an edge and are extremely pernickity about very small changes in sharpness/smoothness.

I have noticed this and don't understand it at all. Maybe the blade corrodes from moisture when it's exposed to the air. Just a guess.

To avoid this problem I only change razors when I am changing blades, I have also tried changing the razor after 1/2 shaves & using the same blade in a different razor but the results have always been poor.

It could very well be dried up accumulation. I have a travel take apart Merkur that gets occasional use (when I travel it may get used once to sit for several days before the next). The blades tend to last normal for me on average.
But I tend to be pretty anal with the cleanup after my wetshave, even at home with my everyday shave. I take apart the razor every time and run water on the blade on both sides from the center of the blade out; this besides rinsing each razor part well {shrug}.
I have to add I always handle the blade from the non-sharp edges and so far (knock on my head) I have not cut myself.

I believe it's down to microscopic rust/oxidation that is the main enemy for blunting blades prematurely.
I have a mate that lives up north and relies on a underground spring for water supply, plus the air quality is very good too. This water is just about as pure as you can get.
He's on 20 plus shaves with a feather at the moment, this being his only feather as I gave it to him weeks ago and when visiting him last I had look at the blade and it looks brand new, curiosity got the better of me so I had a shave with it and received a dfs. The only thing that this can be put down to is the quality of the water. I would add that I only used Pears glycerine soap to lather up and this produced a great lather, I'm putting that down to the pure water too.

Peppery John said:

I believe it's down to microscopic rust/oxidation that is the main enemy for blunting blades prematurely.
I have a mate that lives up north and relies on a underground spring for water supply, plus the air quality is very good too. This water is just about as pure as you can get.
He's on 20 plus shaves with a feather at the moment, this being his only feather as I gave it to him weeks ago and when visiting him last I had look at the blade and it looks brand new, curiosity got the better of me so I had a shave with it and received a dfs. The only thing that this can be put down to is the quality of the water. I would add that I only used Pears glycerine soap to lather up and this produced a great lather, I'm putting that down to the pure water too.

Click to expand...

Yes I think you are right about the microscopic oxidation, but I'm not sure "purity" of the water can be well-defned as a factor, because "purity" itself is not well-defined. Technically, the only "pure" water is distilled water. The kind of water you describe. coming from an underground spring, may taste wonderful but invariably has dissolved minerals. How much and what kind determine hardness/softness, which are big factors in lathering and "shaveability". Urban water supplies are invariably chlorinated, and I am not sure whether this can contribute to corrosion, but I strongly suspect it may (hydrogen chloride). The platinum coatings of most modern blades are supposed to inhibit these factors, but probably not entirely.

But my suggestion is that if you are noticing blade degredation prematurely, one thing worth trying is to to protect the blade by removing the water. This can be done by dipping in a hydrophilic substance like alcohol. Probably plain old rubbing alcohol (isopropyl 91&#37 would do, but even better may be good old Barbicide, which is primarily isopropyl alcohol with quaterny ammonium compounds and sodium nitrite, and claims to have anti-rust properties.

In fact, I think I just convinced myself, and I am going to try it starting with a new Derby or Feather tomorrow!

I've often wondered this myself. I've used a combo that has been sitting around for three or for days and haven't had a problem. However, sometimes I change out the blade just in case.

I think we need a scientific experiment... More than likely the results would be as varied as opinions about blades are.

The kind of water you describe. coming from an underground spring, may taste wonderful but invariably has dissolved minerals.

Click to expand...

You're certainly correct about the water tasting wonderful. It makes absolutely fantastic tea and coffee.
As for his general routine with the blade, it is always well rinsed and then left to dry sitting in place in the razor, which is stood up and the silo doors open.
Most modern razor blades are of excellent quality and will give many more shaves imho than people have been conditioned to accept in this throwaway society.

+1 on the rust and oxidation/microscopic mineral deposits. There is a guy on the radio named Clark Howard, I'm not sure if he's national or not, but he is very frugal and has tons of advice on how to save money. One suggestion was to "dry the blades" so to speak. One person who called in to his show even went as far as using a blow dryer. They claim to have gotten 6mo's out of a cartridge. Something to try with a DE I guess, though I can say I have not tried this, so I cant give proper advice.

Aaron

Actually, a blow dryer won't work nearly as well as a simple swish in the strongest alcohol you can come by -- pick up a quart of denat at the paint store -- which will displace the water and evaporate quickly.