Personna 74, Freud, and the Psychology of Razor Blades

This morning I had the ninth amazing shave from my first Personna 74 blade.

I am looking at getting 30 shaves from this one blade. And why... because someone else did it and posted about it.

So what if much of what is on this board is really "psychological." What if people started posting that they were getting 10 shaves from Derbys? Would you start dumping your Derby after the 10th shave? And would you enjoy the 10th shave? Are Feather's really the sharpest blade? Are the 3 T's really the best? What if my wife put a Derby in my razor without telling me? Would I notice?

I dump my Red IPs after 3 shaves because they are so cheap. Should I try 10 shaves? Would I really get 10 shaves or would it get dull?

BTW, these blades go for about 50 cents - $2.00 a blade. Are they worth it? No, not really. The shave is great, but I can get the same shave with a new Derby, Red IP, or Lord. But there is a certain "cool factor" with using a 38 year old blade made out of tungsten.

Anyone else ponder the above, or do I have too much time on my hands.?

wow your a better man than me. 9 shaves from any blade and i would be swiss cheese but that is just me. good luck

Interesting observation. These ingrained limitations are set forth since the day we are born. Evident even in our shaving world. Media, ancestry, history, adults, teachers and the like all educate us all our lives on what our limitations and expectations are. You must do this or that will happen and so on. So, yes, I do think a lot of things are influenced by our brains. Not all, just some things. So, sure, it may be some truth.

I EASILY get ten good shaves from a Red Pack IP Give it a try! I also plan on getting thirty shaves from a Personna 74 in the near future!
Wp

sandmountainslim said:

I EASILY get ten good shaves from a Red Pack IP Give it a try! I also plan on getting thirty shaves from a Personna 74 in the near future!
Wp

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I remember reading somewhere else that you only do 1 pass WTG shaves now though. Keep the number of passes in mind when counting how many shaves you get from a blade.
I could probably do 1 pass WTG shaves with feathers even for up to 15 "shaves". I used a feather in a tech for multi pass shaves 7 times. I can only use feathers for 3 multi pass shaves in other razors. So the razor also matters it seems.

heirkb said:

I remember reading somewhere else that you only do 1 pass WTG shaves now though. Keep the number of passes in mind when counting how many shaves you get from a blade.
I could probably do 1 pass WTG shaves with feathers even for up to 15 "shaves". I used a feather in a tech for multi pass shaves 7 times. I can only use feathers for 3 multi pass shaves in other razors. So the razor also matters it seems.

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I generally do one pass on the face WTG and one WTG and one ATG on the neck.
Wp

I see your point, but I think the Personna 74 truly are different. They would never last 30 shaves for me, but I got 10 (3 pass shaves). Most modern blades last 3-4 shaves for me. Some other vintage ones are more in the 5-6 range. Now if I didn't know going in that Personna 74s are extremely long lasting would I have attempted so many shaves on the first blade I tried? No, probably not, but I soon would have realized that they remained exceptionally sharp/smooth on the 3rd or 4th shave and would have kept going.

Aaron622 said:

I see your point, but I think the Personna 74 truly are different. They would never last 30 shaves for me, but I got 10 (3 pass shaves). Most modern blades last 3-4 shaves for me. Some other vintage ones are more in the 5-6 range. Now if I didn't know going in that Personna 74s are extremely long lasting would I have attempted so many shaves on the first blade I tried? No, probably not, but I soon would have realized that they remained exceptionally sharp/smooth on the 3rd or 4th shave and would have kept going.

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They are amazing blades. So sad that they were not in production longer, that Phillip Morris bought ASR, and that Gillette introduced the Trac II.

I truly wonder why some of us hate certain high quality blades. Why the heck is that? For me, I hate Green 7 O'clocks. They are quality blades, and they are terrible on my skin.

I wonder if I was on a desert island with just Green 7 O clocks if I wouldn't learn to love them?

goby said:

They are amazing blades. So sad that they were not in production longer, that Phillip Morris bought ASR, and that Gillette introduced the Trac II.

I truly wonder why some of us hate certain high quality blades. Why the heck is that? For me, I hate Green 7 O'clocks. They are quality blades, and they are terrible on my skin.

I wonder if I was on a desert island with just Green 7 O clocks if I wouldn't learn to love them?

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That's funny, because the Green 7 o'clocks (the Russian Super Stainless ones) are my favorite modern blade. You mention that you use Red IPs which are for me one of the worst blades I've ever tried, so dull and rough that I don't think I made it through a complete shave with one. Yet we both like Personna 74s...

Aaron622 said:

That's funny, because the Green 7 o'clocks (the Russian Super Stainless ones) are my favorite modern blade. You mention that you use Red IPs which are for me one of the worst blades I've ever tried, so dull and rough that I don't think I made it through a complete shave with one. Yet we both like Personna 74s...

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I love Red IP's, and hate that greenies. The greenies just drag across my face. The shaves are always rough.

But Personna 74's are just as smooth as Red IP's....

BTW, Personna 74 Shave #10 with Cade soap was wonderful, as usual.

I retired my first blade at 18 shaves. I'm going to try a new blade and see if my first blade still has more life. Wow!

goby said:

I love Red IP's, and hate that greenies. The greenies just drag across my face. The shaves are always rough.

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What "greenies" from Gillette are you referencing,
Permasharp Stainless (India) or the Super Stainless (Russia) ?.

Go here:
http://www.shavemyface.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=29705,
for factual objective information. Not to say that, as always, YMMV, but let's all try for a bit of clarity.
I used a fresh Permasharp this A.M. in an EJ DE89L and it just glided over 48 hour stubble.

memoryleak said:

What "greenies" from Gillette are you referencing,
Permasharp Stainless (India) or the Super Stainless (Russia) ?.

Go here:
http://www.shavemyface.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=29705,
for factual objective information. Not to say that, as always, YMMV, but let's all try for a bit of clarity.
I used a fresh Permasharp this A.M. in an EJ DE89L and it just glided over 48 hour stubble.

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Green Box from Russia.

goby said:

This morning I had the ninth amazing shave from my first Personna 74 blade.

I am looking at getting 30 shaves from this one blade. And why... because someone else did it and posted about it.

BTW, these blades go for about 50 cents - $2.00 a blade. Are they worth it? No, not really. The shave is great, but I can get the same shave with a new Derby, Red IP, or Lord. But there is a certain "cool factor" with using a 38 year old blade made out of tungsten.

Anyone else ponder the above, or do I have too much time on my hands.?

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With judicious use, you should be able to get at least 20 shaves from a 74. I'd honestly opine that the shave yielded by the 74 is on par with the results you would get with Wilk Light Brigades and Schick Plus Platinums. Plus the 74 has the advantage of being a touch sharper and long lasting. Are they worth it? With cartridges going for $2 a pop, most definitely.

I don't know what they coated them with (magic pixie dust?) but Personna 74's sure do yield a consistent, smooth shave, shave after shave. It isn't fair to compare them to current production blades, but they beat any current blade hands-down (as do all the top tier NOS blades). Which is why I no longer shave with current production blades.

Of course, when comparing them to other NOS blades, then all bets are off.

goby said:

So what if much of what is on this board is really "psychological." What if people started posting that they were getting 10 shaves from Derbys? Would you start dumping your Derby after the 10th shave? And would you enjoy the 10th shave? Are Feather's really the sharpest blade? Are the 3 T's really the best? What if my wife put a Derby in my razor without telling me? Would I notice?

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Imagine there's no Williams
It's easy if you try
No Aqua Velva musk
No ADs to make us buy
Imagine all the people
Shaving for today

Imagine there's no tallow
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to swirl a brush for
And no Tabac too
Imagine your whole lifetime
Shaving with just one blade

You may say that I'm a dreamer
And not changing blades is dumb
That I've been sniffing Lilac Vegetal
And I've been hitting the Bay Rum

Stubblefield said:

With judicious use, you should be able to get at least 20 shaves from a 74. I'd honestly opine that the shave yielded by the 74 is on par with the results you would get with Wilk Light Brigades and Schick Plus Platinums. Plus the 74 has the advantage of being a touch sharper and long lasting. Are they worth it? With cartridges going for $2 a pop, most definitely.

I don't know what they coated them with (magic pixie dust?) but Personna 74's sure do yield a consistent, smooth shave, shave after shave. It isn't fair to compare them to current production blades, but they beat any current blade hands-down (as do all the top tier NOS blades). Which is why I no longer shave with current production blades.

Of course, when comparing them to other NOS blades, then all bets are off.

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I got my 20th shave today. Amazing. They were made with Tungsten Steel. Are they better than 10 Israeli IP's? I don't know, but it is fun to get 20 great shaves from a single blade. It's a shame to know that Gillette's answer to this amazing blade was the Trac II.