Going for 5 on a Blade

A few weeks back I had mentioned how frustrated I was that I can only get 2 decent shaves from a blade.
Well last week I purchased a small inexpensive ultrasonic cleaning machine. The non-professional type used for cleaning jewelry at home.
After every shave now I place the blade in the machine. The only solvent in there is isoprpyl alcohol. I let it run for about one minute and then I place it back in the razor. Today I had my fourth shave with the same blade and it was as smooth shaving as the first time I used it. My next shave will be number 5 with the blade. I'll continue with the experiment to see how long I can keep this up. I still can't believe this.

Wow!

Let us know how it goes.

I read somewhere (a while ago, might have been GQ, Esquire, other usual suspects) that it's oxidation as much as the use that dulls a blade and that coating the blade in Witch Hazel will make them last longer. Seems cheaper to change blades.

Opinions?

mullenpf61 said:

...Seems cheaper to change blades.

Opinions?

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Well, I suppose that would depend on many factors - how much does it cost to purchase and use/maintain the machine mentioned in the original post? How expensive are the blades that you are using (if you are extending the life of Feathers or Gillette cartridges it would certainly pay for itself a lot quicker than it would if you are using Derbys)? How long can the life of the blade be extended?

BTW, Gonzalo, I would be interested in these details (cost of machine purchase and use/maintenance, what type of blades you are trying to extend the life of, and how long you can stretch their useful life) - since I am another B&B'er who cannot get more than 2 shaves from a blade.

I meant with the witch hazel changing would be cheaper, sorry I wasn't clear. I'm interested in buying an ultrasonic forr glasses, etc.

mullenpf61 said:

I meant with the witch hazel changing would be cheaper, sorry I wasn't clear. I'm interested in buying an ultrasonic forr glasses, etc.

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Sorry - whether or not it would be cheaper to use the WH to extend the life of your blade would depend on essentially the same things... how much do the blades you use now cost? how long do they last (without extra effort)? how long can you extend this? what is the cost of the method used to extend the life od the blades (if using WH this would depend on the volume and brand of WH required/used, etc)?how much time does it take to do this (and at what rate do you value your time - wow, that is a difficult question!)?

Unrelated to the cost-benefit side of things, I wonder how WH could be used to extend the life of blades - I just don't see how it would make much (any) difference...

NMMB said:

Well, I suppose that would depend on many factors - how much does it cost to purchase and use/maintain the machine mentioned in the original post? How expensive are the blades that you are using (if you are extending the life of Feathers or Gillette cartridges it would certainly pay for itself a lot quicker than it would if you are using Derbys)? How long can the life of the blade be extended?

BTW, Gonzalo, I would be interested in these details (cost of machine purchase and use/maintenance, what type of blades you are trying to extend the life of, and how long you can stretch their useful life) - since I am another B&B'er who cannot get more than 2 shaves from a blade.

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I paid $5 for it. A neighbor was having a yard sale...she never used it - in original box. I've seen them on ebay for $14 - $20. Not much power needed for razor blade cleaning. The tank is quite small. I poured about half a cup of isopropyl alcohol into it when I first filled it. Nothing has evaporated since it has a very tight seal. I intend to continue using the same alcohol for some time. Cost of the bottle of alcohol $1.10. It should last me for a couple of months I think. There is basically no maintainance required of the unit. So the cost factor is negligible. I am using Derbys for now. Don't know yet how much the original Derby will continue giving me comfortable shaves. But as I stated above, I'm going into the 5th round with it. That alone is quite an improvement for me since I was chucking these blades after the second shave.
Forgot to mention: I've also dipped the head of the razor into the tank and it does a heck of a job cleaning up as well since the water flushing alone at the sink is not really sufficient to keep it thoroughly clean.

As I recall, about 15~20 years ago, there was an acedemic, a professor somewhere that was shaving just using clean fresh motor oil for a face lube instead of goo or lather. He was reporting that he was using blades for months before they dulled and needed to be changed. It was reported in all the papers at the time, in one of the filler type articles that newspapers used to fill in open, available space.

I don't know the basis or thesis of his experiment. I recall that at the time I thought that this was so dumb that only a professor would do this. It doesn't sound that healthy to me.

Anyway, I'm interested in how well the alcohol bath/ultrasound cleaning works for you. But as others have said, the bulk prices of blades hardly make blade longevity much of a issue. But if you get several really, really comfortable shaves, the comfort factor could make it worth the effort.

-- John Gehman, motor oil phobic.

Well, if motor oil works, I know something that would work, better. WD-40, the all-purpose stuff!

Tim

WD-40 is a solvent, amongst other things. Leave it on your face long enough and the beard might dissolve!

GeeQue said:

I paid $5 for it. A neighbor was having a yard sale...Don't know yet how much the original Derby will continue giving me comfortable shaves. But as I stated above, I'm going into the 5th round with it. That alone is quite an improvement for me since I was chucking these blades after the second shave...

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First, let me make the disclaimer that it is late (~1am) so my math may be off a little - if it is please let us know...

So, let's assume that you get your Derby blades at around the price that they are sold for by derby-exclusive on eBay (that's about $0.10 per blade - this does not include the 20% bonus offer that they've extended to us B&B'ers)... if you can get 5 days from each blade then you should cover the cost of your ultrasonic cleaning machine paid for in about 100 days (that's the machine that you paid $5 for at a yard sale)... If it were a $15 or $20 dollar machine (the price you suggest for a new machine) then you would need 3 or 4 times as many days (that is, 300 or 400 days) to recover the costs. Of course, if you can comfortably get more than 5 shaves per blade, well, then that would change the numbers a little (more shaves per blade would result in the machine being paid for earlier).

This "analysis" (and I use that word in the loosest sense) neglects the cost of the alcohol/solvent (cost of alcohol ~ 10 or so Derby blades over however long the alcohol lasts), the cost of electricity for powering the machine and assumes that the machine has a lifespan so that it will not need replacing within the aforementioned timeframes (I admit that I am blissfully unaware as to how long an ultrasonic cleaner might last). This also assumes that the time that you invest in this endeavor is not of any value to you (one way or the other).

Consider, however, if you were using Gillette fusion cartridges the story would be quite different. Suppose that you were getting your fusion cartridges on eBay for ~$2 each (a good price - in most stores in my area they cost ~$5 Canadian... I think). Also, assume that the lifespan of the cartridge is again 2 days (as it was for me before I moved to DE) but the ultrasonic cleaner can only extend the life of the cartridge by 1 day (rather than 2, 3 or more - as you apparently will get with the Derbys in the machine). Well, the cost of the machine would be covered in less than 2 weeks (if it were the $5, yard sale machine)... and the alcohol, well; you could get 2 bottles (4-6 months worth???) for the cost of a single cartridge... If you were using the $20 machine (new) then you could cover the cost in about 2 months.

Either way, let us know how the experiment goes... I'm curious, though I expect that I will continue to dispose of my blades after 2 days...

hello john,

it seems to me that baby oil (mineral oil) would work in much the same way. others have stated that shaving with it is highly effective.

thanks,
mike

BroJohn said:

As I recall, about 15~20 years ago, there was an acedemic, a professor somewhere that was shaving just using clean fresh motor oil for a face lube instead of goo or lather. He was reporting that he was using blades for months before they dulled and needed to be changed. It was reported in all the papers at the time, in one of the filler type articles that newspapers used to fill in open, available space.

I don't know the basis or thesis of his experiment. I recall that at the time I thought that this was so dumb that only a professor would do this. It doesn't sound that healthy to me.

Anyway, I'm interested in how well the alcohol bath/ultrasound cleaning works for you. But as others have said, the bulk prices of blades hardly make blade longevity much of a issue. But if you get several really, really comfortable shaves, the comfort factor could make it worth the effort.

-- John Gehman, motor oil phobic.

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Wasn't the power of the pyramid supposed to solve these problems?

What blade are you using that only get 2 shaves out of?

Possibly switching to a different blade might increase the amount of days.

I find this all a little odd, but if GQ's getting better results, who am I to argue.

Cleaning a blade a little better might help with oxidation (which is pretty minimal with stainless, but still, when it comes to something being shaving sharp, this can make a diffference). However, I do confess some doubt over oxidation being the culprit as I've used NOS blades from opened packages that are at least 10 years old with few problems (however there is likely some sort of factory coating that helps in this regard).

I've just found this post on e-bay:

http://reviews.ebay.com/Dramatically-Extending-The-Life-of-Your-Razor-Blades_W0QQugidZ10000000001074701?ssPageName=BUYGD:CAT:-1:LISTINGS:6

Basically, this person says that putting a coat of high quality rubbing alcohol (91%) prevents the "naturally forming cystalline film from building up on the blades' leading edges" and that it is this film that creates the sensation of dullness, rather than the actual sharpness of the blade.

It would be interesting to see what your results are if you simply rinse the blade and dip it into the alcohol - without using the ultrasonic cleaner.

If the alcohol alone does the trick, that's a pretty easy and cheap way to extend blade life.

However, it also may possible that the ultrasonic action does something to align the edge of the blade - I'm no expert, but just wanted to throw this out there to see if anyone with actual knowledge has something to say on this.

The other blade life extenders I've heard of are:

Cryogenic tempering:

http://www.greatrazors.com/index.asp

Magnetic realignment of the blade edge:

http://www.totalshavingsolution.nu/razormate.asp

If you think this is a good idea, someone's trying to sell a patent for this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Magno-Sharp-The-Magnetic-Stay-Sharp-Razor-System_W0QQitemZ120043726293QQihZ002QQcategoryZ50973QQcmdZViewItem

Or keeping your razor immeresed in some form of oil:

http://www.razormax.com/index_works.html

If I regularly used a cartridge razor, I might investigate these options (a cryo-razor aligned magnetically and immersed in oil between shaves would theoretically last forever! ) given the cost of replacements.

It seems that there are two conflicting theories at work here (i) that there is some sort of build up along the edge that makes it feel duller than it is and (2) the edge needs to be aligned (like stropping a straight) between shaves to maintain performance.

The interesting thing about the stropping thing is that it would both remove any build up while realigning the edge - I find it somewhat ironic that these high-tech methods are essentially doing what we used to do with some linnen and leather.

I hope you find this interesting, as I have absolutely no idea why I've spent the last ten minutes searching google and writing this post - I'd like to think that someone out there will at least get some utility from my effort!

_JP_ said:

WD-40 is a solvent, amongst other things. Leave it on your face long enough and the beard might disolve!

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Well, we even use it for fire ant bites.

Even if it isn't good to shave with, I bet it would be perfect to clean the blades with.

Tim

BroJohn said:

As I recall, about 15~20 years ago, there was an acedemic, a professor somewhere that was shaving just using clean fresh motor oil for a face lube instead of goo or lather. -- John Gehman, motor oil phobic.

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I can see it now- B&B will eventually split into two camps, the 10W40 crowd and the straight 30 weight supporters.

Worse than that Ouch - There'll be the synthetic subculture as well.

TimmyBoston said:

What blade are you using that only get 2 shaves out of?
Possibly switching to a different blade might increase the amount of days.

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Tim,

As much as it seems weird for some of you - there are actually quite a few of us that cannot get more than 2 shaves from a blade. When I used cartridges - 2 shaves. Using US Personnas - 2 shaves. Tescos, Derbys, etc - 2 shaves.

jduffy said:

Wasn't the power of the pyramid supposed to solve these problems?

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MYTH BUSTED