Blade use / rotation

[obes]

I was curious as to how many shaves you get out of a blade? I'm sure the answer is blade specific but I was wondering how you make the most of each side, do you keep track of which one you are using?

Being new to DE razors I'm keen to try different blades but also not be wasteful,

First blade I tried was a 7am, and I got three shaves out of it, to be honest it was kind of rough right of out of the gate so I ran it through some cork and I think that helped,

Second blade was an Astra superior platinum, like this a lot more, currently 2 shaves in and still good. I noticed on they have # 1 & 2 on on sided and # 3 & 4 on the flip side, which made me wonder does each edge have two sides? should i be flipping my blade ?

Thanks

 

[Korbz]

I don't personally flip. It didn't seem to do anything when I tried and the blades are cheap enough that getting an extra day or 2 (if possible) isn't going to mean that much to me. Be interested to hear others views.

 

[alfredus]

Depends how many passes you do, how coarse your beard is and what type of prep is good for your skin...

Having said all that: @ ~10 cents a blade, it is probably the most useless place to start skimping...

I personally never understood the quest for the cheapest shave...try the quest for the perfect shave, or at least the quest for the highest marginal return

 

[obes]

Having said all that: @ ~10 cents a blade, it is probably the most useless place to start skimping...

I hear what your saying...

The issue i'm dealing with is if it's my technique that is causing the odd irritation or a dull blade or both,

Not a big deal just curious as to how other's go about it,

I guess if in doubt just chuck a fresh one in and have another go

 

[Korbz]

All the problems I've had thus far have been technique. There's just so many variables (prep, lather, angle, pressure and direction of razor) it's worse then making a coffee (proper barista style). YMMV but for me all my irritation has been my own doing

 

[alfredus]

The issue i'm dealing with is if it's my technique that is causing the odd irritation or a dull blade or both

Ahhhh, now I understand: I don't know how many passes you do, but be a bit mindful how a new blade feels on the last pass of your shave - especially if you do ATG. I found, that is the most demanding pass on a blade for me. Look out for tugging - so the blade doesn't cut your hair, but pulls it more out.

Now keep everything the same for the next shave (prep, lather...) and see, if at any stage, the blade feels worse (more tugging) than during that last pass of your first shave. For me usually I start to feel a very slight deterioration during the last pass of my 2nd shave (which for me is pass 8) and it's time to say good-bye.

Having said all that: do no more than ~9 passes (or even 2 shaves) and toss the blade. Once you are certain of your technique, you can re-visit blade longevity...

All the problems I've had thus far have been technique. There's just so many variables (prep, lather, angle, pressure and direction of razor) it's worse then making a coffee (proper barista style). YMMV but for me all my irritation has been my own doing

Absolutely - you have to have a pretty dull blade to cause real irritations - a dull blade usually feels less comfortable and results in a less close shave

Another VERY important (and often overlooked) factor: your beard map! Every bump you have is usually caused by 1 hair - and yes it could be your technique, but it also could be, that that 1 hair grows just slightly in a different direction, making all your passes wrong...

 

[cranky]

In my rotation i use:
1/ Gillette Silver Blues 4 times
2/ Personna Reds 4 times
3/ Wlkinson Sword 3 times
4 Feather occationally 3 times
I do a three pass shave WTG, XTG, ATG with some cleanup at the neck area always achieve DFS to almost BBS, i never actually achieve a BBS it causes to much irritation on my neck the rest of my face i can get BBS.

Razor Rotation:
EJ DE89 best blade combo GSB & Personna Reds
Merkur 34C best blade combo GSB & Personna Reds
Muhle R89 best blade combo Personna Reds & Labs
Muhle R41 best blade combo Wilkinson Sword, GSB & Personna Reds
Merkur 39C Slant Bar best blade combo GSB, Wilkinson Sword, Astra SP & Personna Labs
Fatip Grande best blade combo Wilkinson Sword, Astra SP, (Feather Blades to Aggressive)
Gillette Super 84 Adjustable set on 3 best blade combo GSB & Wilkinson Sword

Also try and keep a log of the different combination you use this of course will change as your technique changes.

Regards
cranky

 

[Pjotr]

In my experience a dull blade just leaves you with a shave that won't last the distance (in my case every other day). On the whole I shave with a blade until it does just that. The run of the mill blades (Astra, Personna, Gillette Platinum etc) will last a shave or three, Iridium, Perma Sharp, Polsilver up to five shaves and vintage Wilkinson (not all but one or two), Schick Plus Platinums and Gillette Super Stainless or Spoilers (the same blade, don't care what anybody says) will last seven or more. I've stopped counting and in the case of the vintage blades just keep shaving until I'm bored with it or my razor needs a clean.

As with all beginners, don't change up the variables too much. As with all beginners, including myself at the time, you'll completely ignore that advice.

 

[thisISjoel]

I just shave with the same blade until it stops shaving comfortably. I generally don't swap blades between razors either. I don't flip or dry or anything. I just shave, rinse and put the razor up to dry. As soon as the blade isn't performing I toss it.

 

[Drubbing]

I was curious as to how many shaves you get out of a blade? I'm sure the answer is blade specific but I was wondering how you make the most of each side, do you keep track of which one you are using?

Being new to DE razors I'm keen to try different blades but also not be wasteful,

First blade I tried was a 7am, and I got three shaves out of it, to be honest it was kind of rough right of out of the gate so I ran it through some cork and I think that helped,

Second blade was an Astra superior platinum, like this a lot more, currently 2 shaves in and still good. I noticed on they have # 1 & 2 on on sided and # 3 & 4 on the flip side, which made me wonder does each edge have two sides? should i be flipping my blade ?

Thanks

It's different for everyone, depending on blade and beard thickness, but 3 per blade is the average. As for numbering, it's nothing to do with rotation, it's for factory QA. There is no benefit to flipping blades, the edge is the same either way up. If it's blunt when you flip it, it'll still be blunt.

Remember - 20c a blade vs $5 for a cartridge. No point in penny pinching. We're all saving heaps of money here already. Well, I am.

 

[obes]

Thanks for the feedback gents
the points I took out of this,
1) don't fuss about grabbing a new blade, if I get 3 shaves out of a blade I'm doing well
2) a dull blade probably isn't causing irritation, it just won't cut as close
3) pay more attention to how the razor feels rather than trying to keep count

I think I need to focus on working out the beard map on my neck to minimise the irritation

 

[Pjotr]

......
1) don't fuss about grabbing a new blade, if I get 3 shaves out of a blade I'm doing well
2) a dull blade probably isn't causing irritation, it just won't cut as close
3) pay more attention to how the razor feels rather than trying to keep count.........

and.........

4) Don't change up the variables too much

See, you've forgotten about that already.

 

[howea]

I typically replace my blade only on a Sunday night, as I don't tend to shave daily.
My Friday shave tends to be a single-pass WTG so even if I experience a bit of tugging it doesn’t irritate me.

But if I need to shave more frequently I am quite happy to pop in a new blade during the week.

And as Pjotr mentioned, the blade model usually dictates how many shaves you can get out a blade before it starts tugging.