Safety razor blade life

L

Leddspunge82

Joined
Mar 5, 2019
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Hi Gentlemen, I’m a young bloke who has recently discovered the joys of shaving with a safety razor and I am absolutely astonished with the results. After years of razor burn and bumps with sensitive skin I’m happy to say I will never touch a cartridge razor again. I am dumbfounded that everyone isn’t using them and how they ever fell out of popular use in modern times.

Now as I plan to continue to shave long term with my safety razor I’m looking at buying my blades in bulk to save money.
I did some quick math and found that a 50 pack of Feather blades will last me roughly a year based on my current blade life per shave.
My question is: Do unused blades that have been kept in their packaging for a year or more lose their edge through oxidisation or other methods, does the time sitting in a drawer affect the shave quality? i’m using Feather brand platinum coated blades, and keep them in a cool, dry place.

As I said i’m new to REAL wet shaving so any other tips & tricks/info on the topic would be greatly appreciated. Also keen to hear what your go to shave kit includes (blades, razor, soap, balms etc)

Thanks for your insight in advance.
 
I have old blades that are still sharp and shave fine. Good blade choice.

I got my silver badger brush from Whipped Dog Shaving and use Mama Bear soaps. Happy to share more.
 
Feather blades are an excellent choice, that's what I use to shave my noddle. As far as loosing their edge by storing I'm going to say no. Really you have no idea when the blades where even manufactured so don't worry just enjoy the shave.
 
I have had a bulk pack of feather blades for 2 plus years. Still very sharp. I can normally get 2 weeks out of a blade. I also have a 100 pack of asto blades. Each of those last me a week.
 
What DE razor blade is the best to get on Amazon? I still use an old Gillette adjustable DE razor.
Rich
 
L Leddspunge82 , welcome to the razor forum. I don't think double edge blades degrade in their package. 2 weeks worth of shaves is about what I get and I shave every other day. So, 4 times a week. Maybe I can squeeze one or two more out of a blade. But the gents
above are correct.
I use Feather blades and some of them are rough/ ragged right out of the wrapper. They lack refinement. Thus, their shave claws
my skin and gives me nicks. So, what I began doing is stropping the blade before using, giving it more refinement. Thus, No more nicks. If the speed of the steel ribbon is run too fast during mfg. then the steel is not buffed sufficiently. Thus, packaged with a more coarse edge. This also means that less blades are packaged in a day. Something bean counters notice. That's why the speed
of the processing machine is increased. But this result is not good.
Another item-- is I will tune a dull blade on a Charnley Forest stone. Stroke it on a stone (Arkansas's will work). This brings back the edge for another week to 10 days. Some of the Feather blades in my rotation are over 1 year old and still giving good shaves. Note; it helps if your into sharpening. Otherwise forget it.
Glad you stumbled on to wet shaving. My experience is it gives a much better shave than any jaws 3 and it is more economical. DM
 
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I use a 100 pack of Astros I bought from amazon ab a year and a half ago and no problem with them. I have also used a packet of gillette blade I bought from a antique mall they was also good, but unsure of how old they was.
 
Austinlc53 said:
I use a 100 pack of Astros I bought from amazon ab a year and a half ago and no problem with them. I have also used a packet of gillette blade I bought from a antique mall they was also good, but unsure of how old they was.
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Agree for Gillette blades. These are very old and best blades ever. Being a new generation we are using many new brands no doubt some of them are very good but if compare to Gillette blades, I think no brand can replace them.
 
Today I tuned one of my months old Feather blades on my Charnley Forest stone. Just 40 strokes edge leading and 30 edge trailing. Took me
about 10-15 mins.. The resulting shave was very close and buttery smooth. This blade has now given me 12 weeks of good, close shaves and is
still going strong. DM
 
David Martin said:
Today I tuned one of my months old Feather blades on my Charnley Forest stone. Just 40 strokes edge leading and 30 edge trailing. Took me
about 10-15 mins.. The resulting shave was very close and buttery smooth. This blade has now given me 12 weeks of good, close shaves and is
still going strong. DM
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I have a black Arkansas stone and a dmt eef would either of these work sto sharpen the feather blade? How do you hold the blade?
 
Use the black Arkansas with a little water. Try using 4 layers of black electric tape folded over one edge. Press and stick it. Then lay the blade
on the stone and drag it in a stropping motion. One stroke and flip it over, one stroke and flip it over. Use one or 2 fingers resting on the edge
bevel with little pressure and pull with your thumb and 3rd finger. Use just enough pressure to keep the edge in contact with the stone. Depending on the size of your stone, count 40 pulls. That's 20 on each side. Wipe the edge bevel and switch the tape. Do the same. Then wipe
all the tape residue off and lather & try a shave. You'll know quickly if your close to a good edge. You may have to do it twice, depending on how dull. It takes maybe 5-6 mins.. If it is a new blade do half that number of strokes.To me is was rewarding to take a dull blade back to shaving sharp in a short time. Good luck, DM
 
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Wow,you guys are super cheap you make me feel much better about calculating the cost of a head shave by manufactures blade.:D I usually get one or two shaves and just change the blade depending on the blade maker.
 
Stumpy, a 50 pack of Feathers cost 22$ with shipping.= .44 cents a blade and I get 8 shaves per blade = .055 cents per shave. That's cheap
enough for me. I strop or stone mine so I can use my razor stone and strop and keep developing my sharpening talents. Then getting a super
smooth shave is always a plus, especially when you added your abilities and created it. Some I strop even new, because it gave me a rough shave. Me giving a razor blade a new edge is my way of bucking our throw away world of today. My blades have given me enough shaves to be around .01 per shave but just stating there are some other items of value in this mix. DM
 
Stumpy, I'm not saying you should try to tune up a blade to achieve additional shaves. If your happy with a new blade delivering 1-2 head shaves, that's fine. To me, with the long, cold winter evenings, any additional activity beats watching TV. Plus, a nice shave in return. DM
 
Try astra,personna,gilette nacet ,gillete silver blue or voshkod blades,i like all of these better than feather and theyre they expensive,personna and gilette nacet are my favorite.
 
Austinlc53 said:
I use a 100 pack of Astros I bought from amazon ab a year and a half ago and no problem with them. I have also used a packet of gillette blade I bought from a antique mall they was also good, but unsure of how old they was.
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juliebenz said:
Agree for Gillette blades. These are very old and best blades ever. Being a new generation we are using many new brands no doubt some of them are very good but if compare to Gillette blades, I think no brand can replace them.
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I wonder if it is just the older Gillette blades that are so good?
I got a sample pack of Gillette (I think they were in a greenish box). They did not work for me. Not particularly uncomfortable... just didn't shave good. Nevertheless.... if they work for you, they work for you.

To the OP, you mentioned shaving kit:
I guess I'm an odd bird here. I don't have a boar/badger brush, bowl, or soap. Well... I do have some soap, that came free with a shave order or two. But I almost never use it. I use Cremo shave cream that I buy off the shelf at CVS, Target, Walgreens, wherever. Works like a champ to lather(-ish) up with it in the shower, and wet-shave in the shower by feel. I used to do that with the plastic cartridge razors, then went to shaving at the sink with I first tried DE razors. Quickly decided shaving was STILL a chore, and took too much time that way. So, I went back to shaving during a shower. And still no razor burn.

With Wilkinson Sword blades, I'll get about 6 shaves out of a blade.
 
That's great, one blade last all week... If your shaving daily. I don't have a nice shaving brush either. I got mine at Walg____'s, several years
ago. Now, it's time for a new one. It still works ok but doesn't carry a good load of lather. DM
 
David Martin said:
That's great, one blade last all week... If your shaving daily. I don't have a nice shaving brush either. I got mine at Walg____'s, several years
ago. Now, it's time for a new one. It still works ok but doesn't carry a good load of lather. DM
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At my current rate of shaving, one blade can last a month! :rolleyes:

So, if that were to continue, and I have a hundred blades... I shouldn't need any more blades for over 8 years!! :eek:
 
Ha-ha. I shave every other day. So, 3 shaves a week. Unless, we have some special affair to attend, then I'll shave in between. In isolation I rarely skip my routine. Yesterday I shaved with a 8 month old Feather blade 'tuned up'. It gave a great shave. DM
 
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