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5th Annual February "One Blade" Challenge!

At least i'm not doing the Williams thing too, i hate that stuff.
Shave 3 in this thread for me, which is more than my usual weekly average. 30 strops on leather after. Checked the blade - poured liquid skin on the cut after discerning it was still rather sharp!
Sunday shave next.

T
 
supertrunker said:
At least i'm not doing the Williams thing too, i hate that stuff.
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Hmm… as I stated in my video, I really think that the Williams challenge helps the blade longevity portion of the challenge. Williams, is the slickest soap on the planet, bar none. Sure, there are other attributes of Williams you may disagree with, but I whole heartedly believe the slickness factor, really aids in the longevity of blades.
 
Spider said:
Hmm… as I stated in my video, I really think that the Williams challenge helps the blade longevity portion of the challenge. Williams, is the slickest soap on the planet, bar none. Sure, there are other attributes of Williams you may disagree with, but I whole heartedly believe the slickness factor, really aids in the longevity of blades.
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Off topic from the OP I know but I have to disagree with you on Williams being the slickest. Grandma's Lye Soap (sold at Ace Hardware among other places) is lye and lard... period. I grate it up and make shaving pucks out of it. Because it has no fragrance (that's why I use it. I hate the perfumey scent in most soaps)it is not for everyone as it has a strong scent of the natural ingredients. I don't know if it is more lye or more lard but other people I have mentioned it to don't like it for that reason. However, it can dry almost completely out on your face and you can still shave over it. Of course I use almost exclusively with a straight (therefore not participating in the challenge, longevity of the edge being one of the good things about an SR) so results may vary with SE/DE etc.

Just thought I'd mention that for those who want slick, slick, slick.
 
Halfway through the month! If you've shaved every day this month you'll be at 14 shaves. How's everyone doing? Are we all still on the first blade?

1. Spider – (14) Drug Store Personna PC - Feather AS-D2
2. Heysi - Gillette Silver Blue - '47 Gillette Aristocrat
3. EMG06 - German Wilkinson Sword- Gillette Tech
4. OpusX - Nacet - various razors
5. dkeester - Gillette Platinum - Mergress XL
6. supertrunker - Dovo Bismarck s/r last honed 10/30/22
7. BarberDave - Feather Pro Guard - Blackland Vector / Tedalus
8. Runnin_Ute - Gillette Silver Blue - 1958 Q1 Flare Tip Super Speed
 
Very solid here. 14 shave, no issues, and I may just keep it in the pre-war Tech to whole time.
 
14 shaves in and the blade is going strong. I have flipped it a couple of times and palm strop it every 3-4 shaves. So far every shave has been muy bueno.
 
Spider said:
3. EMG06 - German Wilkinson Sword- Gillette Tech
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Doing well with same blade in the same Gillette triangle slot Tech razor. Put shave #15 on the blade today (started using the blade at the end of January). Getting great shaves and have not needed to make any adjustments yet.
 
BarberDave said:
You suck, but the blade is doing fine. Why I let you talk me into these things 🤣🤣🤣
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dkeester said:
I have flipped it a couple of times and palm strop it every 3-4 shaves.
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Good topic...

Is anybody else doing anything to try to lengthen the life of their blades? I personally do not. It stays in the razor and never comes out. Just a post shave rinse it all I do.
 
Other than switching between the Tedalus and vector no way. “Die blade Die!”
 
Good job guys. I am not participating in this challenge but I have been using the same blade for many weeks...however I am not shaving everyday so I can't say how many uses the blade actually has on it.

I am not a palm-stropper nor do I regularly flip or reorient the blade. I believe flipping/reorienting the blade is probably a good idea. Many blades are printed with numbered corners I presume so it is easier to know how to rotate/flip the blade, but many blades manufacturers indicate one should not WIPE the blade. I don't know if the warning not to wipe is a safety thing or if it is meant to prevent users from wiping a protective coating from the blade????
 
Spider said:
Is anybody else doing anything to try to lengthen the life of their blades? I personally do not. It stays in the razor and never comes out. Just a post shave rinse it all I do.
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In the past I have flipped after a week or something like that. This year I’m trying to just let it stay in the razor and not come out until the month is done.
 
CBLindsay said:
I believe flipping/reorienting the blade is probably a good idea
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Personally, I am of the opposite opinion. I believe anytime you open your razor and do anything with the blade, you are open for the potential of doing some sort of damage (no matter how slight) to your edge.

CBLindsay said:
Many blades are printed with numbered corners I presume so it is easier to know how to rotate/flip the blade,
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I agree the numbers would help you keep track, but that's not why they are there. They are there to aid in quality control during the manufacturing process.
 
Spider said:
Personally, I am of the opposite opinion. I believe anytime you open your razor and do anything with the blade, you are open for the potential of doing some sort of damage (no matter how slight) to your edge.


I agree the numbers would help you keep track, but that's not why they are there. They are there to aid in quality control during the manufacturing process.
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I agree that every time you open/remove the blade the potential for injury and damage to the blade exists. I think this is especially true with silo door type razors, I am certain I have nicked a blade or two while removing then reinserting the blade...which is why I stopped doing it. I used to be very meticulous about opening the razors to let the blade dry and removing the blade to clean and dry it. In the long run I found no benefit, certainly no benefit that wasn't offset by simply replacing the blade with a new on.

I have also found that some blade/razor combos just work better than others. If I find a razor and blade combo that is working I usually leave it alone until I absolutely have to. My favorite was a BIC blade in a Gillette Tech...it was SO nice for weeks, then I swapped it out for a new BIC blade from the same pack and it wasn't as magical as the first.

edit: and now that you mention it I do recall the numbers being a quality control thing.
 
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