AC Blade Use Question

[jgreenepa]

I currently am on shave #27 with my Vector using a Schick Proline blade with no pulling. Blade appears still sharp with each shave. After every shave I remove the blade and clean it. I then palm strop it 10x and flip it for the next shave. I am amazed at the number of shaves I’m getting off this blade. What’s your experience been with your AC blades. I’ve used Feather Pro and Super AC, KAI Captain and Kai Pinks and have never been able to get beyond 8 or 9 shaves before experiencing pulling and tugging during a shave. Is your experience similar? Just wondering?

Enjoy your shaves,

Jeff

 

[NurseDave]

I think we’ve pretty much determined it really comes down to the characteristics of each person’s hair. And to some extent how much “change” in the shaving experience they are willing to deal with. I change my SE blades after 6 uses. I did try to see if the Proline would last longer, but I felt a change at shave #8.

 

[CBLindsay]

I’ve only use Feather brand blades but I’ve found the Pro, super and guard behave and last differently in my different gear. I assume your experience is a combination of a few things, one being simple luck of the draw. Sometimes we get the one blade that just keeps on going. I think steel quality, grind, grind angle and quality all matter so the brand and your blade care routine might be a factor. Some say flipping a blade is capable of adding life all on its own. Blade alignment and shaving at “the” optimal angle for a given grind would certainly lend itself to perpetual blade life. Perhaps the Vector is a natural match for the Schick Proline blade...or at least THAT proline blade. Then there are the software and basic beard condition considerations. The soap/lather and how well it is hydrating your beard and providing a slick surface for the blade to glide on. The general condition of your beard and face, how clean your beard and face are (compared to when you use other blades).
My problem in evaluating how long a blade lasts has always been deciding how much I am willing to let it go before calling it gone. Or as @NurseDave says, how much “change” will I tolerate. I usually end up going so long I get a couple bad or uncomfortable shaves and wonder what went wrong before I figure out it’s the blades fault OR I dump a perfectly good blade when it had plenty of life left.

The only thing I can say is that I have had a blade feel like it’s giving up in one razor but feel renewed when I switch to new razor type (such as feather ac to vector). I’ve also had a weck sextoblade loaded with a personan razor last a month of shaves without feeling like I was lacking anything. I rinsed in alcohol and dried with a Towel every day. I stropped on a cotton strop twice during that month toward the end. In the end I swapped blades out of boardroom more than need.

 

[GearNoir]

That’s some great longevity there @jgreenepa! I don’t have a Vector yet unfortunately (yet!), so I can’t comment on that. I use the Feather Pro pretty much exclusively though in my Feather AC SS and I routinely get about 15 shaves per blade. I feel like in the El Jefe, my usual AC SE format razor choice if I use one, I don’t get that many shaves before it feels uncomfortable.

 

[Jaro1069]

That’s some great longevity there @jgreenepa! I don’t have a Vector yet unfortunately (yet!), so I can’t comment on that. I use the Feather Pro pretty much exclusively though in my Feather AC SS and I routinely get about 15 shaves per blade. I feel like in the El Jefe, my usual AC SE format razor choice if I use one, I don’t get that many shaves before it feels uncomfortable.

Yeah i wanted a el jefe razor. UNTIL i contacted ikon to inquire about it and they are the rudest people.. When i contacted them the reply was to make fun of my user name and then when i tried to contact them again they never replied again!!!!!!! Horrible bunch who i will continue to tell people to AVOID AT ALL COST !!!!!!!!!!! A bunch of jerks........ Be Warned if you EVER have to contact them!!!!!!!

 

[GearNoir]

When i contacted them the reply was to make fun of my user name and then when i tried to contact them again they never replied again!

Well that’s uncharacteristically unprofessional! Bummer you had that experience. Weird!

 

[jgreenepa]

Well I had to wind up at 28 shaves. Back to a fresh blade. That was just an experiment, but it did support my preference for Schick Proline blades.

Enjoy your shaves,

Jeff

 

[Jaro1069]

Well that’s uncharacteristically unprofessional! Bummer you had that experience. Weird!

Yeah it was very weird . and i was truly interested in their product until then but now i warn of the experience to others....

 

[jgreenepa]

Yeah i wanted a el jefe razor. UNTIL i contacted ikon to inquire about it and they are the rudest people.. When i contacted them the reply was to make fun of my user name and then when i tried to contact them again they never replied again!!!!!!! Horrible bunch who i will continue to tell people to AVOID AT ALL COST !!!!!!!!!!! A bunch of jerks........ Be Warned if you EVER have to contact them!!!!!!!

Sorry to hear about your experience! I’ve never spoken to them, only purchased their open comb plate that was compatible with AS-D2. Sheesh! That’s definitely not the way to treat customers.

 

[Jaro1069]

Sorry to hear about your experience! I’ve never spoken to them, only purchased their open comb plate that was compatible with AS-D2. Sheesh! That’s definitely not the way to treat customers.

Yeah it surprised me that they would act that way but i have read where others have had problems with them too.. One person said he was told by them that they didnt have time to deal with questions and they didnt care if he bought a razor or not because if he didnt there were others that would because they didnt need more customers because they were doing good with what they already had !!!!!

 

[Jaro1069]

I contacted them almost a dozen times with no response. But after this today on here i figured i would try them 1 more time... Will let you know if they reply..

 

[jgreenepa]

Yeah it surprised me that they would act that way but i have read where others have had problems with them too.. One person said he was told by them that they didnt have time to deal with questions and they didnt care if he bought a razor or not because if he didnt there were others that would because they didnt need more customers because they were doing good with what they already had !!!!!

 

[Jaro1069]

Hey guess what they replied. But its just some pre scripted offer to do the trial we all keep getting in our emails.. Not a word about the incident they caused or anything.. I'm very disappointed in them...

 

[Jaro1069]

Well they have stopped responding again.. surprise surprise..

 

[CBLindsay]

Well I had to wind up at 28 shaves. Back to a fresh blade. That was just an experiment, but it did support my preference for Schick Proline blades.

Enjoy your shaves,

Jeff

28 is a respectable number of good shaves. I’ve started seeing more and more good stuff popping up about the schick proline blades ...from total unknown (to me)to an up and coming contender for sure. Like we NEED more good blades to choose from these days.