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How many shaves per blade?

Shavin’ Yeti

Shavin’ Yeti

Sr. Shave Member
I’m just wondering how many shaves a blade should give you? I’m still trying out different blades, so I generally only use then for about 4-5 shaves before they go into the blade band. When I notice the first drop in performance, I change blades.

I have seen videos on YT with some guys using a blade for 20+ shaves (one was over 40 and talking about getting to 100 shaves).
 
Shavin’ Yeti said:
I’m just wondering how many shaves a blade should give you? I’m still trying out different blades, so I generally only use then for about 4-5 shaves before they go into the blade band. When I notice the first drop in performance, I change blades.

I have seen videos on YT with some guys using a blade for 20+ shaves (one was over 40 and talking about getting to 100 shaves).
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It all depends on how it works for you. I believe you are spot on, ditch it when it starts to loose performance. Blades are so cheap, it's really not worth compromising a shave for a half a penny (or whatever one shave on a single razor is out of a 100 pack). I typically get 4 shaves out of mine. I usually change them every week, so that's 3-4 shaves.

That said, there's people who claim to get 100. But, imo, it's wholey unnecessary.
 
mrdoug said:
It all depends on how it works for you. I believe you are spot on, ditch it when it starts to loose performance. Blades are so cheap, it's really not worth compromising a shave for a half a penny (or whatever one shave on a single razor is out of a 100 pack). I typically get 4 shaves out of mine. I usually change them every week, so that's 3-4 shaves.

That said, there's people who claim to get 100. But, imo, it's wholey unnecessary.
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Thanks for the information. That’s what I was thinking in terms of using a new blade each week. At a blade per week, a 100 pack will last almost 2 years. I just can’t see how a blade used 30+ times doesn’t lose performance.
 
Shavin’ Yeti said:
Thanks for the information. That’s what I was thinking in terms of using a new blade each week. At a blade per week, a 100 pack will last almost 2 years. I just can’t see how a blade used 30+ times doesn’t lose performance.
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I've never gone over 10, so I can't be sure. I am with you though, even with the front best of hair, it still has to dull a bit.

100 pack over 2 years... That's like $5-10 a year for blades, brand depending. I don't think anyone needs it to be more cost efficient than that.
 
For the most part I only have Astra SP with a few ticks of other random/popular types.

The better blades, of which Astra is on for me, usually net me 10 or more shaves. I’m also bad about remembering where a blade is at and changing them out. Thankfully only a few times have I pushed a blade a shave too far.
 
I don’t use one particular brand of blade and I also don’t count how many shaves per blade. I only do a single pass because any more than that is just too close for me. I also don’t shave consistently. Needless to say I get a lot of shaves per blade! A 100 pack will probably last me ages.
 
If a brand of blade doesn’t last me at least two weeks, then it’s not a brand I keep around. I usually average 2 week to a month on a blade, but I rarely keep track. I know in one razor currently I’ve been going for two months, and while I’ve used it for most shaves, I’ve used a few other razors too. My record, of the times I’ve kept track, is 115 shaves.
 
Spider said:
If a brand of blade doesn’t last me at least two weeks, then it’s not a brand I keep around. I usually average 2 week to a month on a blade, but I rarely keep track. I know in one razor currently I’ve been going for two months, and while I’ve used it for most shaves, I’ve used a few other razors too. My record, of the times I’ve kept track, is 115 shaves.
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There we go! Someone who has gone 100+ on a blade...

So, just for my information:

3 passes?

Soft or wiry facial hair?

Any pre/post use routine to lengthen the blade?

On, say, a 100 shave blade... Do you notice any difference between shave 1... 20.. 50... 100? Any efficiency loss?

Inquiring minds want to know. Lol.
 
I found when blades start to change for me and take them out before that mark. So for DE blades I only go three shaves and for SE I go 5-6.

I don’t take them out of the razor so I have a diary app I use to keep track of what’s in what.
 
Dave in KY said:
That's nice, I use dice (y)
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Me too! I use a bunch of d10, like these guys. Works well and I can even load a new blade and Mark it 0 for unused.
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Angelo85 said:
I generally use a new blade every shave or every other shave.
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I find that blades done even start getting really good until 3-5 shaves in. Usually the first couple shaves are the roughest.
mrdoug said:
Me too! I use a bunch of d10, like these guys. Works well and I can even load a new blade and Mark it 0 for unused.
Click to expand...
Exactly.... and two dice together will get you up to 99 shaves!
 
mrdoug said:
3 passes?
Soft or wiry facial hair?
Any pre/post use routine to lengthen the blade?
On, say, a 100 shave blade... Do you notice any difference between shave 1... 20.. 50... 100?
Click to expand...
3 pass + touchup for most shaves. Average facial hair I guess. Nothing special, shower is my pre-shave prep.
First few shaves are the worst. Then the blade edge smoothes out, usually in the 3-5 shave range. Then it’s pretty steady from there on out. Sometimes there’s a little tiny drop after a month. But not enough to toss. Once you’re that far in, there’s very little that changes on a blade. If it gets uncomfortable, I will for sure toss it. But I usually toss it before that. My determining factor for tossing a blade is closeness. If by 11-12 o’clock, I have a lot of stubble (equivalent to what I’d normally get by the evening), then the blade is no longer doing it’s job.
 
You guys who only use a blade for a few shaves would be surprised what you can get out of a blade if you just commit to using one for a while, and push past what may seem like an uncomfortable shave.

We usually do a one blade challenge in February to test this out. I used to always change my blade after a week, until I joined a February challenge and realized I could go a month (or longer) with a blade. Yeah, they are cheap, but why not get the optimal use out of them?
 
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