Thread: why do people use razor for each day of week

what is the reasoning to having a razor for each day of the week or several for the week
doc

Well, there are three reasons that I know of,

1. There is a technical argument that says you should let a razor rest between shaves. It something to do with letting the iron molecules settle or something. Incidentally, I have never noticed the difference between rested and non rested blades. My belief is if you don't use them regularly, preferably daily, the edge will start to corrode with rust. The longer you leave them, the more the natural oxidation process has to take the edge off your blade.
2. In times gone buy, the Gentleman would have his razors attended to by his butler. What better than a seven day set for the butler to take care of.
3. Why sell one when you can sell seven.

Take your pick but I think number 3. wins.

Oh, I get to answer a quesiton finally! The reason is that razors periodically need honing, and many are not setup or not able to hone their own so they send it out and pay to have it done. Let's say that a razor in continual use would go 2 months between honings (this is for illustrative purposes guys, I've been using mine over two months and starting to feel like it needs to be honed, I'm sure it is dependent on many factors, steel hardness, type of beard, stropping technique).

now, with a 7 day set you are only using a razor every 7th day, so you could go 14 months between honings, theoretically.

I think most practically is a 2 razor set, because there are times I'm travelling and I think that if you were going to be on the road away from home and your usual resources having a backup razor in case something happened to the other would be great.

Red

I never strop. I just buy buy a new razor and sell an old one everyday. It saves me from having to pay a stropmeister

seriously though, I don't know the answer to the question. Maybe everyone who has a razor for every day of the week or several for the week has different reasons.

Hi there! First of all... welcome aboard!

When I started out with this straight razor shaving thing I wondered exactly the same. If we are, in principle, saving the money we won't spend in cartridges and disposable blades... why is it that 7 day sets exist? And do I really need more than one razor?

Well... at the time I made enquires myself as to find out why... I had heard that a blade needed to rest for at least 24 to 48 hours in order to allow the metal to re-shape after a shave. I concluded that it was some sort of a myth, or rather an excuse for us to use in order to fool our wives when the "new" razor arrives: "the others have to rest for some time and I cannot afford to look scruffy at work, dear..." Now seriously... this is what I concluded: you will most definitely need 2 razors, no more than that. That's because you'll need a razor that is up to the job every day. The resting thing is a myth. In fact, if you have the means and the skill to touch up your razor from time to time, one razor is all you'll ever need. More than 2 - let's allow this... -is collecting. And if you already have 2... you can start up from there. Some members here have way more than 2 razors, I believe...

Seven day sets have no real practical reason, in my view. It's a luxury thing - something you buy because you can afford it. Generally speaking, seven day sets are very well crafted sets and have precious details that, quite often, in the past, were bespoke. These were symbols of status and, shaving-wise, have no purpose whatsoever. Some will argue my view and say that there is a very clear practical reason for the 7 day sets namely the possibility of getting a daily shave with exactly the same benchmark and the possibility of spacing the touch ups and the periodical honing to once every 2 or 3 years... at least that's what I heard!

I'm sure other more experienced guys will chime in and provide better information than this. But anyway... this is my opinion! Hope it helps!

I like razors, and I have a bad habit of buying them. I set my first limit at seven; since they come in seven day sets and I could use one each day, I was able to make a reasonable argument for seven. Now, I want to expand my rotation, and I'm having trouble picking a number. I could do 10, because that is an even number. I could do 14, because that is two sets of seven. Or I could do as many as I can comfortably store (razor box + razor roll).

I believe the old sets of seven were because they were luxery items, and writing the names of each day on the spines was a nice touch. In all honesty, who would tell a gentleman that he must use a certain razor in a certain day? I used to stick to my rotation of seven, but sometimes I was just in the mood for a different razor.

I used to collect straight razors twenty years ago and didn't shave with them. I had tried and had no luck. They sat in a drawer for years and I would pull them out and admire them once in awhile. I eventually sold all but a few on ebay. Then through a friend I got into DE shaving which eventually led me back to the straights.

Through this forum I learned to hone them and to shave with them and I began to collect them again. I now have around 100 of them. Rather then let them sit in a drawer I rotate through them and enjoy using them. That is my rational for using a different one every day. Welcome to SRP.

easy anwser it is called RAD

As I understand it, the fine metal jagged business edge of the blade needs an estimated two days to “rest” after being shaved with and the ensuing stropping involved. The molecules can then “relax” to whatever position their atomic “memory” allows. Then when you next strop you can actually “comb” the metal shards into alignment without fighting the memory effect too. Hence, a sharper edge at use time.

Of course, using one blade for one day of the week just makes it easy to not mix up which one you used two days ago. Ego issues not withstanding and certainly valid.

And, if you are only using a blade once every seven days, you’ll go seven times as long between honing or sharpening needs.

I have a rotation of 7 razors because it extends the time between honing but I like some razors better than others. If you have a type of razor you prefer, a 7-day set gives you uniformity because all the razors are the same.