Thread: couple of noob questions

OK, no problem. I personally "switch edges" when I go from the right side of my face to the left side on each pass. This gives each side equal usage. There are many ways to skin this cat.

Originally Posted by Razorfeld

Astra DE blades have numbers 1 thru 4. I use that as a guide, when I shave with my DE, to remember which edge I'm using so when it dulls I can go on to the next number and avoid the dull edge. I can generally get three shaves per number.

This is what I was talking about. The blades I have tried so far are number 1-2 on one side and 3-4 on the other.

Go back and ready my first post. There is no need to ever turn a blade over. There is only one edge. If you feel better doing it, then do it.

Why the numbers on the blades? That's one of the biggest mysteries in shavedom. No one really knows for sure. Personally, I think some guy in the blade production department came in to work hung over one Monday and so he wouldn't forget which was which he put numbers on them and then everyone thought that was the boss's orders and it became standard. Then when another company saw it they thought it was some secret enhancement or code and then they all started doing it.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Why the numbers on the blades? That's one of the biggest mysteries in shavedom. No one really knows for sure. Personally, I think some guy in the blade production department came in to work hung over one Monday and so he wouldn't forget which was which he put numbers on them and then everyone thought that was the boss's orders and it became standard. Then when another company saw it they thought it was some secret enhancement or code and then they all started doing it.

Likely for manufacturing. To identify quality concerns on a blade and be able to trace back what tooling caused the defect through the manufacturing process.

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Back on topic: I use one edge until it's full of lather then rotate the razor and use the other side until it, too, is full and then rinse. And then repeat until finished shaving.