Can anyone else confirm that daily shower cleaner lengthens life of blades?

I first read this tip/trick on an amazon review on some gillette fusion blade a long while back. It should work on any blade.

Simply, after shaving, dry the razor reasonably off and in between shaves put it in daily shower cleaner. It allegedly stops micro-rust from forming on the edge of the razors, and this is supposedly what kills the edge much faster than just our hairs.

I put my entire handle in a small mason jar that just accomodates my blade. It's filled with 2 inches of daily shower cleaner. I never kept good count how it lasts me, because I only shave twice a week. But so far, I've been using the same blade since the end of April (circa 16 shaves) with no problem. I usually shave with the grain, X the grain, and sometimes, for a date/dinner, against the grain. I plan on changing the liquid in the mason jar when I change blades.

Some guys on the Amazon forum claim they keep going for 6 months, although I'm sure I have to change out sooner, due to my nondaily shaving routine. Before I did this, I had to change out the blade by week 2, regardless of amount of shaves, because the edge started sucking and I would see actual rust forming where the blade and handle met. It also saves me time, as drying and dropping it in and closing the jar is speedier than changing out blades.

Can anyone else confirm this is effective or am I deluding myself? I don't see it mentioned much in DE forums.

This is the first I've heard of this practice....could you provide a link?

I think DE blade longevity is dependant on a few factors, a major one being beard thickness/density. Naturally, gentlemen with heavier beards will chew up a blade in no time, while gentlemen with light beards will be able to get many more shaves from a single blade. Personally, I'm not sure how these guys are getting weeks or months out of a single blade; I've heard that palm stropping can buy you a few more shaves, but that's about it. For me 3-4 shaves is pretty much the max. I once made it to 6, and it wasn't very comfortable to say the least. DE blades are cheap enough, and I try to be kind to my face when it tells me it's time to change blades :)

I do find it telling that this daily shower cleanser trick isn't a standard on the DE forums; if it is as good as it sounds I'm sure they'd be hyping it as the standard. But who knows, right? :shrug:

I think I've successfully extended the life of a good DE blade by thoroughly cleaning it of muck and drying it, then storing it in a non-humid environment. If your daily shower cleaner truly prevents rusting of the edge, then why not? It's removing one of the factors of edge degradation (if). I've considered putting a cleaned and dried DE blade in a container of dry flour, which would be a cheap dessicant. It would be interesting to try this on a DE blade and a Mock 3 (CVS pharmacy brand clone). I only use the Mock 3 for body hair (trust me, you don' wan' ta know!) because I don't like using it on my face, but I do find the pivoting replaceable cartridge razors indispensable for something!

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Originally Posted by Ryan82

This is the first I've heard of this practice....could you provide a link?

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Here:
Amazon.com: Jonathan Sabin's review of Gillette Fusion Manual Replacement Cartrid...

His is a bit different, he just sprays it on while I just dunk it in the stuff until the next shave. (My bathroom can be humid.)

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DE blades are cheap enough, and I try to be kind to my face when it tells me it's time to change blades

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I only started doing this because Iridium Supers are my absolute favorite blades and they stopped making them, so I have to make my small stockpile last:(

Modern DE blades are really poorly made and they rely on the coatings to perform. After a few shaves those coatings are worn off and then you are dealing with a raw crummy blade. Unless you are going to actually try to hone an edge I don't see putting something on the blade doing much of anything. Also they are stainless so rusting shouldn't be an issue anyway.

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Modern DE blades are really poorly made and they rely on the coatings to perform. After a few shaves those coatings are worn off and then you are dealing with a raw crummy blade. Unless you are going to actually try to hone an edge I don't see putting something on the blade doing much of anything. Also they are stainless so rusting shouldn't be an issue anyway.

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Gentlemen:

I must agree with my friend thebigspendur. Besides, part of the fun in double edge safety razor shaving is the ritual of changing the blade: of scrubbing the razor with a soft toothbrush, rinsing it under hot water, drying it, and finally putting in a pristine new blade.

Regards,

Obie

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Modern DE blades are really poorly made and they rely on the coatings to perform. After a few shaves those coatings are worn off and then you are dealing with a raw crummy blade. Unless you are going to actually try to hone an edge I don't see putting something on the blade doing much of anything.

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Can this be quantified?

I don't know much about these coatings, but it's the steel that does the cutting. As a chef, I pretty much sharpen my own blades, and whether it's German or Japanese knives, the steel, whether carbon or stainless, does the cutting. I may be wrong, but I think the coatings may have non-stick/non-abrasion properties - but I don't believe those few coating atoms do the actual work.

I have some 1930s era DE blades in the original packaging, and as far as I can tell, they're pretty much the same quality as today. Same thickness, similiar cutting characteristics when tested on fine paper, etc. Carbon steel instead of stainless, with a bit of surface rust. That's about the difference I see.

DE blades were always mass-produced things, probably the entire point of them. But there's a tendency to say older things were better made without that being actually the case. Unless it's the fundamental carbon steel vs stainless issue.

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Also they are stainless so rusting shouldn't be an issue anyway.

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There's various grades of stainless. Higher grades of stainless are more expensive. It needs to contain at least ~10% chromium, and some have nickel. Chromium usually forms an oxidized protective layer. Different levels of this stuff is used to produce different results for different industries.

Stainless is not stainproof. For instance, I took a Derby Extra blade, in new packaging:
ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting

and after just 10 minutes in bleach, you can see definite rust/corrosion:
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and left overnight, the bleach actually ate holes into it, as well as massive corrosion:
ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting

Now, that's extreme just for show. And if you put an old carbon steel DE blade if would have disappeared into rust flakes within 20 minutes(or any small piece of iron) so the stainless is definitely inhibiting the action. Just proving that corrosion does occur. And how little it needs to affect something as fine as the edge, I can't imagine.

I know it does, because where my handle meets the blade on the top, I would find a lines of rust on the DE blade swapping it out after a few weeks (keeping in mind I only shave 2x a week). And it wasn't the handle since that is made of bakelite :)

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Originally Posted by Obie

Besides, part of the fun in double edge safety razor shaving is the ritual of changing the blade: of scrubbing the razor with a soft toothbrush, rinsing it under hot water, drying it, and finally putting in a pristine new blade.

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Heh, I'm not religious so I never cared much for ritual:) Just sounds like a lot of work, like taking the blade out and putting it in flour above ^_^;;;;

On the plus side, there's no more soap scum trapped in the nooks and crannies of the blade - as the daily shower cleaner takes care of that too.

On my 17th shave, still feeling fine, and I would usually like to switch out after #4 or 5. I'm extremely sensitive to razor bumps on my neck.

The theory is nice and all, I was just hoping others would try it with others ala mythbusters. It's like a $3 experiment:beer2:

I have quite a heavy beard and shave daily, it has been normal for me to shave daily for 3 weeks with either the same DE blade or Gillette fusion blade, doing nothing more than rinsing the blade.

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Originally Posted by easyace

I have quite a heavy beard and shave daily, it has been normal for me to shave daily for 3 weeks with either the same DE blade or Gillette fusion blade, doing nothing more than rinsing the blade.

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Well my friend, that desert sun and wind must have turned your face into a well tanned leather if you can stand to use a DE blade for 3 weeks... ever tried it out for stropping :roflmao

Well I am fairly confident that a piece of steel can only "rust" in the presence of both h20 and Oxygen hense the technical term, "oxidize". So in theory if you had every other element washed off from your blade, I.E. soap, hair, blood, skincells ect. and soaked it in water you should acheive the same results.

-KidFrost

I have to disagree with you there KidFrost. Soaking in water will not prevent rust, water is comprised partially of oxygen and therefore will induce rust. It is possible that soaking in water may delay the oxidation process compared to being left out in a humid environment such as a bathrooom. But it certainly will not prevent it.