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So I've been at this DE thing for a short time but at first I didnt know what side of the blad was up. So I put it in use it for my first two shaves witch was great after that I turned it over for another two shave still work great? Also heard that if you run the razor backward on you arm it is like stoping it. I use to do it with disposables and I could get a couple ex shaves out of them. But haven't tried with the DE mostly because hearing to just not touch the blade. Any comants welcome.
An old man I bought a few DEs from at a flea market told me an interesting tip for keeping DE blades sharp. He remembered his father wiping the DE back and forth on the inside of a water glass to keep the blade sharper longer... This was during the depression when every penny counted and he remembered his father getting a couple of months out of a single blade which not only attests to the fact that it must work but also that men back in the day were tough as nails.
Only problem with that is that they don't make the blades quite like they used to, for better or for worse I can't say. These days they have fine coatings like platinum, "teflon" or some other material that will be removed by any kind of stropping. Old style, uncoated blades I'd imaging are a different ball game and I doubt they'd bother with disposables, even if the advertising claims they're electroplated with "awesome-ite".
I believe most if not all of the older DE blades were carbon steel (I may be wrong on that score), but they were certainly a plain, uncoated, steel. Back when the Safety Razor was King, there was a glass 'strop' device made for rubbing the edges of DE blades on to make them last a bit longer, much like the 'razor pit' for the modern cart heads of today. I daresay you could do the glass trick described above, it may or may not add a little life to your blades, but they are cheap enough already, even for us over charged country bumpkins in the land down under, so I don't see why you would feel the need to try and ring a few extra shaves out of them.
Mick
Flipping the blade does nothing, you are still using the same edge.
DE blades are really cheap, no need to try and extend their life IMO.
I agree with this!Quote:
Originally Posted by Blix
You're more likely to cause damage (touching the edge to the razor, dropping the blade, etc.) than you are to get some benefit from this. Just stick them in the razor, shave......and when the edge starts to deteriorate, pop a new blade in.
I can understand trying to extend the life of your favourite blade, if it's been discontinued, but I've yet to come across a technique that really has any benefit. Anyway, as long as they're making Feather blades, I'll be happy. :)
For those of us old enough to remember the introduction of the coated blades it was a wonderful thing. The Gillette Blue blades were rough at best in comparison to what we have today, even when brand new. I distinctly remember the Platinum Plus and Super Stainless blades coming out and what a relief they were. Even though they were considerably more expensive than their blue counterparts.
AFAIC the best thing you can do to improve the longevity of your DE blade is rinse the residual soap and whisker gunk off after the shave.
I agree about the drying. The subtle corrosion on the stainless (not stain-free) will deteriorate the edge. Flipping the blade over will not smooth out the deflected fragile edge, it will cause more deflections on the other side (and the deflections from previous shaves may be angled downward into your skin). This is like pinching pennies while scraping your own face. Remember: miser is the first five letters in MISERable!
Modern DE blades are just poorer in every way. it's only those coatings that cause them to shave as good as they do. Once gone you have a poor surface. I imagine you could actually hone one up to perfection but the question is why would you want to spend the time and effort to do that?
Thanks for all the good imput yall. Ok so I've been using the Merkur super blade and like them so far but I here so much good about the feather brand. I was going to order a sample set but I already have Merkur and thought my it's a wast of time and money thinking about just ordering some feather to see the dif. I use a Merkur HD is the correct way to get the angle right to hold the handle at a 30% angle off ur face. Or just what every fells right and works for given person?
If you order a sampler pack you may be surprised by the differences in the way various blade can feel on your skin. For instance, I have always liked Merkur blades but many guys have posted that they don't like them. OTOH, many like Dorko and I can't shave with them. The Feather is a very sharp blade IME and the one I would choose if I was shaving with DEs. First choice is the Gillette Swede but I don't think they are around anymore ? Anyhow, try a sampler pack that includes the Feathers and other choices. Lot of good blades out there and one of them may be perfect for your particular face. Blade angle on a DE is more or less dictated by the razor head AFAIK. There is a 'sweet spot' and you'll know it when you feel it. Just IMHO.
I flipped off Blade once. He cut off my hand. Thankfully it grew back.
I usually remove the blade from my DE and wipe down the razor after every shave, I am not sure which way it goes back in so I guess it gets flipped but not for any specific reason.
Sam.
Hello, Goings8: Flipping the blade is redundant, because it is still the same blade with the same two cutting edges. I, too, also remove the blade after every shave and clean and dry the razor.
I read an original set of instructions once on how to use a Gillete DE, (circa 1940's). It stated to never touch or remove the blade once it had been put into the razor until it was time to change it. I have always followed this since I read it. After all, who would know better than the people who manufactured the razor?
I've tried flipping the blade, if there's a difference it's minimal, at least to my face. I don't bother nowadays as I'm only going to get 3-4 shaves from a blade regardless of what I do.
The only part of the blade you care about corrosion on is the edge, right? Why wouldn't the trick that works with cartridges (dab off the water on a towl, lightly, so as not to push on the edge) do the trick? Chromium or platinum or whatever on the edges, it'll all still corrode eventually, and I would be surprised if you couldn't get several weeks out of a DE blade, but I have yet to use them because I can't find anything wrong with straights, and if I don't use a straight (if I'm in a hurry), I can make a coupon cartridge gilette sensor last a year of off and on use and still be sharp enough to give a smooth shave.
Closest I got to DE was two times - one, my dad always shaved with a DE, so did his dad. I guess they had no tolerance for straights, and two, when I built my medicine cabinet, had to take out the old one to swap them and the old one had a covered over blade slot (so it was a surprise there were blades behind it, given the hole was wallpapered over on the inside of the old cabinet). There were *hundreds* and hundreds of blades in the wall - blue, it was before I was a straight razor shaver, I didn't pay too close of attention. They were in a bone dry wall, and every one of them had been put in there with a little bit of rust on. The must've rusted if there was rain in the next state over the day before.
As far as saving things, there are a lot of folks (me included) who like to stretch things. I'm not poor, but I don't have enough saved for retirement yet (at the ripe old age of 34), so as long as that's the case, I can't see getting a little extra life out of things. I'll sharpen anything I can get near a belt grinder, a stone, a tormek, a dry wheel grinder or a strop - replaceable pruners, disposable scissors, cheap knives, whatever.
I dont flip my blades. I usually get about 5 shaves out of each blade and then I bin them and replace with a new one. They're only about £3 for 10 over here so I dont get too precious about them!