Thread: How to tell when to change the blade

Hello, mcgyver74,
In my experience, the Merkur blade, although it has some fans, is kept at a distance by many shavers. I gave up on them a long time ago. Yes, a sampler pack will be your best bet to determine what works for you.

I now need to find a local place that has sampler packs all the AOS place has is merkur

Originally Posted by mcgyver74

Actually I was hoping for either , my problem this morning is that I didn't feel any tugging, or any more effort required, it just gave me burn (the Alum block really stung this morning)

I am using the Merkur blades currently, Need to find myself a sampler pack to see which ones I like

amazon has a bunch of sample packs for cheap. pretty nice ones too. i shave 3 days a week and been changing my blade every 2 weeks or about 6 shaves. i do 2 pass straight shave and the atg with the de so it is only after 6 actual passes that i change blades and these are the easiest passes since the most of the hair came off with the straight. I suspect I would change it every week if I used the DE for more passes.

amazon actually has lots of great shave gear and you can group things to get free shipping.

Yeah it looks like I will have to go the nets for samplers Finding DE blades in stores anymore is difficult to say the least

No more than 4 shaves for me.

A dull blade is the one that always nicks me. I've settled on 3 days and thats it, see no need to push it at less that $ .10 per blade.

Originally Posted by mcgyver74

Yeah it looks like I will have to go the nets for samplers Finding DE blades in stores anymore is difficult to say the least

SRD has a sampler pack the last time I looked and it was reasonably priced. Another thought, if there is a Sally's Beauty Supply store near you, they sell Personna blades, not top shelf but also not the bottom of the barrel of DE blades.

Originally Posted by mcgyver74

Quick dumb question.

How can I tell when it's time to change the blade on my DE and approx how often do you find that it needs to be changed.

This morning when I shaved, I found I got some irritation on my face even though it didn't feel like the blade was "grabbing"
the blade has been in there just shy of a week so I wonder if it's time for a new one......

Thanks in advance!

NOT a dumb question.

The answer depends on your face, your whiskers,
your shave prep, the blade, the razor
holding the blade and your personal
preference.

If you have a safe place to keep it remove the
blade in question and shave with a new one.
Then put it back for a shave the next day.
Compare and contrast. Pay attention to
the top side when you put it back.

Some folk get more than a week some
a couple of days. I do not get five good shaves
from any brand. Some brands only two.

Some blades shave harshly on the first day and
then give a number of smooth shave to "dull". Some
shave smooth from day one to "dull". Some just
go downhill to dull and never are marvelous.

FWIW: This is one of the interesting and difficult topics for str8 razor shavers
that hone their own edges. With an open blade razor (straight/ str8)
the quality of the edge is in your hands and skill is an important
component. DE razors are much more consistent in a single
production lot which is why some folk buy +100 when they
find a good run.

Do not overlook the DE blades at the likes of Wallmart and Target.
Try a single package and if it is good empty the shelf the next day.
Do the math... shaves per blade , blades per package, price per......

To obtain the most shaves from a DE remember to rinse well
under hot water so it drys quickly. There are other tricks
but rinsing the razor clean is the important one.

Originally Posted by mcgyver74

Actually I was hoping for either , my problem this morning is that I didn't feel any tugging, or any more effort required, it just gave me burn (the Alum block really stung this morning)

I am using the Merkur blades currently, Need to find myself a sampler pack to see which ones I like

Sounds like you should use an Alum block each morning.
When you get that burn pull the blade after checking
that it is not your last.

I tossed a new blade in today, hopefully tomorrow is better