Thread: How many shaves on a straight razor before the edge needs a refresh?

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Rookies ask this question all the time. It's probably in the top 10 questions and in all the years I've been around these parts the answer hasn't changed.

The answer is there is no answer. Like others have said there are too many variables.

From my own experience I've had razors give hundreds of shaves before requiring a touch-up and some needing it after 15 shaves.

Do not bother counting the number of shaves on a blade; that number is meaningless. Let your face tell you when it is time to refresh the edge. If you have a light beard and good steel in your razor, you might be able to go for a very long time between refreshes. If you have a fast-growing, tough beard and sensitive skin, you won't go anywhere near that long. I have enough razors that I only use a blade about once a month. I will refresh the edges about every six months on average (that is, after about six shaves). Blades with good steel (like TI C135 Carbonsong steel) may go a little longer. However, the trade-off is that honing the C135 edgers takes a little longer due to the high carbon content. At the other end of the spectrum are my Gold Dollar razors that hone quite easily, but don't hold an edge quite as long.

Refreshing an edge is quick and easy if you have the right tools, so do not try to get a few extra shaves out of a blade just to meet some artificially imposed standard. If the razor starts to tug or feels rough on your face, take it out of service and refresh the edge to where it needs to be. You face with thank you for it.

Since I rather enjoy honing my own razors nearly as much as shaving with them, the question for me is sort of like the ol' Tootsie Pop commercial from the '70s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6rHeD5x2tI

I shaved with one straight razor from mid-December to mid-June, or a period of around 180 days. But I shave every third day, so that means more like 60 shaves. During that period, I touched up the edge on a finishing stone twice, once out of curiosity to try a new stone and the other because the edge started to feel a little bit different. So that's a touch-up around every 20 shaves, or maybe every 30 out of necessity for me. But like others here, I'm inclined to do a touch-up as I like the honing process itself.

[QUOTE=Speedster;1828924]

I love the commercial, they're just not the same anymore!

I really don’t count the shaves I can get, I go by the feel. If there’s tugging, harshness or slight irritation(and I mean starting to) it’s time to that straight to be refresh.