This is a little lengthy. The TLDR version is: this info will save me $7,500 over the course of my expected (God-willing) hopeful lifetime. Instead of spending $8,000 on razor blades in my life I will instead spend only $500.
This is mostly for razor blade users, not so much for electric shaver users. Mostly for men, but women can benefit too.
Frugality (value) and sentimentality are the main drivers for this post. Frugality has two aspects, making razor blades last longer, and changing what type of blade I use – it was the Gillette Fusion 5-blade, pretty much since it was released (in 2006 according to Wikipedia, sounds about right to me). I’ll get to sentimentality later.
I’m 53 and if God-willing I live to 90 then at $30 for an 8-pack and with Fusion blades lasting about a week, that’s almost $4 a week. I have to shave every day. You may not have to, and regardless, YMMV. But, that’s about $8,000 for the next 40 years. Yikes!
At $4 a week, am I being unreasonably cheap? I think not. I’m not afraid to spend money, so long as I get quality and most importantly value in return. But I can do better than $4 a week. A lot better.
Making Razor Blades Last Longer: for the last 3 years my blades have lasted at least four weeks and frequently longer. Here’s what I‘ve been doing, it’s a simple 3-step process:
- Clean the razor using an old, worn out toothbrush and a dedicated cup to hold hot water (uses less water than a hot running tap). The bristles get between the blades and clean out the gunk there. Don’t forget the back side of the blades. Get it all clean.
- When done, with my mouth I carefully blow out the residual water and any residual gunk.
- After blowing dry, wipe dry using a towel. You want the blades to be clean and dry. Corrosion is the most significant contributor to blade wear. Store it dry.
That’s it. With that I’ve gone from $4 a week ($8,000 lifetime) to $4 a month and $2,000 lifetime. A $6,000 savings. That’s a new motorcycle, like a Kawasaki KLR-650: http://www.kawasaki.com/Products/2015-KLR650. Just from my razor blades lasting longer. Not bad. But it gets better.
First, you may think a toothbrush would dull the blades. Maybe it does a little bit but the benefit of removing the shaving residue far outweighs the detriment of dulling the blade. Clearly it’s the corrosive effects of the water and shaving residue that harms blades the most. Again, I’ve done this for 3 years and blade life is significantly improved – 4 weeks and more, and some blades have lasted 8-10 weeks before I needed to replace them.
Changing the Type of Blade I Use: 2 weeks ago I started using a safety razor – specifically the Merkur Futur. Safety blades cost about $1 each, so compared to $4 above, a blade a week and 40 years expected (hoping!) years, and also figuring in the cleaning quadrupling blade life, that’s one blade per month ($1 per month) X 40 years = $500 for the rest of my anticipated life. A SAVINGS OF $7,500. $500 for my lifetime, instead of $8,000.
Significant savings, no doubt, and when considering the cost of the $100 Merkur Futur handle which may sound pricey, it’s really a no-brainer in the end. Here’s where the sentimentality comes in (also the not-afraid-to-spend-so-long-as-I-get-value part). The Merkur Futur cost $105 at my local mall’s shaving store. It is a nice tool and is something I can use my entire life and then pass down to my family. It’s really a work of art. Here’s a pic: http://www.fendrihan.com/images/MRK700.jpg. A work of art, and it is hefty too. I like its heft.
About Being a First-Time Safety Razor User: Thank goodness for the shaving store at my local mall. They explained the approach, the risks (yes you can easily cut yourself), the technique, and their recommendations. The razor I bought, the Futur, they did not recommend for first-time users. But asking careful questions and understanding the risks and potential issues, I went against their recommendation and bought it. I wanted to buy only one, and not end up with a collection of them like some guys do. I didn’t want to buy a starter and then “graduate” to the adjustable Futur. So far it is working out well. That’s why I bought it there for $105 versus looking online for a lower price – yeah I could’ve saved $30 online, but I wanted to support the advice I got, even though I didn’t take all of their advice. They helped me learn about shaving this way, it’s much more aggressive and you have to be much more careful.
The shaving store guys said, and I fully agree, that razors like the Gillette Fusion offer the best available technology - they really are the best way to shave today, they result in the closest, safest shave. It’s the 100+ years of improving on the old safety razor. You don’t have to be as careful, you can go much (much!) faster, and it shaves closer than a safety razor. But I’ll learn the new technique, get not quite as close a shave, and I’ll also save my $7,500, thank you.
The shaving store guys also recommended shaving in the shower with the hot water to open the pores. People on the razor and shaving boards I’ve seen do this too. I tried it once, but it’s mostly a big waste of water. If you do this, consider changing and saving some of that water for us dry folk in California. Thanks! Have you seen the Earth a New Wild episode on water and the Colorado River? Yeah.
At this point let me take a quick timeout to say I love the new www.dollarShaveClub.com commercials! Fun, entertaining. But about using disposable razors, I don’t like generating excessive trash. Trying to be a little more green, and all that.
A comment on my cleaning method – at the shaving store when I explained how I use the toothbrush, the guy winced. He of course said it’s not recommended because it’ll dull the blade. The key is to clean along the blade’s face, not across it, and when I told him I’m getting 4X and more blade life he just stuck to his guns. I have the data, 3 years of personal experience, and I can’t argue with that. He couldn’t comprehend.
When flying, TSA will not be let me take razor blades in my carry-ons. That’s another consideration. I’ll keep the old Fusion for when I fly.
I don’t think this information is new or revolutionary. I would think someone else has used this same or similar cleaning technique. I thought I’d share it here with my doper brethren (and sisteren, for their legs perhaps) in the hopes that someone else can find significant savings too.
