I see shaving with a sharp blade as one of life’s little luxuries so I toss my blades as soon as I don’t get a smooth shave. I get 8-10 shaves out of a Schick Quattro blade and dump it the first time it starts to pull or feel scrapey.
Right now the cheapest blade on their web site is a 24-pack of Gillette Mach 3 for $50, more than $2 a blade. What are you buying? (When I use up my Quattro blades I am switching to Gillette so I can buy them at Costco.)
What kind of blades can you buy for 8¢?
back when I still affected the use of a straight razor, my answer would have been “indefinitely.” Now I use a safety razor that takes double edge razor blades. I get a week and half to two weeks out of a blade. Brand doesn’t matter. Cheap Chinese blades are just as sharp and last just as long as grossly overpriced European blades.
Another safety razor user here. I use Feather blades and toss them after 2-3 shaves, which means 1-2 weeks. Since the blades are maybe 20 cents, I don’t try to stretch their useful life.
Not to answer for them but it sounds like they’re buying multipacks of entire razors, and not disposable blade cartridges that attach to a handle that is not disposable. Unusually, it can be cheaper to buy the handle.
I use the Mach 3 Turbo and shave my whole face (in the shower) 5-7 times a week. I replace them every week, or when the blue stripe turns white. Now that I’m seeing how often everyone else uses them I think I should try to extend them longer. They are ridiculously expensive.
Regardless of the razor you use, there are easy ways to extend their life. As I noted earlier, most of the problem is microscopic corrosion in between uses. Water causes that and you can combat it by storing them in a very small cup of mineral oil after you rinse them thoroughly (you only need to cover the blades so it doesn’t take much). It also has the benefit of adding lubrication. Alcohol works too but it evaporates much more easily.
You can also restore blades to near pristine condition with a strip of denim. There are videos on Youtube that can show you exactly how to do it but all it really entails is a few reverse swipes along the fabric to restore the very fine edge. There are even products sold for that purpose that may or may not be economically beneficial to you.
I used the mineral oil strategy for a while but, in my case, we are talking about razors that they are so cheap anyway that I am not willing to spend much time or energy on them. They just get tossed when their natural life is over. I will save that energy for my Swiss Army and kitchen knives.
This is me, except that I shave 5-6 ties per week.
These. Family Dollar and Dollar General sell them for $1 a 12 pack. Technically closer to 9 cents each after taxes.
They last a crap long time if you only shave once a month like I do. It’s called life hacking.
I use Gillette sensor Excel, shave every other day during the week, and change them every 2 weeks (that’s 6 shaves).
I have a pretty heavy beard, and probably should shave every day, but it’s such a PITA, and I can get away with 3 times a week, so that’s it.
This is fascinating to me. I always thought all men shaved every day. My dad did, my husband does, my brother does, my ex-fiance did. I guess I must’ve gotten right in the middle of a heavy-beard cohort there.
Thanks! I will definitely try the mineral oil thing.
I shave daily and no beard. I use de Astra blades from Amazon, about 15cents a pop. A smooth shave and rarely any nicks. They last about a week.
I use Gillette Mach ? (not the latest) cartridges and as they cost me around 5e a pop, I use them for as long as they possibly can work. (Tried using cheaper store-brand copies, but they simply don’t work on my face, neither do electric razors). I shave every four days or so, or when the stubble turns ugly, in the shower when the beard is soft, keep the blades clean and dry and strop them against my forearm before every use (pushing motion). All this seems to extend the blade life manyfold. I’ve used the same cartridge now for several months, and it’s at the end of it’s usability. I want to put as little time, effort and thought into the whole shaving experience as I can, so I’ve not tried the safety razor route. Weak, patchy beard keeps me from going the most hassle-free way.
This is what I do. My blades went from lasting 2-3 weeks to 2-3 months.
I shave twice each time, once a day using a Gillette mach 3 power razor. they last 3-4 weeks.
I would like to find a good source for them in bulk. I’ve been buying them from Sams (with the handles attached) and pitching the handles. It’s as if Gillette is grudgingly keeping this blade around. This product should be a cheap cash-cow blade but Gillette knows people will buy.
It’s the cheapest blade I can buy that doesn’t cause pain. I keep trying the new brands but end up going back to this blade. Maybe it’s made using unicorn hair but I have to believe the same type of machine spitting out 10 cent blades also makes these things and they cost a !!# fortune.
I just tried another brand a few weeks ago. Decent shave yet my face burned afterwards and I’m pretty sure it’s going to draw blood at some point. Damn Gillette and their powered razors. I love them.
Gillette Fusion, I shave 5-7 times per week.
I change the blade the first of every month. Have had no problems with this strategy.
mmm
Well, I use a straight razor and bought a bidet because I felt like toilet paper is a terrible solution. I have a feeling we might operate under different criteria.
I use dollar shave club executive blades. I get a 4 pack every other month. I end up using 5-6 a month.
I’m very bad about chucking blades so often use them far beyond their useful lifetime. At first I signed up for the standard package which is 4 blades a month. I wasn’t going through them at that rate and was piling up new blades. I went to 4 every other month. If I get low on my stockpile I’ll bump it up for a few months.
I shave most days. It depends on what I’ll be doing, I don’t really like shaving but don’t look good unshaven so I have to balance it out. On days I’ll be working on in my shop/office, construction sites or homes where no one will be around I’ll skip shaving. If I’m doing service calls or meeting new customers I put the effort in to shave that day. Emergency work comes up often so I’ll end up meeting someone I’d prefer not to in my unshaven state but I figure they don’t really care what I look like so long as the result is running water.
I only shave my neck and sometimes my upper cheeks a couple times a week. I was just shopping online for 8 pack refills. It has been years since I bought any. I have stocked up in the past on eBay and Amazon. I have 2 mach3s and usually have a blade in each one and keep the back refill compartment filled, and that will last me years.
