extend life of your razor? huh? (Full Version)

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pahunkboy -> extend life of your razor? huh? (3/26/2010 2:27:38 PM)

http://consumerist.com/2010/03/make-your-disposable-razor-blade-last-for-20-months.html
[:o]

I am curious if any of you have extended the life/use of a razor.  Did you use this method- or do you have another one?





DarlingSavage -> RE: extend life of your razor? huh? (3/26/2010 2:29:49 PM)

I don't need them!



perfectflaw00 -> RE: extend life of your razor? huh? (3/26/2010 3:12:52 PM)

I'm a bit skeptical, I wish it were true though seeing as fusion cartridges are 16 bucks at my local cvs.



Aneirin -> RE: extend life of your razor? huh? (3/26/2010 3:14:37 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: pahunkboy

http://consumerist.com/2010/03/make-your-disposable-razor-blade-last-for-20-months.html
[:o]

I am curious if any of you have extended the life/use of a razor.  Did you use this method- or do you have another one?





Well, my razor is known to be about 80years old already, a Solingen steel cut throat that gets better each time it is sharpened, but in the interests of extending periods between honing, the simple thing to do, is not shave.

I gave up with the disposable multi bladed crap long ago, they are a complete scam.

Edited to add, all the guy is doing in the video, is stropping the blade, with a cut throat, straight or open razor, the blade is stropped before and after the shave, it is what gives such a superb shaving edge. The origin I believe of the term, razor sharp.

There is some technical info regarding what stropping does, something to do with aligning the metal at the edge, polishing it for the best shave, and also a belief that there should be at least 24 hours rest between razor uses, hence the past need for the everyday razor, a set of seven blades,sometimes with the days etched on the handles, so on each day a new blade is used. Me, I just use the same blade in whatever frequency I shave. Stropping, I just use an old leather belt, and sometimes cardboard, honing, about every six months and that on a piece of welsh slate, so, nothing fancy, but it all works admirably and it costs nothing more than a little time spent.



pahunkboy -> RE: extend life of your razor? huh? (3/26/2010 3:15:20 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: perfectflaw00

I'm a bit skeptical, I wish it were true though seeing as fusion cartridges are 16 bucks at my local cvs.


I use the same type.  They are expensive.  I did get some tho on ebay.



Aneirin -> RE: extend life of your razor? huh? (3/26/2010 3:30:32 PM)

Learn to use a cut throat, once learned, you will look back in pity for all that money you have wasted.



LookieNoNookie -> RE: extend life of your razor? huh? (3/26/2010 4:13:20 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: pahunkboy

http://consumerist.com/2010/03/make-your-disposable-razor-blade-last-for-20-months.html
[:o]

I am curious if any of you have extended the life/use of a razor.  Did you use this method- or do you have another one?


I've extended the life of my razor by simply never replacing it.

So far, I've made my razor last 11 years.

My face looks like a moon landing...but I haven't spent more than 3 bucks on razors.

(One sec....aid car is at the door...brb).



DarkSteven -> RE: extend life of your razor? huh? (3/26/2010 5:09:04 PM)

I grew a beard...



subtee -> RE: extend life of your razor? huh? (3/26/2010 5:10:46 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Aneirin

Edited to add, all the guy is doing in the video, is stropping the blade, with a cut throat, straight or open razor, the blade is stropped before and after the shave, it is what gives such a superb shaving edge. The origin I believe of the term, razor sharp.

There is some technical info regarding what stropping does, something to do with aligning the metal at the edge, polishing it for the best shave, and also a belief that there should be at least 24 hours rest between razor uses, hence the past need for the everyday razor, a set of seven blades,sometimes with the days etched on the handles, so on each day a new blade is used. Me, I just use the same blade in whatever frequency I shave. Stropping, I just use an old leather belt, and sometimes cardboard, honing, about every six months and that on a piece of welsh slate, so, nothing fancy, but it all works admirably and it costs nothing more than a little time spent.



Mmmmm I'd love to learn to do this



Aneirin -> RE: extend life of your razor? huh? (3/26/2010 7:31:48 PM)

There is plenty of info on the web, videos and such to help, but though they give good practical advice, everyone's technique is different. Teaching myself to shave with a blade and maintain that blade for  best effect was a learning curve, but now it is sorted, I can even shave dry with the thing sometimes.

A couple of years back , I even showed my father how to use the things, a complete role reversal. He too had tired of the disposable oil based plastic and multi bladed low quality steel that cost it seems more and more just to maintain an acceptable daily appearance, seeing as it is clean shaven is the desire with most.



ThatDamnedPanda -> RE: extend life of your razor? huh? (3/26/2010 8:51:58 PM)

Disposable razors are... what... a dime apiece?

I throw it away every week or so. 



ThatDamnedPanda -> RE: extend life of your razor? huh? (3/26/2010 8:54:29 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Aneirin

There is plenty of info on the web, videos and such to help, but though they give good practical advice, everyone's technique is different. Teaching myself to shave with a blade and maintain that blade for  best effect was a learning curve, but now it is sorted, I can even shave dry with the thing sometimes.



I should give that a try. Thanks for the idea. I was going through an old chest of my grandfather's last week, and I found three or four straight razors. He used some of them in World War I, and it looks as though one of them even came across when he emigrated to the US from Germany in around 1892, incredible as that may seem.



sappatoti -> RE: extend life of your razor? huh? (3/26/2010 9:09:55 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Aneirin

quote:

ORIGINAL: pahunkboy

http://consumerist.com/2010/03/make-your-disposable-razor-blade-last-for-20-months.html
[:o]

I am curious if any of you have extended the life/use of a razor.  Did you use this method- or do you have another one?


Well, my razor is known to be about 80years old already, a Solingen steel cut throat that gets better each time it is sharpened, but in the interests of extending periods between honing, the simple thing to do, is not shave.

I gave up with the disposable multi bladed crap long ago, they are a complete scam.

Edited to add, all the guy is doing in the video, is stropping the blade, with a cut throat, straight or open razor, the blade is stropped before and after the shave, it is what gives such a superb shaving edge. The origin I believe of the term, razor sharp.

There is some technical info regarding what stropping does, something to do with aligning the metal at the edge, polishing it for the best shave, and also a belief that there should be at least 24 hours rest between razor uses, hence the past need for the everyday razor, a set of seven blades,sometimes with the days etched on the handles, so on each day a new blade is used. Me, I just use the same blade in whatever frequency I shave. Stropping, I just use an old leather belt, and sometimes cardboard, honing, about every six months and that on a piece of welsh slate, so, nothing fancy, but it all works admirably and it costs nothing more than a little time spent.


Yes, I have extended the life of a bladed cartridge many times, only needing to replace them when the plastic holding the individual blades break causing the blades to screech across my skin at unnatural angles. (It's not a pretty sight.)

I do so by simply wiping it down with a bit of a chamois after I shave. Since chamois is a form of leather, I suppose I'm doing nothing more than stropping but it works. I use the same motion as the dude in PA's video link shows but substituting the chamois for my forearm.

Someone has seen the value of extending bladed cartridges for they've created an "as seen on TV" gadget that pretty much does the stropping for you. It's called "Save A Blade" and I've seen them for sale in the local supermarkets for as low as $9.95 US. I've yet to purchase one to try it out as my simple wiping method works well enough for me. I have no idea how well this device actually works.



Aneirin -> RE: extend life of your razor? huh? (3/27/2010 5:29:54 AM)

I believe the origin of the cartridge blade lies with Gillette at the beginning of the twentieth century, he saw the ease of shaving with a new blade as an antidote to the many who came to sport facial hair because they either detested using the open razor, or couldn,t use it satisfactorily. The disposable blade also speeded up the shave, a shave ceased to be so much of a ritual, one coul just have a quick scrape and get to work early and work longer. Gillette also saw the money making aspect of his ideas, educate the public into buying, using and throwing away, that will ensure profits into the future, and it has. An early pioneer of the throw away culture we have become.

Gillette's blades were thin slivers of chromium plated steel, now we have multi blades wrapped in a material made from oil, which we are told is running out, yet we still buy and chuck it all away when it is used, we are throwing away our resources.

Even people of the past recognised the wastage of throwing away Gillette's blades and many devices were created to extend the life of the blades, Lillicraps hone was one of the more useful, it being still available on places like fleabay, and it actually works, it being ground glass, a dry abrasive.

If one can't think to use a cut throat, at least try the rolls razor, it is a cut throat, with a safety feature, making a cut throat shave a safer option. The rolls razor has a built in hone and strop, a fantastic device, and the device that trained me to use the cut throat I now use.

Rolls Razors are still available new in the US, but are quite pricey they being the more up market gold plated varieties, but many  lesser examples can be found on the second hand market. I used to collect the things and restore them to working condition, my collection is now largely gone, for I have given most of them away to other men who were fed up with the cartridge blade. I now have a new old stock aluminium travel set from the 1950's, yes, it was completely new and unused when I got it, so I know how good these things should be from the start. Interestingly those I have restored in the past, there is very little if any difference between the used and the unused, they are that well built and functional.

Anyway, the secret to a good shave, is preparation of both blade and skin, and a relaxed shave, no rushing, just enjoy the ritual.



ThatDamnedPanda -> RE: extend life of your razor? huh? (3/27/2010 4:07:50 PM)

I'm really having a hard time seeing it as significant environmental issue. Every time you throw away the wrapper from a loaf of bread, you're probably throwing away as much plastic as there is in a disposable razor. If you drink a 6-pack of pop or bottled water each month, the bottle caps alone probably have more plastic in them than the razors you threw away. That doesn't mean it's a bad idea, but it's not really going to make much difference one way or the other.



pahunkboy -> RE: extend life of your razor? huh? (3/27/2010 4:39:59 PM)

Most men look neater when shaved.   Not too many look better grubby.



Aneirin -> RE: extend life of your razor? huh? (3/27/2010 5:12:21 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: ThatDamnedPanda

I'm really having a hard time seeing it as significant environmental issue. Every time you throw away the wrapper from a loaf of bread, you're probably throwing away as much plastic as there is in a disposable razor. If you drink a 6-pack of pop or bottled water each month, the bottle caps alone probably have more plastic in them than the razors you threw away. That doesn't mean it's a bad idea, but it's not really going to make much difference one way or the other.


I have thought about that already, I don't get plastic bottles in, and when I purchase bread, I purchase cooked the same day bread, it goes in my shopping bag as it is,no wrapper. In fact in every shop I go in, I have to tell them I don't want a bag, because I have my own. This is not so much about saving oil, but because it was mostly packaging that filled my bin, now at the end of the week two thirds of the bin is empty. As I see it, we are wasting too much of our resources and what we have left, we are paying more for. Why waste things when there is no need to, and why advertise for free the shop you just went into to buy something. Of other things, I tend to recycle, glass jars and cans, if I don't clean them out and  use them for storing something else, they go down to the recycling bank.



Termyn8or -> RE: extend life of your razor? huh? (3/29/2010 1:14:01 AM)

I shave infrequently. First the scissors then the electric clippers. Then I burn up about three razors because that's just the way my beard is.

If you could get to the other side and hone it without hair or whatever, that would be great. But when I shave I run it backwards just to unclog it. Single blade razors work better on me. I still might go through three of them but they do work, sometimes longer. The multiple blade ones, well I tried with various objects to get my hair out from between the blades but that seems to wreck them. Oh well.

I guess my beard is stronger than stainless stell LOL.

T



Aneirin -> RE: extend life of your razor? huh? (3/29/2010 6:08:26 AM)

That is the downfall of multiblade razors, it is often it is soap, whiskers and skin scales that block the in between blade spaces before the blade becomes useless. Interestingly has anyone noticed how small the gaps are at the back for the purpose of flushing the razor after use, they are perhaps designed such that cleaning becomes a near impossibility, thus motivating more sales.

But then, why three blades, four or five, when only one will do, could it be even the multi blades are in fact getting worse and worse, the steel used is less durable all the time, one is getting a worse deal for the more money spent.

When I have'nt been bothered to shave for a while, the whiskers on my chin have it seems turned from dark brown to red and are now white over the last few years and with that whiteness, boy are they tough, the cut throat has to be restropped before I tackle those babies, they need special attention. Sometimes though I get a better job if I switch to a different razor for those whiskers, for I have two straight razors, both are high carbon steel, but one seems more able with the tougher hairs, but not very comfortable with the main shave.



pahunkboy -> RE: extend life of your razor? huh? (3/29/2010 10:40:04 AM)

the blades do seem to wear out faster.



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