Why do razor blades get dull so fast?

Gillette (one of my former customers) says that an average beard has machining properties similar to those of copper wire.

My guess is that it doesn't abrade so much as it overstresses the very fine and therefore weak edge. The steel also corrodes -- even stainless. They've used chrome plating and that helps somewhat.

Anyone old enough to remember blue blades knows that they've made a lot of progress in the years since. They were made of very high-carbon steel, hardened to within an inch of its life, and it was rare to get more than two shaves out of a double-edged blade.

Salt.

The short answer is the following.

When I used Gillette blades (Mach3?), they would wear out in two weeks.

Now I use Schick Quattro blades and they last me 6 months.

It is nothing short of amazing.

i

The Fusion blade carts last me a couple of months of daily use, each. Have a blue strip on them, when that's gone, it's definitely time to change it. Downside is that they're about 3-4 bucks apiece. Used to get a couple of weeks out of the old double-edge jobbies, but those last shaves weren't anything great. A 10 pack was about $6-7 last time I got some. They would still rust, so probably the edge deteriorated from both wear and corrosion. Don't seem to have that with the Fusion blades. Probably a higher chrome content and/or more exotic additives. The b-in-l says the Fusion carts only last him a week, tops. Difference in beards, I guess. He said he only got about

1-2 shaves off a blade before the Fusion. Guess he grows steel wool.

Stan

I use a pair of scissors to trim my beard. They don't seem to wear out at all. Can be sharpened with a few strokes of a stone. Only need using every couple of weeks as well :-)

Mark Rand RTFM

I use a little battery powered clipper . I'm on my second in ...17 years I think it is now .

If you use those shaving creams/foams/gels, they also help to erode the blade edge. It is very advantageous for the manufacturer of the blades to have a short life. Try using normal bar soap. It lubricates much better and will double blade life. Steve

When I started shaving in the '60's, I honed the double edged blades on glass after I was done, this usually tripled the life of the edge so a blade lasted 8+ shaves, and I don't have soft whiskers.

One day, I put in a "new" blade and it cut like I'd been chopping cane with it. Seems my younger sister had borrowed it, then put it back...

Much easier in the last 35+ years since I last shaved. I've lost count of the revolutions in shaving tech I've missed.

David

Something like that almost cost me my marriage, shortly after I was married. Somehow my wife's legs gave that blade an edge that turned my neck into hamburger.

Wimps, I just use a bic lighter. ;)

Wes

When I had to start shaving I would get one or two shaves before the blade was too dull to use again. I had to shave four times a day in basic to keep the little baldfaced, brand new D.I. happy.

What's that Lassie? You say that snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com fell down the old rec.crafts.metalworking mine and will die if we don't mount a rescue by Mon, 22 Mar 2010 11:14:32 -0700 (PDT):

I've heard that if you dry them after use they last longer. I shake out my mach3 and prop it on edge. Seems to last longer.

Did you try schick quattro , if not, you must. I have and I am no longer disgusted, they last half a year each for me.

i

I find this to be true.

I wash the blade out with hot water, dry it by smacking against the heel of my palm, and store blades up, so water will pull away from the vulnerable edge. This greatly extends the lifetime of the razor, which implies that corrosion of the edge is the key issue.

As for Gillette, I suspect that they are herding their users. Each year, the blades get a little worse - they are cutting costs and performance by omitting steps one by one, to convince you to move to the latest and greatest.

Joe Gwinn

On Mon, 22 Mar 2010 11:14:32 -0700 (PDT), the infamous " snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com" scrawled the following:

Yes. Keratin is tough stuff. Oils in your hair collect dirt and minerals, too.

Yes, as are your facial oils and sweat. And the steel is extremely thin, the edge very fine.

Dunno. I think steels have a finer crystalline structure for better edges. If they could make them, they'd be a whole lot pricier than carbon steels.

-- If we attend continually and promptly to the little that we can do, we shall ere long be surprised to find how little remains that we cannot do. -- Samuel Butler

On Mon, 22 Mar 2010 19:22:46 -0500, the infamous Wes scrawled the following:

My propane torch is quicker. On relaxed Sundays, I use 320 grit sandpaper in a leisurely way.

(In reality, I use a Norelco electric, as blade razors abuse my sensitive skin. I think I gave up straight razors because they took too long, even though I don't think they abused me as much.)

-- If we attend continually and promptly to the little that we can do, we shall ere long be surprised to find how little remains that we cannot do. -- Samuel Butler

I've just turned to DE shaving after finally getting disgusted at the escalating feature/blade/price creep of cartridge razors. Getting hard to find the Sensor Excel blades locally that I've been using the past few years, started buying them in lots on ebay. Last batch is shit, I'm wondering if I just got a bad batch or counterfeits. Regardless, even the good ones only gave 4-5 shaves at best for a cost of around .20/shave.

Setting up for DE shaving entailed up front costs, but I got a lot of 50 blades for about $8 and so far look to get 3-4 shaves each for a cost of around .06/shave. So in the first year I'll more than amortize the whole setup. Biggest downside is I can't just shave blind in the shower anymore, one does have to pay attention to blade angle with a DE razor, but I've yet to nick myself. (though to be fair, the razor I selected is not aggressive at all. Biggest upside besides the cost savings is getting a much better shave.

Jon

The fusion blades at say, $4.00 each divided by 60 days comes to a hair over 6 cents a day. The double edge at say, $6.50 for ten, $0.65 each, divided by say 5 days (which I can't remember getting) was what?

13 cents a day. Now, if you factor in inflation, or even if you don't the high priced spread is still cheaper. Besides, with the Fusion, even when the blades are getting old, one can still shave without flinches and cries of pain :-)

John B.

So far, I have been very happy with Schick and they have not screwed me yet.In fact, right now I am looking at byuing Energizer Holdings stock. ENR owns the Schick brand.

i