How To Get Months Of Use Out Of One Razor

I thought this was too good to be true at first, but it really works! 

Did you try this? And it really works? If it does this is the best frugal tip I've read all month. Those things cost SO much money!

Yes, I've been doing this for at least a year now.  I hardly ever have to buy razor blades any more... one bag will last me several months.  I have not been able to achieve the 22 months on a single blade that he does, but I do use a different brand.  I think the razor I am currently using has been sitting on my sink for at least two months now, and every time I strop it on my arm it's as good as new. 

I just watched this.  It's great, thank you.  The uploader wrote in teh comments

"After using my Gillette Fusion cartridge for 30 months now, I have found it necessary to use this arm rubbing technique almost with every use for the last few weeks. Today, I almost gave up on it, but I tried rubbing it on a pair of blue jeans as suggested by a different YouTube video. Rubbed it backwards on the denim about ten inches about ten times, and the blade then worked just like new again. Now will I be able to my arm to recondition it again, time will tell."



COMMENTS ON ANOTHER VIDEO ON SHARPENING ON BLUE JEANS

"This totally works but I wondered why so I pulled out my 10x eye loop ( for examining gem stones) and examined 4 used blades over 1 year old before and after sharpening them. You can see that the leading edge of each blade is shinier after sharpening. The edge is maybe 1/128 of an inch but it is definitely sharper.


COMMENT
Informative video. Thanks? I did it on a smooth leather belt and got even better results.



Quite interesting! Will test that with "El Fidel" Model of Raz*War (razwar.com) and see it works too (5 blades model, high quality, now available in US too). Other good tip for avoiding blade becoming dull too fast: using SHAVING OIL. Really the best discovery ever made by me for my own shaving.


human hair is extremely strong, it wears down a 4 blades in about 30 uses, considering how tiny hair , if compared to the same size wood human hair comes up to be thicker. I saw an example of this in How its made "blades".




go hardware store and buy honing compound or polishing compound with high grit. put on leather strop.


Safety razor handles and blades vary considerably in quality and "aggressiveness". An experienced wet-shaver with a fairly coarse, dense beard may demand a relatively aggressive blade and a comb-headed handle, whereas a beginner with a lighter beard may want to start fairly tame and work up to their comfort level if they feel they need a closer shave. The reviews on Badger & Blade led me to get my first safety razor setup, and I couldn't be happier: no nicks, baby-butt-smooth shave.



To each his own. I learned to shave using cartridge razors like the Fusion, and have found that I get better and more comfortable shaves from an old-school safety razor. The next time a blade is starting to dull, I'll try your technique. It should work as well with a safety razor blade. Cartridge blades are made as double edge blades that are then split lengthwise and fitted in the cartridge housing, so one type should recondition as well as the other.

Not shaving works good too 

Personally I don't enjoy the feeling of a fuzzy face on my skin, it's irritating and scratchy. Nothing wrong with a beard on a man or hairy legs on a woman, to each their own I say. But I prefer a nice smooth face for kissing.

I bought my husband a safety razor a few years ago and he has been really happy with how well it works and how long the blades last, if he resharpened them he figures it would cost him a penny a blade for a blade that lasts about 3 weeks. 

What I've been doing with the cheap razor blades (no-name brand from the grocery store) is oiling them.  I have a ceramic cup that I bought at the Goodwill store.  I put about 1/2 inch of mineral oil in it, and a Popsicle stick across the top.  When I'm finished shaving, I dip the razor in the oil and lay it across the stick so the excess oil drips into the cup.  I've been getting about 6 months use out of each razor that's supposed to be good for only a week or two.  The oil helps keep corrosion from forming on the blade.  (I know -- it's supposed to be stainless steel, very high quality...)

Great tip, thank you!  Agree with Len.  Our razors should last.... ten, fifteen years? 

try a schick krona  the blades last a long long time an cut better

kazron wrote:
Great tip, thank you!  Agree with Len.  Our razors should last.... ten, fifteen years? 

Of course I would actually have to buy one first.
I hear they are good for scoring sour dough before baking....

I tried that for a few months with great sucess. Then I lost my job and haven't shaved in 4 months! Although it is getting quite hot, my wife really likes the wooly mammoth beard.

I've been trying this out for the past 3-4 weeks, since not long after the first post.
Although I cant offer quantitative data, the qualitative data is offering strong support for this method.

I keep a razor on the sink which I use regularly, and one in the tub in case I find a spot I missed.  I normally throw out the one at the sink in a week or two, depending on how much I'm home, and toss the one in the tub maybe once a month.  Once the things start to snag or scrape, gimme a new one.

The shave offered by the razors used with this method have noticeably less drag.  I dont bleed anywhere near as much as I used to!  

In all honesty, the method seems to extend the useful life of the razor, reduce discomfort, and gets the job done.

Everyone I've ever told about this method has used it with success.  That's not scientific, but it's good enough for me.

One friend pointed out recently that the stropping on the arm method seemed to be more effective when both arm and razor were dry. 

I use the old fashioned razor blades, the ones that are sharp on each end. Not the cartridges. I change blades 2-4 times a year and it takes me the better part of a decade to get through a package. So my cost is maybe 50-60 cents/year.

I don't use shaving cream either.

The trick is to shave right after showering and DON'T dry your face before you do it.

When I shave which is rarely, I use the "old fashion" double edge Safety Razor.  I have been using the same type of razor ever since I have been shaving.  Nearly 50 years.  I have been stropping my razor with a 2 inch wide piece of harness leather since I discovered it was way cheaper than buying a razor strop.  Back when I was shaving every day I could get a couple of months out of a blade.  I probably could have gotten more but would change the blade anyway.  I bought a pack of 100 blade over 20 years ago and still have at least 60 left.  Stropping thin blade steel will always straighten out the edge.