Extending life of razor blades, make you blades last twice as long!

[Kojak]

Found this article on how to extend the life of your blades, make you blades last 122% longer


"But one very simple method has great allure and at least anecdotal support: dry your razor blades after shaving.

The concept is this: Razor blade dullness stems more from oxidation, microscopic rusting, than from contact with whiskers. Water that sits on blades between shaves causes the oxidation.

Corrosion can cause metal on the blade to flake off and the edge to become blunted and jagged. That results in blades pulling and tearing hairs instead of cleanly slicing through them.

Degraded performance prompts most people to ditch the blade for a new one.

If water causes rusting, and rusting is the main culprit of blade dullness, then, presumably, drying your razor blades could increase the life of blades. A high-profile test of this happened when consumer-advocate radio host Clark Howard of Atlanta used a 17-cent disposable razor for an entire year. He said he extended blade life by blotting his razor dry with a towel after use.

Howard's report intrigued Atlanta resident Brian Cohn, who then tried it himself. Cohn said his results weren't quite as good but still amazing. Instead of blades lasting the usual 10 days to two weeks, his blades lasted five to six months."

Here is a link to the full article. http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/yourmoney/chi-ym-spending-1104nov04,0,936147.story

[kenny57028]

Great find! I'll have to keep that in mind. 

[valldo]

Hi, this might be interesting. I came across this a few weeks ago and ordered one of these straight away. This thing is called the Blademaster, see pic attached, a German patent sold all around Europe. It might be hard to find in the US but you can Google it , some onlineshops might carry it, if not just search the German or UK Ebay Site. You will come across a few sellers, can't recommend any but look at their respective feedbacks and you should be ok.
It retails in Europe for about 18EUR which is aprox. 25USD.
I bought it from a German seller on Ebay and it works fantastic. The manufacturer says it will increase the blades life by 4. That might be true if you only use the blade to shave your face, I shave my head with a double blade from Headblade and just put the blade on the Blademaster for a few seconds before I start shaving and after I finish. I get 9 or 10 good shaves out of it, before that I was using the blade for 4 or 5 shaves.So for shaving your head I would say it doubles the life of your blade, which is still pretty good.
I now intend to use two blades a month.

Besides using this device I also leave the blade in alcohol until next use

Cheers

[buddha]

I tried using straight isopropyl alcohol but I found that the lube strips would actually detach from the cart. I went to a 3to1 mix of peroxide/alcohol that I apply with a fine mist sprayer. Then I just shake the blade to get off any excess. The anti-bacterial qualities of the spray kill any bacteria which I read is a big contributor to the corrosion problem and the alcholo dries the blade in the open air.

[ORTO]

I usually get five shaves from a Mach III (compared to the two my friend gets from his). I always dry my razors and store them away from the sink, but that was mostly my obsessiveness. Maybe that's why my razors tend to last longer. He always leaves his on the wet ledge of his sink.

Haven't tried the alcohol thing, but I'd heard of it. With the cost of most blades, I'd be silly not to try it.