Extending the life of my blades

[Semi-Sly]

I'm sure that this must have been discussed previously by those of you who are far more sly than I; but what can I do to extend the life of my blades?  I have just started shaving myself and that first time I used the brand new Gillette body blade it went great.  The next day - not as great.  That could be because I was trying to shave two days in a row - or it could be because my blade is oxidizing.

I thought about storing the razor in a small dish of alcohol; but then thought that might eat off fhe nice protectant strips that are on the blade.

I also thought about storing the razor in a small dish of Baby (mineral) oil to prevent oxidation.

Have any of you guys tried anything?  Any success?

[Sir Harry]

I coat my razors with a small amount of baby oil..sometimes I soak the razor in the baby oil. I average ten shaves per blade.

[K5mow]

I coat my razors with a small amount of baby oil..sometimes I soak the razor in the baby oil. I average ten shaves per blade.

Wow that is very good. I hope I can get that many shaves out of the blade. So far I seem to get about three shaves per blade. But I have started using baby oil also hope to get at least five out of one blade.

[ksshane]

One day?   Maybe thats more common than I realize, but Ive never heard of that.

I dont do anything with mine and normally get about a week out of them.   You might want to try a different razor.   Mach 3 and Fusion are both pretty popular.

[Fondlheine]

I tend to have a drawer full of blades, so changing one isn't a big deal.

That being said, I have re-honed an edge and also ran them on a strop that both methods sharpened the blade back to shave ready.

If you really want to go old school, and your sink is made of some stone, run a couple of pull strokes each side on your counter top.

[younglefthander]

I've only been sly for about 3 weeks so I don't know yet if this applies to my headblade but I go months without changing blades on the Mach 3 I use for my face. I learned this trick from consumer adviser and cheapskate Clark Howard.

Everytime you finish shaving dry the blades with a towel. I just press the cartridge onto the towel a couple of times and move on. Clark claims that he used one disposable razor for a year just by drying it after each use.

[wpruitt]

I've got to take Clark with a grain of salt on that one!  He's my hero ... but .... He does have great advice on his radio show (WSB 750 AM and his web site (http://www.clarkhoward.com/).  The link to Clark's one year blade is http://www.clarkhoward.com/news/clark-howard/clarks-bargains/clark-reaches-12-month-mark-using-single-disposabl/ncxf/. 

[slymyke]

I always dry off my Mach 3 blades after each use, but I they don't last me a whole year or even close!   Sometimes, I will use a trick that I read somewhere:

Set a pair of blue jeans on a flat surface and run your blade (in the opposite direction of the cutting edges) along part of the denim 10 times from left to right, then 10 times from right to left...  this really does work to sharpen your blade and make it last longer.  I rarely take the time to do it, but when I do it, I always wonder why I don't do it more often... if not every time.