Dull Shaving Razors

[Elle-]

So ive been shaving my face since i was like 13, and ive never been able to make a blade last more than 2 shaves. tried many different razors, disposable, expensive brand name, dollar shave club, etc. does anyone know how to keep them sharp for longer? (aside from getting a DE razor lol)

[Mx.Drago]

I use a double edge razor , AS-D2 all stainless steel handle model and their blades are very sharp. Surgically sharp, so it will last a bit before it starts catching and you'll need to replace. But I don't recommend it for everybody because it is very sharp blade wise. The handle is great and you can buy tons of packs of blades and store them.

 

[Erikka]

Keeping your razor clean and dry after every use helps them stay sharper longer. Personally I favor a Shick razors, but not the disposable ones. Gillette is my least favorite of the cartridge razors. When I was in the Navy I used a straight razor. Best shave there is IF you keep them sharp. I recently started using a straight razor again that is until....any idea how much of a really bad decision it is to shave with a straight razor while on blood thinners and anti-coagulants? Don’t ask. I am back using my dependable Shick. But really, just keep it clean, dry and don’t leave it where it will wet.

[michelle_kitten]

I shave with a safety razor.  I have the kind where you put the thin, single edge blade into it.  The approach is very different than the multi-blade approach, which really isn't much better than the single edge.  The way i shave is a three pass system, which is ultimately easier on the skin, gives me a great close shave, and reduces the chances of razor burn.

 

I use warm water to warm my face before starting.  I use a good soap called Proraso, and a good badger-hair brush to apply the soap.  I warm the brush and the razor before touching my face with them.  I shave once with the grain of my beard, once across the grain, and once against the grain.  The key is a light touch, focusing on beard reduction with each pass, not beard removal.  I use a light touch with the razor, letting it do the work.  If i am not showering immediately after shaving, i use a Nivea after shave balm to make sure my skin is soothed and moisturized.  It takes a little longer, but now that i've been doing it this way for the last 5 years, it really doesn't take that much longer than the plastic handle ones.  Here is the best part, i paid like $8 US for 100 blades.  I get about 5 to 6 shaves out of a blade, so the cost is much less than cartridges and disposables, which are getting really expensive.

 

I invested in a $50 adjustable German safety razor when i started doing things this way.  It will probably last me the rest of my life and past.  So, if i have to pay $8 or so dollars every 600 shaves, i can totally live with that.  I only shave at most once every other day anyway, so a box of blades lasts litterally like 4+ years.  A tub of Proraso lasts me probably a year, and is about $20 USD.

 

Safety razors are rated for their aggressiveness.  The one i bought has adjustable aggressiveness.  Totally optional.  A good razor can cost about about $30, or you can get a cheap one for like $12.  I've paid $12 for a handle for cartridges that i couldn't find cartridges for a year later.

 

So, other than a straight razor, which i haven't been brave enough to try, you can't sharpen razor blades that i know of.  A straight razor can be kept sharp with a strap, and a hone.  My thought is to save money where you can.  I can shave for under 5 cents a shave U.S.  where if i were to shave with cartridges it would be like 55 cents.  Totally different.

[KathyLauren]

Thanks for the interesting, informative thread.  I never had anyone teach me about shaving, so I just mostly guess. 

 

My parents had split up and my father moved out before I needed to shave, so I got no help there.  My first experience that I can identify as dysphoria happened when my mother got me an electric shaver for Christmas.  I was probably 17.  It had actually never occurred to me that I would need to shave (*Ding ding*  That should have been a clue!), and the idea that I had to start was, well, dysphoric.  I always used an electric, much to the disgust of my drill sergeant in Basic Training.  ("Stand a little closer to the razor next time, mister!")  I only started using a bladed razor when I started transitioning, after realizing that my drill sergeant had been right.

 

I have been using 3-bladed disposable razors, but apparently I keep using them too long.  That might explain why there's one patch on my neck that I just can't get smooth.  Maybe I need to start using a safety razor and change the blades frequently.

[lachallenger]

having used my share of razors and the like since I was very young - my most positive results have come of combining the effects of a close-bladed electric razor, especially if it designed in general for use on body hair above and beyond your face - with a good multi-blade razor. Something that has always proved a pain in the southfarthing in my life is that I tend to get extremely coarse facial hair, which now that I am taking my first steps into and through a transition make it all the greater an irritant. I've found the best long term results for shaving in and of itself to have come from using a fairly resilient 5-blade razor, which I freely admit is not the most inexpensive device for a person to have, let alone need. Each pack of replacement blades comes with 5 of them, and I rotate each and every single time I need to get this confounded stuff from my face. I freely admit that my experience with razors is limited as it is - so I've shared what's worked best for me - and the solution was by no means either perfect or permanent.