When should I change the blade?

I'm a few DE shaves ahead of you, Ltb. I can state very emphatically that you will know when it's time you should have changed the blade after the last shave, if not before then! When they said "drag" I assumed they meant drag, not uprooting with a bulldozer!

But beware if you've left it too long, as had I. The new blade is sharp - so don't do things like shoving it into your lip! Also, perhaps now is not the time to test a Feather - the blade everyone says is not for beginners. I concur.
 
The most I EVER use the same blade for is 2 shaves. And thats when I cba that morning to change it.

They cost 10 penga each. Anyone who rates a razor blade on longevity is a moron IMHO.
 
So anybody scraping by on Benefits or is poor for any reason and has to maximise blade usage is a moron - in your honest opinion? With experience as great as yours, we are bound to listen to you opine so you have a responsibility to offer considered opinions, surely, noobstu?
 
I'm not trying to make my blades last as long as possible, but I also don't believe in wasting things, there must be some Yorkshire blood in me somewhere. I was just trying to find it if was obvious when they need replacing.

So, if I can use them for 3 shaves with no great problems, thats better than using them for just one shave, yes, they are only 10p each so I can afford a new one each day if I want, but it seems a waste to throw something away that is still perfectly good.

I used my first blade for 3 shaves, then changed it for a new one of the same type and did notice a difference, although that could just be technique thats improving.

I'll see how it goes, but the average opinion appears to be 2 - 3 shaves.
 
I didn't mean to start a negative controversy on blade use. I use one blade for one shave because I try to use a different razor, soap, brush, blade from my rotation each day, shaving this way it became to confusing to save a blade for 4/5/6 days before reusing it.
When I say rotation, I'm talking razors mosty under20$ that I gotten off eBay for the most part. The only thing I buy new are brushes and here again they're under20$ ones.
Blades I try to buy 100 for as close as I can to 10/12$. Example about 3 weeks ago I bought 100 for 8$ including postage RAPIRA made in Russia. You know free 8cents a piece it was a darn good shave. But for 8cents I'm not going to wash it off, dry it, oil it, wrap it back into it's wrapper and store it on a magnet. Not to mention trying to remember when I used it last. So one shave 8cents. If it was 1$ I'd use it more than once.
Sorry again.
 
Canuck said:
Vinny of our parish uses Fusions and he claims something like 30 shaves with each Fusion.
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As few as 30? They must be getting bad...

Anyway - it will become blindingly obvious when you've let it go too far as the razor bounces across your fizzer leaving spurting claret in its wake... make a mental note to change it one shave earlier next time :)

Everything from 0.1 to 7 shaves from a blade here - the 0.1 was one that was like a rusty tin can at the kick off (Laser from Wilkinson the eponymous discount store), 7 from a Gillette Bleue Extra NOS in a how-far-can-I-push-this challenge.
 
Johnus said:
I didn't mean to start a negative controversy on blade use.
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I don't think you did.

You change your blade every day with good reason, you like to use different razors daily and different blades so having t clean and store the blades would be more trouble than it's worth.

Whereas for me with only one razor I don't have that problem, yet....
 
Huh. Here's the view from Yorkshire, and if I'm not tight as a duck's arse (watertight), I'm slipping.

Some blades are uniformly poor, and some are erratic: I'm not going into that. Some deteriorate suddenly, notably Feathers. Bin them as soon as they go off the boil, 2 1/2 shaves for me which is damned inconvenient. Others die a lingering but not especially painful death and are good for 4-5 or maybe more shaves. Swedes and old UK Wilkinsons are in that category. In between are most blades, and they're good for 3 shaves. If in doubt, chuck 'em.
 
I do respectfully think Stu was a bit blunt in his opinion; though I generally agree with changing blades before they go downhill, I think one shave per blade is a bit OTT, as any decent blade should last for at least 2 full shaves of 2 passes (more likely 2 3-pass shaves). I do, however, think that anyone who's so poor that they cannot afford DE blades probably has more pressing concerns than shaving (and I speak as someone on a fairly restricted budget myself - I've been DE shaving for about 16 months and have 3 razors and 3 brushes, which is significantly less than many members accrued in their first 6-8 months of DE shaving).
 
I've been using DE Blades for 6 months or so now. Most I have gone is 7 shaves I think, not really sure now why I did that.

I don't think I have ever changed a blade after just one shave, 2 is probably the minimum.

I set 3 as a benchmark, although I'll pull one after 2 if the second shave drags at all and occasionally I'll push it to a 4th shave, but that's usually only if time is lacking and there isn't time for a blade change.
 
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