I know this has nothing to do with tools, but most of us use them each day. Can someone tell me why after a week of shaving my razor blade is dull? My planer, table saw and drill bits/blades lasts for months and months. What am I doning WRONG????
Tim
Replies
it's obvious..
shave with yur planer...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
I expect the main culprit is corrosion. It can't need much corrosion to make a noticeable difference to that fine edge.
I also suspect that the edge is damaged simply by use. Every bunp and turn just has to put the edge just a little out of line.
try a Mach III, they last perty long
Quality of steel comes to the top of the list. The company makes money, lots of money selling you replacement blades.
I shave in the shower. I don't think my power plane is going to like the water.
use a cordless...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
18V or 24V? Will a Ryobi work or do I need to go higher end?
Russell
"Welcome to my world"
hit it mano style and go top end....
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
I don't think yer face is going to like the power planer.
just the mere thought of it gives me the willies! View Image View Image
it just may be a one time never have to shave again deal....
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Can someone tell me why after a week of shaving my razor blade is dull?
I used to ask the same question. Heavy beard, hated shaving in the morning, so it finally dawned on me...why continue with this peculiar daily ritual? So in the fall of '72 I quit shaving and let it grow.
Except for a couple of square inches on my cheeks which I hit after showering to keep the beard looking civilized, I never pick up a razor.
It's been a real blessing in my daily life.
My FIL used to be in the metal treating business. He designed and built furnaces for heat treating and also dabbled in cryogenic hardening systems in the 90's. Now retired but he maintains that Gillette, Schick and all the others could easily treat razor blades to last far longer than they do (for nominal cost), but they chose not to for the obvious reason.
I've heard the same about rubber tires. It's my understanding that the tire industry could make tires that would last pretty much forever, but they don't, again, for the obvious reason.
I use an electric razor on a daily basis and use the manual razor much like a block plane, just to touch up the spots that the elec. razor always seems to miss. I do this dry without bothering with shaving cream. Without the electric, I'm lucky to get 3-4 good shaves off a regular manual blade. Just using it to touch up will last a month or so.
...Gillette, Schick and all the others could easily treat razor blades to last far longer than they do (for nominal cost), but they chose not to for the obvious reason...
Of course you're inferring that the obvious reason is that it would reduce the number of blades that they could sell and reduce their profit.
Unless there's collusion amongst blade makers, I suspect the real reason is that the price increase would result in lost sales to other brands since customers have no good means to measure how much money they would be saving by buying better blades.
It's all about money, if they could make more money selling longer-lasting blades, they would.
I use the Gillette Mach III. Each blade lasts about a month.
I have used the Trac III since they came out. Although it is the best shaver ever for my particular face, it never worked quite as well as when the introductory shaver/blade offers came up originally. Blade longevity has gone down slowly over time. The same goes for smoothness. In the last year, they have gotten significantly worse, IMO. I still use them because they do the best job for my face. They just don't last now. In my mind, there is no doubt that they have engineered the blades to last for a much shorter period. I used to be able to get three or four weeks easily. Now I am lucky to get one week. The prices have not gone down. Only a strong competitor will drive them to make the blades last longer, a trick they have already mastered.
There is nothing wrong with their engineers. I think it is the marketing department that calls the shots on quality and longevity. There is nothing wrong with the marketing people doing their job either. They have to survive too.
Every major industry has its "money-is-everything" people. You can't blame them for trying to make an extra buck. We, as consumers, should just have a good memory of when they are not fair to us. When a reasonable alternative comes up, it is morally ok to say goodbye to any company that chose short-term profits over long-term reputation.
I haven't tried them, but this place gets good reviews: http://www.greatrazors.com/ They cryogenically treat a variety of brand name razors and resell them.
Thanks for the link. I'm going to give those blades a try. Cryogenically tempered blades? We'll see. They're not that expensive anyway so I ordered a dozen, but if this tempering process actually does what they claim, then I've got enough blades for the next 4 years.
I know this is an old thread, but I've been running some long-term tests on Mach III razor blades.
The typical blade lasts me about a month before they get too uncomfortable for me. And yes, that's definitely stretching it, but I like to economize where I can. The Great Razor (cryogenically treated) blade lasted about 2 months before it got to the same point.
Since the Great Razor blades don't cost that much more, there is a cost savings to be had, but it's not as great as they advertised (no surprise there).
If the remainder of the blades perform as well, I would definitely buy them again. So far, I don't have enough data points to be absolutely certain, but it's looking good.
I use the disposable, one piece blue Gillettes (Good News?) with the lubricating strips. Lasts a month or two for me. I have a beard, but I shave the borders daily. If I ever shave the beard off I'll go back to using my J.A. Henckels straight razor. I always felt that I got a better shave with it than anything else. Maybe because I was so careful with it.
I guess I'm gonna' have to start shaving daily. Probably switch to a multiple blade; have to use single edge (orange Bics) now cuz they don't clog with a few day's worth.
Have to try out some of those ninety-seven blade jobs.
Forrest
Make sure you include the Gillette Mach 3 in your trials. It doesn't matter which one (original, turbo or M3 power). I've tried a variety of razors with a varying number of blades (the Gillette Fusion has 5 blades!) and I have found the Mach 3 to be the best overall.
The Mach 3 works well for me, but I suffer from sticker shock.I bought a Mach 3 after my much-used Atra got the handle shakes and the difference in blade cost dang near did me in at the checkout stand. Too many years of being able to buy the drug store brand, I guess.Leon
I 3rd the Mach 3. Nice thing is there is no back cover on the baldes, so the cut hair and shaving cream just flows out the back instead of packing in tight. I used to have to beat the blades against the sink to clean out the gunk before, you don't have to do that with this blade.
I find a new blade is more likely to nick you, but that goes away after a few uses. You know it's time to change blades when it feels like your hairs are getting pulled instead of cut.Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
If your hair looks funny, it's because God likes to scratch his nuts. You nut, you.
Although I found the claims hard to buy, I recently tried the cryo treated blades. So far, I'm a believer.
Interesting website. I don't doubt their claims and will check it out. Before he retired, my FIL had bought a cryogenic unit and was treating machine tools (drills, end mills and some lathe tools) for a few machine shops in the NC/SC/TN area. He told me that the machinists said that the cryogenically treated tools kept their edge as much as 40x longer than standard high speed steel.
Aside from the cost of the unit, it was pretty much an inexpensive treating process. I think it used liquid nitrogen for the cooling process, you had to deep-freeze the parts for a certain length of time (a few hours I think, maybe longer), then slowly bring them back up to room temperature. I think they were even dabbling with treating engine blocks, cams, pistons, etc for a Saturn plant in TN I think. Not sure what ever became of that venture, as he had to retire pretty suddenly due to a diagnosis of cancer.
They were even experimenting with cryogenic treatment of wood objects (musical instruments and such). Makes one wonder what things are possible, eh?
The absolutely best power shaver I've ever used (and still do) is a Panasonic.It's the only razor I've ever had where you can start with a full growth of beard and get down to smooth skin with.Mine's over 10 years old, batteries no good anymore, but I can still get a shave out of it, and the blades are probably dull - but still does a good job. And - it's waterproof - you can shave in the shower with it.I think they sold for $249 or so, I bought mine refurbed for $89 - well worth it.JT
Here ya go....try this:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=4F7TMlrDXtw&feature=related
Beware the bikini clad female.
She may be interpreted as offensive.
I was watching cnn headline news one morning and they had a money specialist on and he claimed that he used the same disposable razor every day for nearly a year by simply cleaning the blades each morning after use; rinse it out good and dry it. He claimed that corrosion is the primary reason blades dull.
I tried this with some success. I also quit wasting money on shaving cream/gel and just lather the soap up good and shave away (I shave in the shower) .... doesn't clog the razor up as much and cheaper besides. I believe it to be just as close of a shave.
Ebe
After moving to an area with extremely hard well water, I was suspicious that microscopic mineral deposits were being left on the blades after each use. Now when done shaving, I rinse the blades with distilled water. No proof, but I like to believe they last a couple extra weeks this way. <g>