How to Drastically Increase the Life of Your Shaver Razor Blade Cartridges or Disposable Razors
Today I found out how to drastically increase the life of your shaver razor blades, such as Gillette or Schick Brand razors. This trick is incredibly simple and just as incredibly affective. It will also save you a nice chunk of change over time and make all your dreams come true…
For instance, Gillette Fusion Brand razor cartridge sets typically will run you about $27 per set of 12, which will typically only last you a few months and less if you actually go by their expiration “strip” in determining when the cartridge needs replaced. With the below method, I have now gone about eight months using the exact same cartridge and the blades on the cartridge are as sharp as when I first popped the cartridge on.
I have no idea how long this will keep up, but now a package of 12 cartridges is apparently going to last me at least 12 years or more. This is a savings of around $70 a year over my previous expenditures on these cartridges; so then a savings of close to $840 over the course of 12 years or so and possibly will last more years depending on how long these things will stay sharp with the below method (I haven’t yet found the upper limit).
You could then use this $840 to buy $840 worth of bacon, which should of course make all your dreams come true, assuming your dreams are all bacon related; which lets face it, who’s aren’t???
Materials Needed:
- Pair of Jeans (old or new, it doesn’t matter; just needs to have one of the pant legs in tact)
- Shaver like Gillette or Schick Brand razors or other disposable razors.
Before or after you shave (I prefer before so that the blades are dry), place your jeans on a hard flat surface; then run the razor up the pant legs about 10-15 times quickly; then repeat running it down the pant legs 10-15 times quickly. No need to press that hard, but a little pressure is necessary. In both instances, you want to point the top of the razor in the direction you are rubbing the shaver on the pants. In other words, don’t “shave” the pants; point the razor the other way, so that the blades glide over the surface of the jeans and don’t try to cut them.
The threads on the jeans then will very effectively both fix any tiny bends in the blades that inevitably happen and will also sharpen the blades on your shaver cartidge. For an already dull blade, you can sharpen it up pretty effectively by doing 50-100 swipes both ways to get it back up to “like new” condition, but only 10-15 times swiped both ways should be necessary to maintain sharpness.
Pro-tip: rather than always having to grab a pair of jeans to do this with, I just cut the pant leg off some old jeans I was throwing away and put it in the same drawer as my Gillette shaver. The same pant leg has so far sharpened the blades on my shaver cartidge quite well for going on eight months now.
Source:
- I found this on a tutorial somewhere on the good ol’ Internet about eight months ago, but can’t seem to find it now; instead in my search to find where I originally saw this, my results are always coming up with how to sharpen the old barber shop style straight edge razor blades.
I believe this was originally on Instructables, this may be the link you were looking for:
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-extend-the-life-of-your-Razor-Blade-keeping/
You could also purchase a genuine strop.
That would last you a lifetime, and also be useful for straight razors, if you decide to try one out (which I recommend, they’re very nice, and you’ll only need one for the rest of your life)
1)Shave less.
2)use the tooth brush to clean the hair in the blades.
3) Don’t use CREAM! use only soap. Companies that sell you the cream are interested in first place in selling you more blades, not really in your skin.
This is pathetic; it’s $70 a year! I lose more than that in my couch each week!!!
I’ve found actually that conditioner works best for shaving. Leaves your skin soft and smooth too.
The best I’ve found for that is Pantene Pro-V the “Moisture Renewal” kind.
Joe, I’m robbing your fucking couch.
Haha…agree with Daven…conditioner is the best for shaving legs, too, (and Pantene is the best conditioner,) but not necessarily practical if you’re trying to save money.
Also agree with Matt.
Rich people get and stay rich by not spending more money than they have to. If you can save a couple bucks a month by simply running your razor over an old pair of jeans, why wouldn’t you? I suspect Joe’s real name may be Gillette.
Hey Joe, can I have your couch dollars? They’d really help pay for my dad’s medical bills.
Asshole.
Anyway, interesting post! I wonder if this would work as well on the disposable razors made for women, since those are often rounded and have weird little lotion strips on them. I’m certainly going to try it!
i use my ol’ rambo knife to shave.
I’m with Joe, what a dumb tip. Tightasses.
its called stropping and will work with any blade. you can use newspaper on a hard flat surface. I do this technique on my japanese cooking knives – keeps them sharp for ages…
Methinks this is a very good discipline! How long does it take a day? Less than a minute? I did it this morning and the blade was quite sharp. Awesome.
Joe, Kristy: Go find a bridge somewhere else. We hate trolls.
I’m shocked there’s no mention of the mineral oil trick. After drying the blades rest the razor into a cup with a few centimeters of mineral oil in it. It wont evaporate like rubbing alcohol and will repel the water from the blades while protecting them from rusting.
I use a safety razor, my blades cost about $5 a year. and I get the closest shave short of using a straight razor at the barber shop.
My skin is so effective that by shaving i’m sharping the blades of the razer.
This is an awesome tutorial. I’m always looking for ways to cut back on spending (as well as consuming) and this is something I am going to try out.
Great tip. I can’t believe how expensive these things are.
I’m convinced that Gillette and Schick only add more blades to their razors because they want them to get clogged with hair so people will replace them faster.
Nothing works like a good couple of taps on the sink to dislodge the residue.
I suspect the only thing that kristy shaves is her mustache.
Nice tip. I’m gonna try this on my knives and then go cut up a bunch of bad guys on a ship.
I will tell this to my female who shaves. I myself bang the beard back in with a hammer and bites it off when it reach my tongue.
This really works I just tried it with an old Mach 3 razor that nicked me several times last shave. I ran it 100 times, 50 one way and 50 the other and not a single nick. Thanks for the tip!
Thanks for the tip, those stupid disposable cartridges are way over priced! I’ll try it next time I shave my legs. P.S. There’s nothing wrong with shaving cream, it helps with razor burn better than conditioner.
Just grow a manly beard and quit being a pussy. Real men don’t remove hair from their body. End-Of-Story.
oi, kristy.
i daresay that being a tightass is better than being looseass, because– with the gaping and seepage and whatnot.
also, i’m game for helping to raid joe’s couch. *dons a pirate patch
great tips, though. maybe i’ll invest in a strop, now? or use old jeans, which obviously work too.
Great tip, good way to save a couple of bucks every now and then. Speaking of shaving cream, I use my girlfriend’s shave gel. It foams up way better than anything I have ever bought (I use less than half as much gel when I use her’s) and gives a great shave.
I use baby oil to shave with. Works for me. I’ll have to try the sharpening tip though.
I shave my head every day and go through razors much faster than the rare times I shave my beard. A Mach 3 typically lasts me only about 3 shaves, so I am burning through money on these things. I look forward to giving this a try tomorrow morning.
Being frugal does not equal being cheap. Joe and Krusty, get a life.
@MsGamgee89: Who the fuck mentioned anything about your dad, you attention whore? And what the hell would a mere $70 in couch change do to medical bills, you twat? I hope your dad dies.
It’s hard to believe how many people are disrespectful to someone who was just trying to help…im sending you all to hell, or whatever devilish place you believe in.
hey, it works great, I tried it yesterday, 20 strokes one way, 20 another, and a 2 weeks old razor became almost better than new. I have a hard beard so I notice those things.
all you 70$ lost on a couch guys – there are countries where a pair of those top blades cost a ‘days work’, ( blades – same price, people earn less ) for an average teenager its a challenge.
soo thanks, great tip.
Hi,
I have never used any shaving cream in the last 25 years, only soap. I normally use only 1 cartridge every six months. I like this idea, I want to try it out.
Thanks
Tim
@BRad: Who the fuck mentioned attention whores, you attention whore? And what would a mere 7,000$ in 2 years do for your need for attention? I hope your mother dies.
P.S I am going to try that razor technique because, unlike the snobs around us, I am not as wasteful.
I like this God. Good tip, I hope I can remember to try it.
Interesting tip! Always thought about how I could save money with those; a pack of 4 Gilletes Mach 3 cost about €17 over here, and since I shaved everyday (rough beard) they only lasted a couple of months, tops.
I would try this out, but I got tired and stopped shaving at all
I’m now a proud owner of a beautiful trimmed beard, and loving it as well. When my lady boss (girlfriend) gets tired of it and forces me to shave, I will certainly try your tips out. Thanks.
My Mach3 was nicking my nutsack…
…this tip has helped with the frequent ballsack blood loss although now I can’t get Michelle to lick the blood off
ah well, can’t have it all now can we?!?
I don’t spend a thing on razors. But then, I’m a fucking eunuch. Thanks Mum.
Anyone who wants to save some $ on shaving should try using an old-style safety razor with double edged razor blades. The shave is much, much nicer and it feels way classier than those insanely overpriced plastic cartridges. It’s just better quality and you can shave with a brand new blade every couple of days for pennies each. Quit getting taken by Gillette and their ilk.
love it. when i shave my ass later, i’ll be prepared to feel extra-silky smooth down there. it’ll make my boyfriend happier because now when he gives me a rim-job, he won’t come back up for air with a mouthful of pubes stuck in his teeth. Thanks Daven!
Sounds OK, but I have a system(?)that really works for me without the jeans. I discovered this by accident and have found it to be a real money saver.
I just don’t use shaving cream when I shave. No soap either. I just use a lot of hot/warm water to soften my beard and then proceed to shave without the addition of any lubricant of any sort. I may just be lucky in that my skin is super oily or something of that sort but even when I pre-wash my face with soap, if I wash off the soap and just shave without the application of shaving cream/soap or anything of the like, that I have no problem with shaving very close. I use a Gillette Mach3 that I have owned for several years now and have only needed to buy new blades every year or so. I use the blades for at least 4-6 months each.
The only reason I change the blade is because I feel I should get the sharpest blade I can on my razor. I do notice a small improvement whenever I do change the blade, but I am convinced that blades will last much, much linger than the commercials would have you believe. The “expiration” strip, to me, is just a marketing gimmick by the manufacturers to get you to buy blades more often than is really necessary.
Try it for yourself. You might just be surprised. Just remember to really soak your face with the hottest water you can reasonably stand prior to shaving.
You could, of course, use the ‘old fashioned’ double edged safety razors. They shave at least as close as razor cartridges, last just as long and are only 15 cents a piece (go to Amazon and look up “100 Derby razor blades”).
Yes, you need to buy a handle for these blades, and they’re more expensive than a cartridge handle, but not by that much (go to Amazon and look up “Parker razor handle” or “Merkur razor handle” The Merkur has a nice heft to it, but is a bit more expensive. One handle can fit any brand of safety razor (and there are many)…Imagine that!
Lastly – this shaving system will require that you really learn how to shave. Cartridges are very forgiving, real razors are not. But, once you get the hang of it, you will never go back. If you go this route, shave ‘with the grain’ for a week or two before going against the grain. Once you can shave against the grain and see the result, you’ll wonder why anyone even uses a cartridge system.
You may even want to go all out on this ‘old fashioned’ shaving system and pick up a shaving brush, and real shaving soap (yes, it shaves differently than the goop from a can).
There are forums and the like that discuss these in greater detail. Or, you can go ask your grandfather about these
As an aside, if you have trouble with razor burn or ingrown hair as a result of shaving, using a safety razor system should solve that. How? Safety razor systems use the extreme sharpness of a single blade to cut a hair cleanly as opposed to using multiple relatively dull blades to pull the hair apart.
try a leather belt, like in the old barber shops…
Don’t use Soap, cream or Baby Oil to shave, Soap is bad for the skin. It removes excessive amount of the natural oils from your skin. By ‘Cream’ i assume you all mean Shaving Cream which is a detregent and is the same detegent that is use in Engine Degreaser, read the MSDS for degreaser’s and this is the muck in the shave creams (continued use causes cancers). Baby Oil is a petroluem based Oil, to save money you might as well use engine from you car, again not good for your skin. Two Methods I use, !:- ‘Vegetable Cooking Oil’ take your pick from the basic safflower through to the cold pressed top quailtiy ones. 2:- Moisturizer, the cheapest and thicker ones work best and preferably with out scent.
METHOD for both above is wet face with warm water, apply a small amount (3/4 Teaspoon) of Oil or Moisturizer to your face, legs or whatever you shave, shave as normal rinsing razor in warm water regularly, rinse razor out after use AND the fact that you are using a oil based product to shave with you razor is protected from rust
I make more money scratching my arse than what this tip will save me! Bollocks, I say, good sir! Bollocks!
Great tip. I try to get the most out of my cartridges by drying them thoroughly and making sure they are really clean after shaving. But, even with that, I can only get about 10 shaves out of a cartridge. I’m very excited to try this. Thanks!!!
A trick I’ve used for years that’s allowed me to get a couple of months use out of my razor is to use an old toothbrush to clean the razor after each use…works for me
I’ve used the same 4 blade razor cartridge for over a year now. Just dry it after use, strop it every two or three shaves (a strop is best IMO, but an old leather belt, the heel of your hand–be sure you go the right direction–or the jeans should work well. Haven’t tried the jeans, but it’s a good idea!