Thread: So what really wears out a razor (cartridge)?

Hello all, I apologize for the slightly off topic post but it's something that's been bothering me.

What really dulls a cartridge razor? Is it the actual cutting of the hair or is it corrosion? I'll eventually get into shaving with a straight razor, probably in the summer when I can afford one. However, for now I'd like to know how to maximize the life of my cartridge heads .

i think its the same thing that dulls any blade.. "use".. if you really want to prolong the life of a blade.. just keep using it till it stops cutting.. i've heard of people who use their mach3 cartridge for months on end before switching.. it isn't a fun shave.. or an incredibly close one.. but it works... if you you don't care about your face.. chances are neither will your razor...

lather well.

Yeah, regular use same as any other, but I found this a while back: RazorPit Razor Blade Sharpener from Mankind

Seems to work like a strop for the accessible side of a cartridge blade and gets good reviews too. May be worth a go. Alternatively you could probably achieve the same thing with your thumb or the heel of your hand to try and extend the life of your blades.

Jim

Use dulls the blade requiring its replacement, unlike straights they cannot be stropped or re honed.

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

Use dulls the blade requiring its replacement, unlike straights they cannot be stropped or re honed.

This is correct, but the other part of the answer lies in the teflon coating that the Big Guys use to coat their mass produced crap, usually used to impart a "sense" of ultra keeness and smoothness. When the teflon coating wears out, after only a handful of shaves at most, that feeling of "smoothness" is replaced with discomfort and irritation as the blades literally rip the whiskers from your face.

That's why we all gave up on the cartridge systems!

The teflon and other coatings aren't just to improve the shaveability of the blade(s) but it allows the actual blade to be of very poor quality and acts like a crutch for the blade itself. Once the coating wears after a very few shaves the edge isn't worth 2 cents. At one time when stainless DE blades came out in the 1970s or so you could get al least 10 great shaves from them.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

Once the coating wears after a very few shaves the edge isn't worth 2 cents.

True, but one could also argue that they aren't worth $4.00 (or whatever the going rate is for single cartridge) to begin with.....