Stroping Disposibles?

O

Omega Leather Works

Joined
Jun 13, 2007
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We use the expensive multi blade shavers in our house.

My wife was telling me a minute ago about an article she read that recommend using jeans to prolong the usable life of the blades. Up to 6 months claimed the author (yeah right!), anyway they didn't mention stroping but obviously this is what they are doing. I have good compound treated leather strops in place of jeans.

Anyone ever try this? With four people shaving in the house it is very expensive.

I just replaced the head of my razor, but as soon as it starts to dull I'm gonna try it.
 
I have done it and it will extend the usefulness of a disposable razor a little. Perhaps 3-4 more shaves and I did it on canvas and denim. You don't get much benefit as you can only strop on one side of the blade. Some of the cartridge heads are made with ends holding the blade, this, only allows a narrow strop to fit between the plastic holder. Whereas, the real benefit is, with stropping a double edge razor blade. From this I've obtained 50 + good shaves from one blade. DM
 
The main thing stropping accomplishes for a cartridge razor is the drying of the blades. This reduces corrosion and extends the life of the blades.

If you are concerned about the expense of shaving, consider switching to double edge razors. The blades cost only 10 to 20 cents apiece and in my opinion work much better.
 
Agreed. Plus, offer longer life. Thus, the real investment is the razor its self. Which, can be obtained for 15-20$. DM
 
email sent with good info. I would have posted it as a response but I think I would have violated some kind of forum rule regarding referrals. Anyways, I found a company online that supplies really high quality razors. I ordered two razor handles and 12 refill cartridges for $20. The cartridges have six blades each plus a trimmer blade on the reverse side. I've been using them for about 2 months now and they perform as good if not better than the Gillette razor they replaced.
 
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MDQBox said:
email sent with good info. I would have posted it as a response but I think I would have violated some kind of forum rule regarding referrals. Anyways, I found a company online that supplies really high quality razors. I ordered two razor handles and 12 refill cartridges for $20. The cartridges have six blades each plus a trimmer blade on the reverse side. I've been using them for about 2 months now and they perform as good if not better than the Gillette razor they replaced.
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Thanks man, email inbound.

Great info!
 
Strigamort said:
Good stuff, thanks guys. I will consider a DE, but I can't imagine my wife and daughters going for them. ;)
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Don't rule it out so quickly! I loaned my wife my only DE razor several years ago and her first reaction after using it was to ask why anyone would ever use a cartridge razor when the DE works so much better! I haven't shaved with anything but a straight razor ever since her first DE shave.
 
I stropped disposable razors on denim about 10-20 strokes every 2-3 weeks and ended only using 3 or 4 of them last year. I have fairly sensitive skin and had started using a shaving oil, shaving soap and brush a few years ago but still, I was very surprised at how well it actually worked. That being said, the little rubber component started to disintegrate after a few months and I knew that making the switch to DE was going to be just as economical in the long run and likely result in a better shave.

I did make the switch a couple weeks ago and I'm still working through the adjustment but so far so good.
 
I use the double edge and strop them just like I would my knife going a year on one blade
 
I admit that the idea is intriguing, but a 100-pack of Astra SP's costs $10.59. That's 11 cents per blade. I get a good three shaves out of each blade before tossing them. That's 4 cents per shave. The conclusion is very, very clear that the time spent setting up the stropping sessions and stropping the blades (added to the risk of cutting myself or gouging my strops) could never make DE-blade stropping worth it for me.
 
Holy crap 1 year out of a DE blade! I'm way to lazy to strop a DE blade. I use a DE blade for about a week. Some last a day or two more and some less.
 
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