Blade life and switching sides

[Curves]

Hey guys I was just wondering about blade life and switching sides of the razor. As far as I know on average you can get between 4-7 quality shaves out of a blade, now does that include using both sides of the blade?

What is your routine when it comes to which side of the blade/razor you use? Some people use one side for the face and the other for the neck etc? Whats recomended?

Thanks a bunch in advance.

Evan

[nodaktim]

Evan,

Welcome to SMF.

I just alternate every other stroke. First stroke, then flip and second stroke, rinse off lather and repeat.

[notthesharpest]

Hey guys I was just wondering about blade life and switching sides of the razor. As far as I know on average you can get between 4-7 quality shaves out of a blade, now does that include using both sides of the blade?

Yes. When you wet a blade with soapy water and then expose it to air, it starts to deteriorate; so trying to save one side for later is not effective. Use both sides equally throughout your shave. No precision is needed - just keep the number of strokes per side about the same. Which particular area of the face doesn't matter.

[Tryphon]

Hey guys I was just wondering about blade life and switching sides of the razor. As far as I know on average you can get between 4-7 quality shaves out of a blade, now does that include using both sides of the blade?

Yes. When you wet a blade with soapy water and then expose it to air, it starts to deteriorate; so trying to save one side for later is not effective. Use both sides equally throughout your shave. No precision is needed - just keep the number of strokes per side about the same. Which particular area of the face doesn't matter.

I heard this mentioned several times and I am sorry, but I have to disagree. Blades get dull not just because they oxidize or corrode! Especially with some of the hard coatings used today, corrosion is but one of several factors that affect edge sharpness. Wear is even more of a factor. According to Gillette (way back in the early days) a beard is as tough on the blade as copper strands. Blade edges were numbered 1 to 4 (some still are) for those people who used the edges sequentially and got more use out of a blade.
The type of lather affects blade wear, the way the prep softens the whiskers, the number of passes, the pressure used during the shave, etc... Corrosion, too, but it is not the overwhelming factor, especially in coated, stainless blades with platinum coated edges.