When is a blade done?

The moment that the first stroke on a shave shows any tugging pulling. I stop, change the blade, and get back to it. Different blades last different amounts of time.

I get 3 shaves out of a good brand of DE blade and 7 shaves out of a SE blade before I start noticing the blade. Trying to get one more shave or two out of a blade just isn't worth the chance of razor burn on my neck -- hate that.

I get 3 shaves out of a good brand of DE blade and 7 shaves out of a SE blade before I start noticing the blade.   Trying to get one more shave or two out of a blade just isn't worth the chance of razor burn on my neck -- hate that.

I can't agree more. I usually get about 3 shaves from pretty much any brand of DE blade, but SE blades only last about 4-5 shaves before I start noticing tugging.

The issue I have is that I rarely stick to one razor for 3+ shaves at a time, so I sometimes lose track of how many shaves have been put on a blade. In those cases I should just chuck the blade and use a new one, but I usually try the blade out before I decide.

Some good information here. I'm kind of experimenting with a personna red, it's not tugging but it just seems like I'm working a little bit more with it if that makes sense. Could it be like a lawn mower with a dull blade versus a sharp one? I've got 10 uses on it. I'm just trying to learn something and then know what I know and why.

After 4 shaves or sooner

I used to wait until it felt dull but usually try to change it after 3 to 4 shaves. It depends on the brand of blades too though, as some last longer than others. I use Feather 99% of the time and can't seem to get more than 4 shaves.

every 4th shave for me

After 100+ shaves.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-BNdzVYbOk

---

I've done that with a personna 74 before, but not you average DE blade.

Like 14 or 15 on a personna red. (100 on a Nacet or a 74 ,nice) ole Sgrddy has good videos. Cool dude!

2 times with good brands. 1 time with the sketchy brands (and usually bloody) that I probably shouldn't have used and never use more than once. I usually found a noticeable difference around the 3rd or 4th shave with the mainstream brands, so I cut it off at 2. I decided life is too short to take a chance on a bad shave, just to save a few cents.