Jodie Weston
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These days I have been doing a lot of thinking about my daily hygiene and beauty routine as it relates to a long term survival situation. I don’t want to appear frivolous but for me, feeling clean and looking nice are an important part of feeling good about myself in general. I do not think that my thoughts in this regard are limited to women and in fact, the Survival Husband feels much the same way, albeit without the need for a touch of lipstick and blush.
While an article on survival hygiene is long overdue, today I want to share with you a great tip for increasing the longevity of razor blades. Anyone who shaves – and this includes men and their beards and ladies and their legs – knows two things. One, razor blades are darn expensive and two, a dull razor blade will cut you up and result in a big bloody mess.
For the past few months I have been doing some research, trying to learn how to increase the longevity of the common razor blade. One strategy that worked well was drying the blade with a hair dryer after each use. Good to know, of course, but highly impractical in a survival situation.
I recently learned of a new technique and after testing with three separate razors, I can attest to its efficacy.
Sharpening a Razor Blade Using Blue Jeans
This method of sharpening a dull razor blade is so very simple that I am surprised more people don’t know about it.
1. Clean your razor in a little cup of soapy water.
Let it sit for awhile so that all of the old goo and gunk float away.
What I did was spray some of my Tea Tree Wonderful in a glass and let the razor soak for about an hour. I could not believe the crud that came loose!
2. Dry your razor by shaking away then excess moisture the wiping it off with a towel (or in my case, a microfiber cloth).
These are the razors I used for testing. All were old and dull.
3. Going in the opposite of your normal shaving direction, run the razor across some blue jean material about 20 times.
This is called stropping. Remember, you want to run the shaver backwards!
That’s it – easy peasy.
The Testimonial
When I was done sharpening the razor blades, I handed the Survival Husband his razor and told him to give it a try. Now let me say this: he was doubtful to say the least.
The first words out of his mouth were “Wow, this is really sharp”. I asked him how old the blade was and he said about a month. It was ready for the trash any day now.
Need convincing?
As part of my research, I came across the following YouTube video. It demonstrates the process for you and although the author refers to sharpening a disposable razor, in my tests a standard razor (not the disposable type) worked equally well.
Some Thoughts on the Budget
I like to save money just as much as the next person. As near as I can tell, refill razor blades are expensive. Let’s say you can get one month’s use out or each. That would be $24 a year. If you could double their life by sharpening the blades on a pair of blue jeans, you would save $12 right off the bat.
How many times can you re-sharpen the razor blades? Time will tell but if you ask me, my best guess is that you can re-sharpen then at least twice, if not more. It certainly is worth a try.
The Story Continued
What started out as a great Wednesday shortly turned into a bloody mess. The short version of the story is that Shelly, aka the Survival Husband, decided to touch up his bald head with a dull razor blade. What happened next was a scrape about one and a half inches long and a half inch wide. Who would have thought that so much blood could pour out of such a small wound.
I grabbed some gauze to soak up what I could, then dabbed on some boo-boo stick followed by miracle slave. While he held a clean piece of gauze in place, I grabbed the first aid kit and used a chunk of 1″ stretch wrap bandage aka “Vet Wrap” to hold the gauze in place. Although he looked like a dork for the rest of the day, the bleeding stopped and we were able to remove the makeshift bandage at bedtime.
Whether it was his great healing powers, or the essential oils in the Boo-Boo stick and salve, by the next morning, there was barely a scar.
When all was said and done, he got a harsh scolding for using a dull razor blade. There is absolutely no excuse for that since sharpening your own razor blades only takes a minute or two and is a cinch. All you need is scrap of old denim.
Need the recipe for Boo-Boo Stick? You can find it here: Make Your Own Healing Boo-Boo Stick.
Enjoy your next adventure through common sense and thoughtful preparation!
Gaye
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Bargain Bin: Stock up on a small supply of razor blades then sharpen them yourself! Check out these and a few more items related to today’s article.
Gillette Sensor Excel Razor: This is an extremely popular razor. According to the reviewers, it is difficult these days to find it locally. Shelly (the Survival Husband) uses this razor with the 3-blade refills.
Gillette Mach3 Men’s Razor Blade Refills 15 Count: These are the refill blades that Shelly uses. He has not felt the need to go beyond the 3 blade type of razor. Can you imagine giving these the longevity of 30 or even 45 blades?
Gillette Sensor3 Smooth Shave Disposable Razor 8 Count: Many folks prefer disposable blades but personally? Although we use them, we like the heft of a traditional, non-disposable razor.
Soft ‘N Style Clear Spray Bottles I happen to like these smaller bottles and you can not beat the price for a set of 6. Likewise for these Pump Dispensers.
Stretch Bandage Wrap, 1” 30 rolls: I first learned about self-adhesive bandages when my dog came home from the vet such a bandage wrapped around his leg. A light went off telling me I needed to add some to my first-aid kit. And so I did. This is a fantastic price and rivals the price at the farm supply. I rarely use old-fashioned band aids any more. You are going to love this stuff.
Mylar bags & Oxygen Absorbers: What I love about Mylar bags and oxygen absorbers is they protect against every single one of the food storage enemies. Prices do vary but for the most part, they are inexpensive and easy to keep on hand. And while you can seal them up with a FoodSaver, some tubing and a common clothes iron, I find it infinitely easier with a cheap hair straightening iron that you can pick up for very cheap.
Amazon Basics Microfiber Cleaning Cloth, (Pack of 36): No list of DIY cleaning supplies would be complete without these wonderful microfiber cloths. They will last you for years and will allow you to replace paper towels forever. Truly. I color code using blue for glass and windows and the other colors for everything else. I love these. They are not as “fuzzy” as the Z-wipes. I have both types.
Spark Naturals Essential 4 Pack: This 4 pack includes some of the most popular essential oils for everyday use, including lavender, peppermint, melaleuca (tea tree), and lemon. Another option is the “Health and Wellness” kit that comes packaged in a tin and includes a brochure with suggested uses for each of the oils. As kits, these oils are already discounted but as an added bonus, you get an additional 10% off with discount code BACKDOORSURVIVAL at checkout.
Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps Pure-Castile Soap: Of all of the Dr. Bronner’s castile soaps, tea tree is my favorite. I prefer to purchase the versions are already infused with essential oils since it does save me a step when concocting my own cleaners. A little goes a long way with a favorite use being DIY Foaming Hand Soap.
Color Me Calm: 100 Coloring Templates for Meditation and Relaxation: Those of you that follow Backdoor Survival on Facebook know that I have become a coloring maniac. This book is my latest splurge and what a fantastic adult coloring book it is! This is another one of my favorites: Balance (Angie’s Extreme Stress Menders Volume 1) Yes, I am totally addicted. Why color? Read Nine Reasons Why Adult Coloring is Important to Preppers.
Colored Pencils 36-color Art Drawing Pencils: This is the first set of pencils I purchased and they have served me well. I can also recommend this set of 72 colors from Prismacolor. More expensive, yes. But really worth it for coloring scenes where you want to do a lot of shading.
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Every family should have at least one Tote-able Toilet
. I have priced purchasing the bucket and toilet seat lid separately and found that it was more economical to pick up this kit. I have filled my portable potty with sanitation supplies plus, of course, plenty of TP.
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66 Responses to “How to Sharpen Razor Blades for the Long Term”
Get an ‘old fashioned’ double edge razor that uses the double edged blades. The whole concept of more blades equals more awesome shave is a little bit correct and whole lot of bunk.
You should be able to get 4-6 weeks out of a single blade without any special care. If you take the blade out and strop it by running it back and forth on the inside of a glass (real glass not plastic) you’ll get longer results. 100 blades runs about $10-12.
That runs you about $1 a year on shaving without any extra care. Maybe .50 a year if you clean and strop the blade once every couple of weeks.
My grandfather, back in the ’50’s, used to “strop” his double edged blades on the inside of a drinking glass.
I’m all for saving money during normal times, but when TSHTF, I don’t think I’m going to be worrying about shaving my legs.
have you tried the entrees?? i have been looking at the various brands of emergency foods and i’m really wondering about taste….. if things are bad enough or if it’s just a month long disaster i would be glad of anything to eat. but tasty sure would be better!!!
@Echo – I have tried the entrees. They are actually pretty good and much better than boxed stuff (such as hamburger helper and the like). Also, I have found the serving sizes to be pretty accurate although just to be safe, I often cook up 3 servings for the two of us. At the prices right now, cooking from food storage is cheaper than making the same thing from scratch (by the time you go out and purchase all of the ingredients).
One thing I am not real fond of are the desserts although the ice cream sandwich is really good.
Good tip!
Another is to buy Wilkinson Sword razors or blades. They are available at Walmart for less than half the cost of Gillette. I haven’t found them anywhere else.
I hadn’t seen the brand since the ’60’s – I used to buy them at the PX when I was in the Air Force. They are very sharp! Be careful the first time you try one. They also seem to last longer.
http://www.amazon.com/WilkinsoWilkinson Sword razorn-Classic-Double-Safety-Blades/dp/B000GCSFWW
Many months ago I purchased a RazorPit for this very purpose and it works ok but then somebody told me I could just use a pair of blue jeans (or something similar) and get the job done too… wish I’d known that before I spent $20!
two comments:
1. I heard many years ago that stropping is NOT sharpening, but only straightening and smoothing. You have seen them do it in western or old time movies. i.e. “the color purple”. The person who was giving the info said they kept referring to it as sharpening when they were smoothing. Even my dictionary has it wrong. Razors are the thinest blade and get nicks and bends very easy from just human hair. That is what is cutting you. It is not dull.
From wikepedia: A razor strop is a flexible strip of leather or canvas used to straighten and polish the blade of a straight razor, a knife, or a woodworking tool like a chisel. Unlike honing or sharpening a blade, in which a whetstone removes metal bent out of alignment from the blade’s edge, stropping the blade re-aligns the indentations without removing any material.
Manufacturers will not tell you this, because they can sell more product.
2. I have been doing this for many many years now. But I use my thumb while I run water over the blade. It also cleans the blade at the same time. (admittedly, I am only getting a partial cleaning) I can usually get up to 4 months on just ONE blade. I can tell when it finally becomes dull. first it takes more and more strokes to get a close shave. Then at some point the blade will ‘tug’ just a little before cutting the hair. That is when I dispose of it.
Just a word of warning: when transistioning from an old blade to a brand new one, go light on the strokes. As the blade does become more dull, you will instinctively apply more pressure to get the cut. If you apply that much pressure on a brand new blade, you will get bad skin cuts.
When you sharpen a blade, you roll over a very fine edge, stropping removes that edge!
Everything I read about dealing with the zombies is that I need to blend in. If I run around without whiskers, and not loosing weight, they will know I am different. I will grow whiskers.
It is funny that you speak of lipstick and blush. Selco posted a great article recently about the rescuers of the Jewish prisoners in the death camps in the second world war. They passed out lipstick to the women. It was said that this brought them back into humanity. Women that were so starved that they were nothing but skin and bones, with no clothes, walking around with lipstick and a smile on their faces. I would have never imagined.
I agree with you John. Bet you that growing a beard will actually became fashionable when there are no more razor blades around. I feel for the ladies though. If they cant wax it, they’ll probably will have to cover it up.
Hey John R: It is funny that Palestinian children react similarly to themselves and their parents not being beaten, shot and thrown out out of their homes by Jewish squatters.
To dry a blade pour a little alcohol on it.
Ken yes, then use the jeans before and after the shave, i’m on the SAME mach 3 blade for 22 months and still going as good and sharp as ever
Wow, great article! Thanks! I’ll be sure to try it out!
Bought some of the freeze dried salmon and cannot find a recipe for it. please share if u find some good ones. I use more expensive 4 or five blade razors and sharpen them after every use. A blade usually last me at least a month. I use a scrap piece of leather to strop it.
@Jerry – I plan to make a smoked salmon dip and some salmon patties. I will post the recipes on the Sunday Survival Buzz after I confirm how they work out – unless you would like them sooner?