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⬅️ Previous capture (2021-12-04)
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9/28/2021
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I am at 650 days since I replaced my last Gillette Mach 3
razor cartridge for a new one [1]. I would estimate that
I shave, on average, every other day, so this is hundreds
of shaves.
This process of hyper-extending the life of an object not
only saves money, but it makes interacting with it more
interesting -- like a kind of game. If you can extend the
useful life of something, you of course understand it
better than you would otherwise. I look forward to trying
to extend my current computer as long as possible, with the
present environs as a big part of that.
Before I talk any more theory, I will go over the practices
I use in extending a Gillette Mach 3 cartridge. This is my
third cartridge since doing my research on extending razor
life. The first one, I over-tinkered and didn't get a
relatively poor result. My theory is that by trying to
remove gunk I damaged the geometry of the blades. My
second cartridge lasted around six months. For that one I
had adopted similar practices than what I have now got 650
days on, but I had taken an international trip and I think
that did some real damage to the plastic that holds the
cartridge to the stick. Now, with that said, I don't mind
learning new skills, so I tried to shave with just the
cartridge.
I did this for a while, but then the blade popped out the
plastic. At the time, I just assumed it was done for and
left it in the shaving cream. Only later did I think that
I could maybe pop it back in, which I could -- "we are
addicted to our limitations, how amazing is that?" says
Morty on the television show -- but having left an old
blade out to moisture, the resulting shaves left me with me
with razor burn.
The real failure condition of cartridge #2 gives us a
strong hint of the lesson here: don't let moisture stay on
the blade. With that said, you can't get so obsessed with
this that you are picking at the blade or running things
through it. Instead, I shave normally -- well, while the
darn thing can stay on the stick -- and then I have some
water in the sink. I run the cartridge through the water
vigorously, and then shake it off. After that, I dab the
thing on a towel. Next, I run my thumb to the reverse of
cutting action, which in a small way "strops" it and
deposits some oil. Lastly, I put the cartridge up in a
ziploc baggie. (In this manner, I am also seeing how many
times a baggie can be resealed. . . a whole bunch, I have
found).
Without a trip, it is only in the last few weeks that the
plastic that holds the cartridge to the stick has failed.
As long as I don't develop razor burn or find there are
areas that cannot be cut, I plan to keep shaving holding
the cartridge between my fingers.
One aspect of this process I like is that I am not using
some specialty razor; instead, I am extending the life
of something available to everyone else in my market. Yes,
the Mach 3 is pricier than the unit cost of each individual
safety razor, but at nearly two years of usage and less
than a third of a cent a shave, how much cheaper do I need
this to be?
At this point, the sport is just in seeing how long I can
get it to last.
[1] 12/18/2019. Will I make it to another Christmas?
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I'd love to hear from people. My email is the handle minus
"net" (work by Voltaire that starts with "c"), at sdf.org.