Hyper-extending (instance: razor)

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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.