EdgeSaver

EdgeSaver

What I like

• Increases the life of your blade
• Oil provides a little extra lubrication when you shave

What I don’t like

• It’s a little extra work

Overall

• Worth your while if you’re concerned about the cost of razor blades (and who isn’t these days?).

Review

There are two major causes of dull razor blades. First, the act of shaving wears down the edge of the blade. Human hair is made of a protein called keratin which is remarkably hard. As you shave, the blade gets small nicks and notches from the constant collision with your hair. Second, moisture corrodes the blade’s edge, further weakening it. The combination of these two forces dulls the edge of the blade bit by bit, until the razor blade is too dull to provide a good shave.

The EdgeSaver system is intended to increase the life of your razor blade by preventing corrosion of the blade. When you’re finished shaving, you dry the blade off and place it in the EdgeSaver’s specially-designed container, which contains oil and a hygroscopic (water-absorbing) tablet. The oil keeps oxygen and moisture from eating away at the blade.

In order to properly test the EdgeSaver’s claim that it significantly increased the life of a razor blade, I decided to do a side-by-side test comparing a new razor blade stored in the EdgeSaver (my test blade) to a new razor blade that was treated exactly the same way, except that it was not stored in the EdgeSaver (my control blade). Every time I shaved my head, I used the test blade on one half of my scalp, and the control blade on the other half of my scalp. I alternated sides (ie. test blade on the left side one time, on the right side the next time). In other words, I tried to eliminate any differences between the blades that might influence their lifespan.

One difference became apparent early on. After only a few shaves, the test blade tended to be more comfortable for shaving than the control blade. This is largely because the oil clings to the surface of the razor, providing it with extra lubrication compared to the control blade. This didn’t change the quality of the shave at this early stage, but it was an interesting feature.

Since I was shaving only half of what I would normally shave with each blade, both razors lasted a while. I generally shave every 2nd or 3rd day, and I can often go close to a month with a good quality razor (which tends to be longer than most people I’ve talked to about blade life; I’m not quite as sensitive to dull blades as most people). In this case, the control blade made it about 2 months (which would have been about 1 month if it had been shaving the whole head) before it was finally too rough to continue using.

At this point, the test blade was still doing well, so I continued using it for my entire head. It lasted another month before it started to produce rough shaves and I switched to another blade. Counting the first two months at half, that means the test blade lasted approximatley twice as long as the control blade for me.

At this writing, the basic EdgeSaver kit sells for $16.95 (US) on the EdgeSaver website. The kit is supposed to last 12 months. The re-fill kit is $7.00 (US), which should also last 12 months. How valuable this system is to any individual depends on how much you’re spending on razor blades. Mach 3 blades (the current highest-priced blades) go for nearly $2 per blade, and if you go through them fairly quickly, as some people do, then the EdgeSaver could pay for itself in short order.

Overall, I’m satisfied that the EdgeSaver does extend the life of a razor blade significantly. If you’re looking for a way to cut down on the cost of blades, this product may be just the ticket. It’s definitely worth a shot.