Save Big Money On Your Disposable Blades

"If I could show you how to save over $100 a year on your favorite razor blades, would you be interested?" Sure it sounds like a line from a cheesy movie but who cares??? I did find out how and it all started with a long trip back from a trade show (cue the "dream"-sounding music) ...

On my flight, I picked up an issue of Entrepreneur Magazine and began reading it. One of the more interesting stories was about two guys that started a company called "ShaveFace". These ingenious fellows launched "The Strop" which allows you to easily clean and hone your existing cartridge blades to make them last up to 5x as long while continuing to give you a clean comfortable shave.

What's a "strop" you ask (as I did)? Well, here's the dictionary definition:

"A razor strop (or razor strap) is a flexible strip of leather, canvas, denim fabric, balsa wood, or other soft material, used to straighten and polish the blade of a straight razor, a knife, or a woodworking tool like a chisel. In many cases stropping re-aligns parts of the blade edge that have been bent out of alignment. "

So what is ShaveFace's Strop? I ordered one to find out. When my order arrived, I opened it to find a beautifully packaged leather and denim "strip" that I could use to run my used razor blades over. I followed the simple instructions included with the package (basically running the used blade in one direction, 10 times over the strop). I tried it both with a Harry's blade I had used for weeks as well a Gillette Fusion blade that had been used about the same amount of time. In both cases, I was ready to ditch the blades because they exhibited a noticeable decrease in performance. After my first "stropping" attempt, I gave both razors a try and ... wouldn't you know that both blades were almost like new! They worked incredibly well compared to "pre-stropping". I continued to use them for a few more weeks before finally disposing of them.

 I wondered what my new strop did to improve the performance of my old blades, so I checked their website once again and found out the following tidbit:

"The edge of these blades are so thin, that the process of shaving causes little micro-burs and indentations occur. The friction built between the denim and the blades will actually smooth the surface of the blades for a sharper, more comfortable shave."

Whether its magic or a bit of physics, the thing does indeed work! I figure that if I can increase the life of my razor blades by 50 to 100%,  the thing will more than pay for itself in a few months ... everything after that is found money.

So if you like getting a close smooth shave AND saving money, give ShaveFace's Strop ($38) a try (and continue to use Matte For Men's Antioxidant Shave Gel with your newly sharpened blades!). You can learn more about the product (and Shaveface) by clicking here.

***UPDATE: Now you can save money on your blades AND the item that will help keep them sharp as we just found a coupon that saves 20% off if you are interested in giving it a try: "NEVERDULL20"