Razor Blade Sharpener

About eight years ago, I gave up on Gillette razors. Expensive and didn't last more than three or four shaves. However for Christmas I was bought some shaving goodies including a Gillette Fusion ProGlide Power Razor Olympic Gold Edition something which I had poured scorn over when it came out. "5 blades? Who needs 5 blades!" However I gave the razor ago and was genuinely impressed at how easy it was to get a very close comfortable shave with. However after a few shaves the blades were dull and I baulked at the cost of new blades. Browsing at Amazon looking at the blades I came across this little wonder. I lump of rubber that claimed with the help of some excess shaving soap to reinvigorate your razor blade and make them last longer. I had to give it a go. For the cost of less than a packet of replacement blades I had nothing to lose. The Razorpit turned up promptly and I gave it a go. A little excess soap on the base and then four stokes of the razor in the opposite direction to that used when shaving. Looking at the blades it was impossible to the tell with the naked eye as to whether anything had changed, whether or not the blades had be cleaned and therefore were going to be any sharper. However as soon as I shaved, it was like shaving with a brand new razor. No tug and pull and a very clean shave indeed. I have now been using the same blade for three weeks (nowhere near as long as Razorpit suggest is possible) but it is still like shaving with a new blade every day. To think that before I bought this I was going to through away the blade that I am still using. Not only does the Razorpit save you money, but it also is more environmentally friendly. A great product.

I have to admit at being a little sceptical at the thought of being able to sharpen cartridge blades, but I took a gamble thinking I could send it back if I wasn't happy. I am using Gillette fusion proglide blades which I have paid between £1.50 to £2 per blade depending on deals etc. The blade lasts me around a week of daily shaving against the growth whereupon they start to dull, a few shaves after this and they are dragging and needing to be replaced by the end of week 2. This is easy to use; a little splodge of shave gel and push the blade along the bed 4 times. The is no saying how much pressure you are supposed to put on the blade, but if you press too hard it doesn't swipe. Gentle pressure seems to be about right. I have used this quite a bit now and the blade life has exceeded what I normally would have gotten out of it. First time I used this I had a blade that was just starting to turn. I didn't notice much difference, but swiped it after every shave and the blade sat around the week old feel - still good, but not a fast or easy as a new blade. I wouldn't expect this to get a blade back to peak performance, but I am happy with the results. I don't use it on a new blades as I wasn't seeing any difference, I usually give it a few days and the start swiping it after every use. I am getting around 3 weeks and a few days out of each blade, so I am getting close to double the life span. So I think this will be paying for itself in less than a year. I am more than happy with that. I have found with using blades this long is that the lubricating strip breaks apart, but this is not a problem. In fact I am beginning to wonder if the lubricating strip is just a gimmick as I don't notice any difference with it intact or broken away! EDIT: As I get used to this device, the lifespan of the blade is increasing. I started a blade at the start of November, 5 weeks later I am still on the same blade. I think success depends on shave product used too. I found foams were a bit more clingy and left more of a soapy scum residue behind than gels. The blade needs a good rinse afterwards. Sometimes the blade needs a bit more than a few swipes if it is starting to drag. Finally, don't put too much foam/gel on the block else it may not make contact with the block. Just a little smear, you want the blade to make contact with the block and feel a little resistance as you push, not simply skim over it.

The Razorpit is a plastic cradle about 15cm long that looks very similar to the holders you get with many Gillette razors. With the exception of the bottom, the whole of the Razorpit is covered in a form of tough rubber, and it's the flat centre section of this cradle that you use to sharpen (or, more accurately, clean) your razor. To do this, you put some shaving cream on this section (I do this after I've had a shave, when I still have some lathered cream left over), press your razor head against it and push 4 times in the opposite direction you'd use to shave. I've also heard some people say that they turn the razor around and repeat the process in the opposite direction. The action of the blades rubbing against the rubber supposedly removes the minute pieces of dirt and dried water that accumulate on the blade(s) both during the shave and afterwards, when the razor is in storage. But you're not interested in how to use the thing, you're interested in how well it actually works, and the best answer to that is.... quite well, sometimes. The first time I tried it, on a used Gillette Sensor Excel cartridge, it brought the blades up beautifully, perhaps not quite as much as a fresh-from-the-box example but far better than I was expecting. Unfortunately that sharpness only lasted a couple of shaves before I was forced to use the Razorpit again, and this time it wasn't so successful. Even after a few runs through the device, the blades were no better and I had to use a new cartridge to get a painless shave. I then tried the Razorpit on another used Sensor Excel cartridge and found that it once again brought the blades up, to about 75% of new. This time, the blades remained sharper for a little longer, but even with the occasional run-through the Razorpit only kept them that way for a couple of weeks before the bluntness returned and, once again, it wasn't so successful at bringing them back up. I also noticed that the lubricating strip on the cartridge began to come off after about the third use, and of course the Razorpit can't reinstate it, so if you rely on this for a comfortable shave then it might be worth finding some other lubricant to use in its place. And I can say with some authority that having a jagged, half-eaten lube strip on your razor as opposed to a smooth one does little for the comfort factor. Having had my fill of the Excels, I then tried the Razorpit on some Mach 3 cartridges, with again quite mixed results. Just like the Excels, the first Mach 3 was brought up well but this only lasted a few shaves before the dullness came back and no amount of Razorpitting could get it back. The second sharpened much better and lasted for a couple of weeks, or an additional 10 or 12 shaves - nice, but nowhere even close to the 150 some people say they get from their cartridges. Before getting one I was quite unsure about the Razorpit (especially given the contrasting reviews that it's had), and the mixed results I got highlighted to me why some people rave about it and others don't. Maybe there's more to using it than just slapping on some shaving cream and pressing down; maybe it's the cream you use or the blades themselves that make the difference, or perhaps it's the hardness of the water in your area, but I'm not quite ready either to pronounce or denounce it. What I will say is that it works well enough, when it works.

Okay I didn't think this would work as well as it did. Even though the idea of 'stropping' is sound you're only doing one side of the blade right? Well, it works better than expected. I am Asian and admittedly don't have a lot of facial hair, but I use to feel lucky if my blade lasted 21 days. This blade has lasted 21 weeks using the RazorPit. Well worth it. At this point I'm wondering when to start a new blade! Now, this blade after 21 weeks of daily shaving is clearly not as sharp as a new blade, but it feels as smooth as day 1. It is comfortable and still is working. Great product, I've since bought 3 more as gifts and highly recommend this. It's not magic, it doesn't sharpen the blade, but will extend the use. Works as advertised.

J'étais sceptique au début. Mais j'en avais tellement marre d'avoir à changer de lames au bout de quelques rasages, à presque 5€ l'unité. Alors j'ai voulu tester ce "machin" malgré son prix non négligeable non plus. Et ça marche plutôt pas mal et j'arrive à faire durer mes lames bien 2x plus longtemps. Et là l'achat est vite amorti. Après un passage sur l'appareil on voit bien que les lames brillent et on sent qu'elles coupent bien mieux. Bonne invention qui reprend le principe de la lanière de cuir du barbier. (attention : ne fonctionne pas avec les lames à grille : W.Quattro)

Tolles Teil. Funktioniert tatsächlich. Ich habe testweise eine recht stumpfe Klinge (Mach3) wieder brauchbar scharf bekommen.

Lo compre con cierto escepticismo por alguna reseña negativa que leí, pero después de utilizar el producto, no me parecen justas. Llevo 6 meses usando la misma cuchilla y acabo de regalarle uno a mi pareja. No se que esperaba la gente que dice que no le funciona.. a lo mejor no saben usarlo o tienen la barba durísima. A mi me ha funcionado perfecto.

FUNZIONA VERAMENTE!!!ALLUNGA LA VITA DELLE TESTINE GILLETTE FUSION 5 (MA ACNHE MACH3 ETC..)FINO A 10 VOLTE DI PIU' (QUINDI 100 BARBE PIUTTOSTO CHE 10)...SEMPLICEMENTE RIPULENDO E RAVVIVANDO IL FILO DELLE LAME CON LO STESSO PRINCIPIO DELLA CORAMELLA SU RASOI A MANO LIBERA...DA AVERE ASSOLUTAMENTE!!! PS COMODO ANCHE PER APPOGGIARE IL PROGLIDE E FAR SCOCCIOLARE