## Hyper-extending (instance: razor)

  ====
9/28/2021
  ====

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?

===

I'd love to hear from people.  My email is the handle minus
"net" (work by Voltaire that starts with "c"), at sdf.org.