a tip I learned last year

[Finn&Fionna]

I plan to bring 2 razors for the whole 6 months. 1 for me and 1 for my wife. I saw a thing showing you can "whet" a traditional safety razor on a pair of blue jeans. You just rub the razor the opposite direction of shaving against the jeans 10 or so times after each use. It stays sharp forever. Im going to cut a piece of blue jeans 2 inches by 6 inches and sew it to a pack strap. Should save a lil money as i wont be growing a good beard for the trail. Plus the wife uses like 3 razors a week with the leg business. Lemme know what you think!

Sent from android. Ignore typos.

[Mountain Mike]

If you learned it last year...does it work?

[Rocket Jones]

Why not put razors in your bounce box, or just purchase disposables during any town stops you make?

[Samson]

I carry a higher end disposable razor. I'm not going to mention any brands, but i think it has 17 blades and it's own zip code. It's good for several shaves. I've never weighed it but I can't tell when it's in my pack or not.

[Finn&Fionna]

I cant grow a full beard and it never grows longer than a couple days (military) so for me a disposable with this method works. I use a persona triflex (3 blades) or if im desperate a single blade disposable and it felt like a new razor a month later. But i lost it and stopped doing it

[actionpocket]

I've been doing this for a while, granted I only shave my neck, but it does seem to make the blades last a lot longer.

Why not learn to shave with a straight razor?

[Wise Old Owl]

Yea AP good answer - most just don't shave - what are we talking about here 1/2 an ounce? lets move on... Yes you can whet your razor... and use ivory soap.... and... nevermind....

[Capt Nat]

I use a straight razor and it wouldn't work very well for the trail. The razor is actually great but you need a couple of sharpening stones and a strop. I don't think you could get away well without a mirror either. I've never been on the trail long enough to shave but I plan on using a disposable when I try the AT.

[garlic08]

Some people say the main value of the denim is to dry off the razor, that oxidation is the real problem. Some say stropping on your own skin does the same thing as denim. Stropping one side of an edge is kind of limited.

I stay clean-shaven while hiking, and can always find extra disposables in hiker boxes. I will use the drying off technique at least. That weighs nothing and maybe they'll last longer which is a good thing.

[Montana Mac]

A disposable razor and this worked for me.


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[Blissful]

Many hostels have razors you can use. I wouldn't worry about shaving, esp lady-wise but that's a personal decision.

[Spokes]

Why not put razors in your bounce box, or just purchase disposables during any town stops you make?

That's the first thing I thought of too. Pick 'me up at the Dollar Store and leave the extras at the hostel for the next thru hiker. I use to do that with extra TP, shampoo, body wash too. Pay it forward.

[Finn&Fionna]

ya those are definitely options. My feeling on it is I see all these posts about how every ounce adds up, so I'm applying the same thing to dollars. The razors themselves MIGHT weight half an ounce, if that, but a full pack maybe 1.5 ounces. So I can hypothetically cut an ounce of my weight. And the possible total of $10 I would spend on razors on the trail in that time, is now down to $0 if I bring a razor I already have and can keep it the whole time. Its small weight and small money, but If I can do that with lots of things I can make it add up.

I've also emailed some customer service people at companies like kraft, knorr, etc. to see if they can hook me up with some coupons. most likely they won't, and 1 company has already responded (general mills) with " But it is not our policy to simply provide coupons in response to an e-mail, letter or phone call upon request." So I will also be spending a little time in town going through newspapers or going online to print off a few coupons. Saves me a couple bucks every time I stop, which adds up over time. Anyone else tried that before?