A barber razor holds its blade one of two ways, and the procedure is different for each. One head is a pair of flat plates closed by a small catch, and it takes half of a double-edge blade. The other is a single spring-held head with no catch, and it takes an Artist Club blade. Identify yours first, because none of the steps below work on the wrong one.
This page assumes the razor is already yours and you want a blade in and out without cutting a finger or dulling the edge. If you have not bought one yet, the decision that matters is the format the handle takes, and the barber razor roundup compares those.
What you actually need
Plenty of instructions for this job describe unscrewing a blade holder. Neither head above has a screw: one is closed by a catch, the other by spring pressure, and they open in completely different ways. If your razor really does have a screwed assembly, it is not one of these, and its own manual is the authority. Otherwise you need clean hands, a dry towel and something to put the old blade into.
Work out which head you have
Open the razor and look at what is holding the blade, not at the handle.
- A small metal catch at the free end of the handle. That means the two-plate head: the blade lies over two raised bumps on the lower plate and the upper plate closes down onto it. This is the common barber-supply pattern.
- No catch, and a head you can pinch. That is the spring head. The blade that comes out is as long as the head. This is the Artist Club format.
The blade coming out settles it. Half a double-edge blade has one cutting edge and one rough broken edge where it was snapped. An Artist Club blade is a single-edge blade with no broken edge, and it runs the full length of the head.
Clamp heads: half a double-edge blade
- Open the catch at the free end of the handle.
- Separate the two plates of the head.
- Take a double-edge blade still in its paper wrapper, with the two cutting edges facing towards you and away from you. Pinch it across the middle, a thumb on one flat face and fingers on the other, so neither edge is under a finger, then bend until the blade snaps in half inside the wrapper.
- Lift one half out and lay it over the two raised bumps on the lower plate, cutting edge facing outward and level with the edge of the plate. The rough broken edge points inwards.
- Set the upper plate back on and press the two halves of the head together.
- Close the catch over the head.
Two details do most of the work. The blade has to sit down over both bumps; a blade resting on top of one rides high at that end. And the catch has to close completely, because a catch left half shut lets the plates part under pressure and the blade shifts in the middle of a stroke.
Spring heads: Artist Club blades
- Pinch the head and the blade drops out. Do that over a towel, or straight over the container the old blade is going into, never over a sink or a tiled floor.
- Take a new blade from its cartridge and insert it into the head until it seats, holding the back rather than the cutting edge. The one-touch mechanism is there so the new blade goes in without your fingers touching the edge.
- Let the spring take it. There is no catch to close and nothing to tighten.
The head is built around one blade length, so the only blade that fits it is an Artist Club blade. The listing for your razor names the blades it takes, which is worth reading before you order refills.
What a correctly seated blade looks like
Check the head before it goes near your face. The cutting edge should run parallel to the plate and stand just proud of it, evenly, along the full length, and both ends should look the same. If one corner sits up, the blade is not down over its bump, and that corner is the part that will catch. Reseat it. Pressing the plates harder does not fix a blade that is sitting on top of one. A spring head has less to adjust: the blade either dropped into its seat or it did not, and the check is that it sits flat and spans the head.
Do not test the edge by running it over skin, paper or a wooden block. A disposable blade either cuts or it does not, the test tells you nothing you cannot see by eye, and it risks a nick or a rolled edge on a blade you have just paid for.
Take the blade out between shaves
A blade left clamped in a wet head is the quickest route to an edge with rust spots on it, and a spotted edge is a blade you throw away. Open the razor, lift the blade out by its back or by its half, rinse both plates, and let the parts and the blade dry apart from each other. Do not dry the cutting edge with a towel: cloth dragged along the edge dulls it, and the edge will eventually cut through the cloth.
Keep spare blades in the wrapper or dispenser they arrived in. Loose blades in a drawer find fingers.
Getting rid of the used blade
Half a double-edge blade and an Artist Club blade are both loose, unmounted sharps. Neither should go into household waste, where a bin bag can be split open by it.
- Keep the old blade in its paper wrapper until the moment you drop it in.
- Use a rigid container with a slot: a blade bank, an empty metal tin, or a rigid plastic jar with a cut lid. Keep it on a shelf rather than beside the toothbrushes.
- When it is full, tape the opening shut and take it wherever your area accepts sharps or scrap metal. Loose blades in the recycling are a hazard to the people sorting it.
When to change the blade
Half a double-edge blade gives you one working edge, and an Artist Club blade gives you one as well. There is no second side to turn to.
Change it when it stops slicing and starts tugging, when it skips a patch it used to take in one stroke, or when you can see a rust spot or a bent corner from a dropped razor. There is no dependable count of shaves, because beard density, prep and how carefully you dry the blade all move it. The blade is the cheapest part of the shave, and a dull one is what tempts you into pressing harder.
Do not strop or hone a disposable blade. It is thin steel made to be replaced; a strop does not restore it and can fold it instead.
Refills that fit each head
The blade, not the handle, is what you buy again, so one pack for the head you own is the whole purchase.
For a clamp head: standard double-edge blades
A clamp head takes any standard double-edge blade, which gives you the widest choice of blades and the smallest bill per shave. The pack below is a hundred blades, so the learning curve is covered too.
For a spring head: Artist Club blades
An Artist Club head has no substitute, so buy the blades the razor names. The Professional below is the blade the distributor calls the most versatile and economical in the line, and it ships as a cartridge of 20.
The same line also includes a guarded blade and several other grades. The Artist Club blade comparison goes through which one suits a first open blade.
What the blade change does not fix
Changing the blade is the easy part. The shave is decided by the angle, the order you work in and knowing when to stop. How to use a straight razor covers all three, and none of it changes on a replaceable blade.
If you are restocking double-edge blades and would rather compare them than take the first pack, the double-edge blade guide covers how to choose between them, including how forgiving each one is on a less than perfect angle.
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