How to sharpen a Norelco electric shaver

Replacement blades are expensive,$30 to $40.  Why not save some money and sharpen the old one ? 
Back before safety razors and during world war II, when steel was scarce, people would resharpen their double edge razor blades on a sheet of glass.  I figured why not try it on my Norelco shaver that was leaving my face raw,  and it worked,   Here is how I did it...

You will need a small brush to clean shaver and heads, also a flat piece of glass ( a mirror or  picture frame glass will do).

Step 1: Remove shaver head

Brush out any hair in the body, do not use water. 

Comments

[youngman193322]

Fantastic idea. Did it myself and works great and super easy to do. You'll need the kind of toothpaste with abrasives (diatoms) in it like colegate and crest. The mineral oil is helpful as the abrasives get dry quick but I can see where spit would work if you had no oil. Don't try to press too hard or you'll bind the rotors. Just press about the same rate as you would on your face or maybe a bit less. Its not your force that does the work, its the abrasives. The mirror does not get scratched at all and only provides a perfectly flat surface. The surface does not have to be perfectly flat since the rotors float, but it helps. I sharpened for only 5 minutes. ONE CAUTION: There are little copper springs on some models that support each mini blade. If you are rough in handling the rotors, you could dislodge them from their clips in front of each mini blade and your rotors will not go back in the housing properly so be careful at cleanup. I used a tooth brush but was to rough. Use tooth brush LIGHTLY during clean up.

[cajun62234]

1. Mix a 1;3 solution of White toothpaste [1] and Mineral Oil [3] on the back of a porcelain saucer. [White toothpaste has a lot of 'grit'].
2. Place shaver face down in solution and turn the shaver 'ON' and let it run for a few minutes; checking occasionally to make sure that the solution is embedded in the shaver heads.
3.Remove head unit, rinse with hot-faucet water.
4.Disassemble [keep the screens & blades mated] and spray with Bathroom Cleaner.
5. Assemble

[leppurd]

Toothpaste is a great polishing compound..I prefer glass to polish on, don't trust the flatness of ceramics, but whatever works!

[Johnny Dolphin]

Used a flat and wet Arkansas sharpening stone in place of the glass. Shaver is back to nearly original sharpness after 2.5 years of use. It had been going down hill fast the last two months. Saves me the fee of new blades and avoiding the waste of good stainless steel. I would have re-cycled it, but sharpening is a better path for me. Thanks to the author and all the additional comments!

[kornylak]

THANKS! I added two steps - I removed the screens, replaced the blades on the drive shafts, pressed the shaver against the mirror and used the shaver motor to polish - makes it very easy. I also used some saliva as lubricant for the polishing process

[xevious]

Sounds like a novel idea, one that would speed up the process considerably. How long did you run the blades against the mirror and how much pressure did you apply? Also, it would probably be a good idea to wear eye protection, as you never know if the mirror might accidentally chip and send a shard of glass flying your way.

[leppurd]

very light pressure, but if someone is going to use other methods to polish the blades, such as Kornlak suggests, they should use eye protection.

[kornylak]

Oh, I can't imagine any way that this could chip the glass, and if there was a chip there isn't enough force to send it anywhere. But in today's world I must say "Do it at your own risk and wear eye protection" otherwise your lawyer might get me :-)
As for force, using the shaver as I suggested, the shaver body springs provide the force, doesn't take much - just like shaving. With the shaver it is very short, just a few seconds is needed, longer if you do it by hand.

[leppurd]

I agree

[ElectricRazorMan]

This "replacement Norelco heads are expensive" thing is ridiculous. They're $30 and you get two years or more from them depending on your beard. That's not expensive at all. Buy new heads.

[leppurd]

I can't argue with someone who wants to buy new shaver heads, it's their money... This is only a suggestion to those who want to feel good about extending the life of a product. I have repaired many things in my home over the years that others would have thrown out, but then again, I'm handy and some people are not

[xevious]

Perhaps that's not expensive relative to your own income and asset level. There are plenty of people in the world who consider $30 a significant amount of money. Also, there are people who are more conservative minded, that are bothered by the wastefulness of tossing out something that can be renewed with just a little effort. You can probably do this while watching a 30 minute comedy show.

[xevious]

I'm intrigued by this tip. It's quite obvious that Norelco and other shaver companies make a lot of money from replacement parts. But when you realize that a little sharpening is all that is needed to these cutter blades, it seems wasteful to toss out the old heads and buy new ones. The "disposable society" mentality is just not a sustainable one.

Anyway, I think the trick of using oil is probably best, as it is more viscous than saliva. Also, I'm assuming that this will pretty much scratch the hell out of your mirror, so that it's probably best to use one that you you're not using any longer, or pick up a cheap one at a dollar store.

[jello666]

Instead of spitting on the glass try a drop of mineral oil or baby oil which is scented mineral oil.

[Whackmaster]

I just tried this and it worked INCREDIBLY well!  My razor has been basically ripping the hair out of my face for months, but I haven't been able to afford new blades.  I saw this Instructable, tried it, and the blades are now so sharp it plows through my stubble like it isn't there and even manages to cut my skin!  Yes, cutting my skin is a good thing, as it proves the blades are very, very close to being as sharp as the day I bought them!

Thank you SO much for not only helping to restore my razor to a functional state, but to open my eyes up to the ability of glass to act as a whetstone!

[lemonie]

I know that mirror, used to have one years ago, it fell apart. Being double-sided as far as I remember both were not flat? Also, I'm curious as to how abrasive that glass actually is Lilicrap's hone appears to be slightly rougher.

L

[leppurd]

One side on my mirror is flat the other side is concave, You wouldn't want to use the concave side for sure.  Glass is very smooth, but it is made from sand and it does have an abrasive sureface and less likeley to remove much metal.  I believe it's more of a polishing job.

[lemonie]

It was 20-30 years ago, but you bring it back to me. It would have to be a polish, I've no handle on how smooth or rough a mirror is, but I'm thinking very-smooth. (There's more to glass than sand as it happens, it's not quartz at all.)

L

[dchall8]

I'll have to try that.  I've been using Norelco razors since 1985 or so and have never taken particular care to keep the cutter matched to the screen.  I've never noticed a difference in performance.  My biggest problem is hair, fallen from my head, getting caught between the cutter and the screen.  It winds up at the pivot point and forces the cutter away from the screen.  That leaves you with no cutting at all. 

[Gloomy_Goth]

I tried this on my hella old Philishave electric shaver
and it worked great! Thanks!