Classic & Vintage - Reusing brake and shifter cables?

I'm cheap, so whenever I remove a set of cables in replacing brake levers or shifters, I save the one I removed from the rear and later reuse it on the front. That's two cables for the price of one--such a deal. Does everyone else do that, too? It occurs to me that it means I'm probably bending my brake cables at a slightly different angle or something and maybe theoretically increasing the risk of breakage.
On the other hand, I haven't broken one yet, and the risk seems very low to me. (Come to think of it, I've never heard of anyone breaking a brake cable, ever, anywhere.) Not a safety concern with derailleur cables, unless there's something I'm not thinking of just now.
I should add that I end up messing with my bikes so much that the cables are seldom more than a couple of years old before they get shuffled around--I toss any frayed or rusty cables on bikes that I acquire. And I only do it on my own bikes.
Am I going to hell?

I don't see the harm, in that. If they are in good shape why not... At least they were bought in the last few years right?

I get steel cables for 71 cents each and stainless cables for $1.67. I see no reason to reuse cables if they are rusty or worn.

Note, in my case, the cables I am replacing are usually 20 to 30 years old. I rarely work on anything newer than the late 1980s. My last several projects were vintage 1984, 1985, 1975, 1974, 1971, 1981, and 1985. I doubt any of the cables on these bikes had ever been replaced! So they were pretty nasty.

I would not necessarily replace a two or three year old cable.

Reusing shift cables is fine, but I draw the line at the mission critical front brake.

I've done it. But they're not particularly easy to find when I need them. So I've slacked off.

jonwvara, you may well be going to Hell, but probably not for reusing cables!! If they are not frayed or rusty, you're probably ok.

Reusing shift cables is fine, but I draw the line at the mission critical front brake.

If the strands are intact, and the brakes grab as much as you need them to, then I see no safety issue whatsoever in doing this.

jim

Only if I'm moving cables prematurely because I'm changing parts and such. Picking the bits of a broken cable out of a brifter (yeah, not specific to this forum) is not worth saving money on cables.

They've got to be perfect and low mileage for me to bother.