An Engineer's Blade Sharpness Study...

Discussion in 'Safety Razors' started by PickledNorthern, Aug 13, 2017.

  1. dustmite

    dustmite Well-Known Member

    Finally looked at the link. I think some may be misinterpreting the data. In the "sharpness" category, a lower number indicates a sharper blade. Per the testing, a Feather starting at 32 and finishing at 37 rates much sharper than a Derby starting at 53 and ending up at 49.
     
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  2. RetLEO-07

    RetLEO-07 likes his penguin deep fried, with pink sparkles

    Well, about that, if 5-10 guys here say "You should give this blade a try" and then I see outside reviews saying the same, I take a flyer on a tuck and see if my razor and face like the blade. Works for me! And I sucked at Science(History & English was my thing)
     
  3. gorgo2

    gorgo2 geezerhood

    Your illustration is fine. Still seems to me that it's still just one point (the width of a hair, in fact) that is cutting its way through a hair at a given time, regardless of the bevel's angle......or put another way, the only true slicing is when the blade actually slices (Slides) laterally through a hair, instead of bulldozing its way straight through edge-first.

    Picture a loaf of bread, unsliced. One can shove the blade directly down through the loaf without any side-to-side. Very inefficient, ruins the loaf.

    Or one can slice the blade through laterally, using the whole length of the blade to saw through the loaf instead of 90° shoving.

    But holding the breadknife at an angle (beveled) won't make any difference if one is still shoving the blade straight through without slicing. Each point of the edge is made to do work in cutting that isn't distributed along the whole edge at one time by slicing. Same with razors.

    But maybe I'm still picturing it wrong.
     
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  4. jmudrick

    jmudrick Type A Man

    Problem is you'll find fans of every single blade out there. That's why they sell 'em.

    Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
     
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  5. RetLEO-07

    RetLEO-07 likes his penguin deep fried, with pink sparkles

    Then let us agree to disagree and leave it at that :D
     
  6. swarden43

    swarden43 "It's your shave. Enjoy it your way."©

    Probably why the Gillette Slide was illustrated on Gillette instruction sheets that came with their razors. The slide has become second nature, I don't even think about it, just do it.
     
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  7. gorgo2

    gorgo2 geezerhood

    Do you notice a difference?
     
  8. swarden43

    swarden43 "It's your shave. Enjoy it your way."©

    Sliding as opposed to plowing through? The slide seems to slice clean, where as plowing through feels a bit more harsh.
     
  9. Engblom

    Engblom Well-Known Member

    I agree it would be too complicated if everybody did this test. I think the idea is to do it once for everybody, so it is done.

    If the test results are valid, I think they are useful. If you have not found a well working blade, and you notice blade X is tugging, then from the result you know which blades are more likely to slice well enough. Then among the sharper than X blades, one need to find the most smooth blade by trial on face. It saves one from trying the beard pullers.
     
  10. BigMark83

    BigMark83 [...........] this space intentionally left blank

  11. jmudrick

    jmudrick Type A Man

    An impressive effort but in the end just one guy's opinion. For example, I was intrigued by the Super Max Blades which he loved. First review I came upon was Frugal Shaver's video comparison of the Super Max and the Israeli Eddson blade. Frugal hated the Super Max, finding it tugged from the get go. Now I happen to know that Frugal has very sensitive skin and mine is rhinoceros-like, so I would take that into account, but considerations like this make all the difference in the world. He ranked the Dorco 301 and BIC near the bottom. I happen to love the BICs and the 301 has its fans. Attaching number scores does not an objective test make. I thus give considerably more weight to the objective evaluation despite its limitations, but take that also with truckloads of salt.

    Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
     
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  12. swarden43

    swarden43 "It's your shave. Enjoy it your way."©

    And what about razor head geometry? blade gap? center of gravity? razor weight? cutting lubricant? prep of the item to be cut?
     
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  13. dustmite

    dustmite Well-Known Member

    You're completely missing the point. People want to have someone else tell them a certain blade is good. Or not. Understanding that everyone can have their own opinion doesn't fit in. There has to be a best blade and a worst blade. Then we can all hold hands and sing Kumbaya... ;)
     
  14. RaZorBurn123

    RaZorBurn123 waiting hardily...............

    Indeed, what I've found was that blade x may be great for me, not so great for the next Gent.
     
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  15. Knox

    Knox Well-Known Member

    2-3 shaves? I use one for at LEAST a week (5-7 shaves) or more. Even the lowly Derby - my favorite blade- goes an entire week before my Saturday razor clean and change.
     
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  16. swarden43

    swarden43 "It's your shave. Enjoy it your way."©

    "If the results are valid..."
    And who is to say they are valid?
    Certainly not me; I'm no scientist or engineer.
     
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  17. RetLEO-07

    RetLEO-07 likes his penguin deep fried, with pink sparkles

    Ah, but did you stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night? :D
     
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  18. BigMark83

    BigMark83 [...........] this space intentionally left blank

    Enough of this insanity. There are many variables. Sensitivity of ones skin, coarseness of ones hair, density of ones hair, prep. You can ask 100 people and get 101 or more answers. A lot of people like Astra SP, I don't. They tear me up. I like Voskhods, and while a lot of people do some don't. It's way to personal.
     
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  19. jmudrick

    jmudrick Type A Man

    Sure. But there are objective facts about initial sharpness and durability which can better inform a decision based on your own preferences.

    Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
     
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  20. BigMark83

    BigMark83 [...........] this space intentionally left blank

    Perhaps. But look at Feathers. Wicked sharp, but to sharp for the likes of me. Now I headshave. I've got brown hair and Auburn facial hair. Red hair along with white is very coarse. But they don't agree with my skin, and I only edge my beard. So it's a combination of sharp and smooth that should be sought after in a blade. The only answer to a newb is "Buy a blade sampler". Then perhaps we should ask one if they have sensitive skin and a facial forest. Maybe Voskhods like me because I'm part Serb. While not Russian it's close enough.
     
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