DECember 2017 30 Day Rule/Focus Pix & Discussion

Paging the Czar @NCoxSTL for an opinion from Cartel HQ

 

That is a great question to ponder. I've actually considered it in reverse with some blades. My question would be - do the coatings serve to make the blade feel dull, especially on a Derby with its multi-coating layers? Derby is a smooth blade but most perceive it as dull. Could those layers cause that? And more to the point of your question, do we consider a blade "dull" because it lacks smoothness or because it isn't cutting as well? As the Teflon wears and the shave gets less smooth we may perceive that as "dull" when in fact the cutting may be the same.

 

Back. To. Our. Roots.

Yes.

Great post.

 

Oh, and to add to my last response, yes, many blades use PTFE and don't mention it. Not sure why. For instance, I believe every Rapira blade uses Teflon though I might be overstating "every". I do know the Voskhod, of course, the Sharp Star, Ladas, Rapira Swede and Rapira PL all have Teflon, yet only the Voskhod pushes that.

 

I really wonder "what it is" (in concrete terms) that causes the perception of dull.

A "dull DE blade" will still slice to the bone.

 

Hopefully this isn't just a rehash of my previous thoughts. "Dull", I think, is a perception caused by roughness. Now we have to define "rough". The feeling of pulling or tugging would work for that, I believe. So if we feel some tugging or pulling we assume dull. And, if it's tugging or pulling badly enough, then I'd say it is dull. And yes, "dull" is a relative term. It applies to the task we are using the blade for. Same with knives, swords, etc. You can say your carving knife is dull because it's tearing the meat instead of a clean cut. But I bet you could still open a vein with it. Same as you said for DE blades that we say are "dull".

 

Which leaves us with

A) Bevel deformation
B) increase in friction
C) some mix of A and B

 

What happens in the 30DC, stays in the 30DC. Unless the money offered for the info passes five bucks.

 

Probably C. My opinion. I would say, though, that B has the most effect. Well, unless it's a Tiger or something like that where we've had members use a jeweler's loop and can see visible deformation after only one pass. I don't think blades like that have a bevel that lasts long enough to worry about friction.

 

I am safe then. Good to know.

 

Cookies....

 

The first rule of Fight Club...

 

Gentlemen, a discussion worthy of consideration. But I’m about to drift off into dreamland. I bow to the expertise of my learned friends and look forward to seeing more tomorrow.

 

I will be sure to keep good cookies around then.
I am enjoying the conversation too.

 

Shipping a tin of cookies cost more than five bucks. I'd say Fuzzy is safe because mailing cash is dumb.

 

Night night.

 

Woohoo!! I am in for shavette january then.

 

God, gold, guns and cookies.

 

I basically only shave with uncoated carbon steel SE blades. I find they are smooth from the start. The PTFE coated Stainless Steel blades are rough for the first few shaves. I would assume both types are sharp. So smooth does not mean coated. I have also shaved with blades that felt very rough but gave a very good close shave. So they were sharp but not smooth. So a sharp blade can feel rough. I forgot where I was going with all this but there are some 2348 hrs. Observations.

 

Ask @BaylorGator if it can be done