Thickness of DE blades??

**Big.Dave** · 10-23-2010, 01:09 PM

Has anyone had a looked at the thickness of DE blades and compared that to how they shave?

The reason I ask is that I have just finished shave testing some Dorco 301 blades in my rotation and found that although I was getting a nice bbs with them they were bloody uncomfortable to use. So as I was doing a rotation change out replacing the Dorco 301's with some supermax blades I noticed that the Dorcos were thinner than the supermax blades.
Now the Supermax blades are night and day smoother to shave with and given that the metal is thicker I was wondering if this had anything to do with it. What got me thinking was when I was reading up on the rolls razors and in the instructions for that it mentions to warm the razor to make the blade thicker and sharper any thing in it or is it a load of old Bull?

**DunEdinRanger** · 10-23-2010, 01:24 PM

I've not noticed a discernible difference in blade thickness among DE blades, but have noticed that generally the thicker SE blades (GEM's and injectors) give closer, longer lasting shaves.

In general, heat does make metal expand, whether it will be enough to make a difference, I couldn't tell you.

**rockviper** · 10-23-2010, 01:26 PM

Never noticed. I'm running through simple trials on various blades right now (always used Derby before) and my main quest is to find the best bang for the buck (how many quality shaves can I get out of a blade -vs- blade cost).

**Big.Dave** · 10-24-2010, 03:44 AM

I think one of the reasons I noticed a differance in blade thickness is that I use a shavette and have to snap the DE blades in two. The thicker supermax blades take a bit more pressure to make them snap. The Dorcos bend real easy before they snap.
But what has been suggested already does indicate that blade thickness might be a factor in shave comfort.

**talibeard** · 10-24-2010, 03:56 AM

I noticed more and less stiff blades but all the modern blades I encountered are 0.10 mm thick. The fact that one blades snaps easier than another is probably due to other characteristics (hardness, type of steel) than thickness.

**dirtdog** · 10-24-2010, 04:04 AM

Too many variables to contend with to make any comparison

temper of steel

quality of the batch of steel that production run of razors was made out of

quality of edge honed on at the time

I contend you could have a bad batch of any given manufactured blade at any given time .

**Big.Dave** · 10-24-2010, 12:37 PM

Originally Posted by talibeard

I noticed more and less stiff blades but all the modern blades I encountered are 0.10 mm thick. The fact that one blades snaps easier than another is probably due to other characteristics (hardness, type of steel) than thickness.

You might be right there I'm no metal expert.
So it could be a more flexible blade might be a reason for and uncomfortable shave.
I remember in the 1905 book shaving made easy the author commenting on full hollow grind blades moving about the face more than the the thicker wedge blades and that full hollow grind might not be such a good thing. I'm not in a position to say if that view is correct or not but the author of the book has looked in detail at the process of shaving and alot of what was written is still relevent today.