Chrome vs. Stainless vs. Platinum

I'm new to wetshaving, and this is my first post. I've been shaving with an EJ 89L DE with some Derby blades (or as I call them, Derbs for short) for about 3 weeks. I haven't been fully satisfied with my shave (I still get redness on my neck), even though I've seen improvement through technique, so I bought a sampler pack of razor blades a few days ago. Hopefully I can find something that reduces my redness over the Derbs.

Question is, I've noticed that many brands make a blade in chrome, stainless, and platinum (e.g. sharks stainless vs. sharks chrome, etc.). What's the difference between these? They seem like they're usually the same price.

Good question. I bought a sampler pack that has four different Lord blades: Super Stainless Classic, Super Stainless, Super Chrome, and Platinum Class. I haven't shaved with any of those yet so I don't know what the difference is.

In general, is Platinum better than Stainless? And where does Chrome fall?

Mr. Bobblehead said:

Good question. I bought a sampler pack that has four different Lord blades: Super Stainless Classic, Super Stainless, Super Chrome, and Platinum Class. I haven't shaved with any of those yet so I don't know what the difference is.

In general, is Platinum better than Stainless? And where does Chrome fall?

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The platinum/chrome just refers to the coating. Most blades are stainless with a teflon coating. Chrome blades are stainless steel with a chrome and teflon coating. Platinum blades for the most part are stainless steel coated with platinum and teflon. These coatings just make the blade smoother. There is no "best.

There are stainless steel blades that are excellent and there are platinum blades that are terrible. Its a YMMV issue. There are platinum hardened blades, such as some very desirable out of production gillettes, but that is a special case which are hard to come by and quite expensive. Hope this helps

I feel like it is mostly just aesthetics or even just marketing. There may be a difference, but I have found my go-to blades without needing to know the details. I would not worry about it too much, good idea getting the sampler pack.

I have not noticed any significant difference. A good blade is a good blade. A bad one is a bad one.

Greyfox said:

I have not noticed any significant difference. A good blade is a good blade. A bad one is a bad one.

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Greyfox:
I too haven't noticed the difference either (chrome, stainless or platinum), it's just 'all in the blade'...good vs. bad.

Christopher

The main extra ingredient in stainless steel is chromium. Steel strip used in making blades is anywhere from 9% to 14% chromium. Steel isn't officially stainless unless it has at least 11% chromium. Blade makers who use strip stock with 9% to 11% chromium often use the term "Chrome" instead of stainless, or in some cases as a marketing ploy.

Platinum is used in an edge treatment to harden the edges and make them last longer.

As always with blades, chrome or stainess, YMMV.

kasey said:

Derby blades (or as I call them, Derbs for short

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Derby = 5
Derbs = 5



Short?

Jethro1984 said:

Derby = 5
Derbs = 5



Short?

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Or you could break it down and say
Derby = 2
Derbs = 1

Jethro1984 said:

Derby = 5
Derbs = 5



Short?

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Eh, Derby blades = 12 (with the blank in between)
whereas Derbs =5,

so I would certainly say it's Derbs for short.

It's just names. PTFE (teflon) doesn't stick to steel, so manufacturers put something else in between to help it stick, or they use other coatings as a back up for when the teflon rubs off (which is basically during your first pass). A few coat the last part of the edge with a coating containing a tiny bit of platinum, but that has little to do with having platinum in the name. Chromium and teflon are the two most frequently used coatings. There's also chromium in steel, so chrome in the name is pretty meaningless. Same with stainless.

I was thinking:

Derbies = 7
Derbs = 5

or

Derby = 5
Derb = 4

Rufust445 said:

The main extra ingredient in stainless steel is chromium. Steel strip used in making blades is anywhere from 9% to 14% chromium. Steel isn't officially stainless unless it has at least 11% chromium. Blade makers who use strip stock with 9% to 11% chromium often use the term "Chrome" instead of stainless, or in some cases as a marketing ploy.

Platinum is used in an edge treatment to harden the edges and make them last longer.

As always with blades, chrome or stainess, YMMV.

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This is the correct answer. Steel is nothing more than carbonized iron. All the blades you are using are made of steel. Chromium is added to make the steel "stainless" (which doesn't mean it won't rust at all, it really means that it is less prone to rusting). The "Chrome" blades have less chromium in them than the Stainless Steel blades, but since you're only using the blades for a few days, it doesn't make a whit of difference, since neither of them is going to rust in that time frame.

Do the coatings help the blade last longer?
Or do the coatings wear off too quickly to be much use?

My understanding is that the coating just fills in the little microscopic holes and divots on the blades' edge to provide smoother shaving than the uncoated stainless steel edge would by itself.

snakyjake said:

Do the coatings help the blade last longer?
Or do the coatings wear off too quickly to be much use?

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The coatings do wear off over time, especially the teflon one. One patent application from a major blade maker stated that blade longevity is often just as much related to how long the coatings last as the underlying blade itself.

Coatings are all over the place. Most blades are completely coated to protect against corrosion (long term, mostly rust). Edges are typically coated with PTFE, chromium, or less frequently a compound including a small percent of platinum. The specific recipes vary widely, and other materials are used.

The techniques used to apply the coatings also varies. Thickness and consistency, cold vs hot application, plasma, partial vs no vs full vacuum, use of hydrogen or nitrogen to inhibit oxidation, the addition of epoxy, impact energy, particle size, and cooling profiles all affect the end result. Some blades have several layers of coatings, particularly when PTFE is used, since it needs a "primer" coat to stick to. These techniques all give different characteristics such as porosity, stresses formed when cooling that can affect how the coating adheres or breaks, corrosion and wear resistance, lubrication, and shock resistance. Many of these characteristics are inter-related, requiring decisions to be made in choosing methods and materials.

One oddity of interest that should serve as a good illustration of the complexity is that a porous coating allows lubricants to become embedded in the pores lowering the friction when you shave. Of course, you have to balance the size of the holes against many other things to make a good blade.

kingfisher said:

since you're only using the blades for a few days, it doesn't make a whit of difference, since neither of them is going to rust in that time frame.

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You can measure the rust in minutes and hours. Many older blades would form a coating of rust over the whole blade in a few hours. The coatings prevent this, but as soon as you damage the edge, rust and other corrosion can move pretty fast. That's why the material of the blade itself also matters. Coatings also rust (oxidize). Almost all of the blades I've looked at show some oxidation, though it's not as devastating as plain iron would be. I'm pretty impressed with the creativity and sophistication in the field. All of this work and fancy technology for a blade that costs from 8-75 cents.

kasey said:

I'm new to wetshaving, and this is my first post. I've been shaving with an EJ 89L DE with some Derby blades (or as I call them, Derbs for short) for about 3 weeks. I haven't been fully satisfied with my shave (I still get redness on my neck), even though I've seen improvement through technique, so I bought a sampler pack of razor blades a few days ago. Hopefully I can find something that reduces my redness over the Derbs.

Question is, I've noticed that many brands make a blade in chrome, stainless, and platinum (e.g. sharks stainless vs. sharks chrome, etc.). What's the difference between these? They seem like they're usually the same price.

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I've been using Stra Platinums and Derby Extras over the past couple months.

Last weekend, I loaded a Gillette Super Stainless, and it shaves avery bit as well as the Astras and Derbys. In fact, I've had a couple of my best shaves with this blade.

Given that I use a blade for 5-6 shaves then discard, I rather doubt it makes much difference.

As others have said; a good blade is a good blade, and a bad blade is a bad blade. YMMV

+1

Rufust445 said:

The main extra ingredient in stainless steel is chromium. Steel strip used in making blades is anywhere from 9% to 14% chromium. Steel isn't officially stainless unless it has at least 11% chromium. Blade makers who use strip stock with 9% to 11% chromium often use the term "Chrome" instead of stainless, or in some cases as a marketing ploy.

Platinum is used in an edge treatment to harden the edges and make them last longer.

As always with blades, chrome or stainess, YMMV.

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