Explanation on how the Feather DE blade tricks you into believing its Scary Sharp.

The Feather is leading pack in the Great Blade Vote for sharpest and smoothest blade.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/456246-The-great-blade-vote!

I voted for the PolSilver Super Iridium, the Feather is sharper, but I feel that the PolSilver SI has it beat for sharpest and smoothest blade.

CyberJCM said:

"My theory - all DE blades are the same.
...

I don't actually believe this."

Click to expand...

Theory is the wrong word here...theories are substantially backed up with piles and piles of evidence. I think he meant "hypothesis".

I don't agree either...the OP would have to present us with substantiated evidence to make me change my mind.

I think the focus on sharpness is midguided, partly because I don't know how to define sharpness in terms of shaving. The very word shaving even seems wrong.

IMHO, cleaving is a better word. Hair is cut mostly by splitting it, so a razor blade is similar to a axe or cleaver. You want a small angle to develop the initial cut and lead through the material, but close behind that you want a larger angle to help split the hair. But too large an angle will split the hair too quickly, causing it to split up or down its length, rather than straight through.

Manufacturers compromise by using two or three bevels. The first bevel can be done at a very small angle, but that requires it to be pretty long. Each additional bevel will be cut at a larger angle. So a blade with three bevels will probably have a larger edge angle than any blade with two bevels. Successive bevels usually much shorter than the previous bevel.

Note how this increasing angle is almost exactly opposite how most straight razors are made. On straight razors, the angle gets smaller as you get close to the edge, except for the final, very short edge bevel, which necessarily must be at a larger angle.

Disposable take a similar approach to a singing straight razor. The blade itself is very thin, perhaps thin enough to be the wedge part of the blade. All it needs is a sharpened edge to lead the edge through the hair.

But additional bevels have some benefits. For one thing, the blade is thicker near the edge, so it flexes less and has more strength--two attributes you usually want in a cleaver. With three bevels, you can cut that final bevel closer to the edge, which brings it closer to your face, making it easier to use that larger edge bevel. I think you can visualize this by imagining shaving with a blade that has just one very short bevel, almost at a 45 degree angle. Then think through what happens when you make the blade stock thinner.

The matter becomes even more complicated when you consider smoothness. It's not clear at all that a smooth blade cuts better than a ragged one. There's good reason to think a well designed jagged edge would cut hair easier and more effectively. Of course, it might not feel so good against your face. Depends on your tolerance, not only for jagged edges and sharpness, but different configurations might feel different depending on your skin, another complicated subject that involves the cell chemistry and nerves of your face, not just your thin or thick skin.

I also think our hair and skin varies enough across our face--and perhaps through seasons, time of day, diet, weather, and age--so that one blade isn't best for even a single shave. And that's not even considering how long it's been since your last shave. Have I mentioned that I use different blades for different passes, or how I prefer the stout injector blade for a first pass when I haven't shaved in a few days?

No. I really don't see how to sum up a blade in one sharpness number.

yakster said:

The Feather is leading pack in the Great Blade Vote for sharpest and smoothest blade.

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/456246-The-great-blade-vote!

I voted for the PolSilver Super Iridium, the Feather is sharper, but I feel that the PolSilver SI has it beat for sharpest and smoothest blade.

Click to expand...

Agree with the Polsilver SI as the best currently available blade.

Nothing sharper than a Feather, for sure. My experience, though, is that a small compromise on sharpness can be more than outweighed in smoothness, and in the overall subjective experience: witness Indian Greens, GSBs, Med Preps/Labs, Goals, Racers, Russian Permas ... to name a few of my faves.

As for Feathers being scary -- that's all in the mind. I've had fabulous shaves with Feathers, and awful shaves with them. A lot of it is down to how good your technique is on a given day. Plus, after one or two shaves, it's hard to distinguish a Feather from any of the blades named above, IMHO.

luvmysuper said:

Bearing in mind that it is the blade edge that cuts and not the coating, and the quote you posted yourself that says "about 4-6 passes each, it was hard to find any damage to the actual edge", I'll just pass this off as another case of YMMV.

That's the beauty of YMMV, you are as free to believe any hypothesis you choose to cook up as anyone else, even if you are the only one who believes it

I will caution you however about using statements like "the vast majority of us" and "the fact that feathers tend to degrade", because clearly you are not in a majority if you believe that the feather is a dull blade, and your supposition is far from fact, it's merely an opinion. And there are about 40,000 different opinions here.

Afterall, we don't want to spread false rumors about a product to people who may not know better, who may come in here and misinterpret opinion for fact.

In any case, if you do despise them so, I'd suggest sticking with what works for you. No sense in shaving with something you don't enjoy. There is such a vast ocean of blades out there that I'm sure you can find several that agree with your skin type and razor.

Please do feel free to carry on in defense of your idea, but again, please do couch them in terms of hypothesis or opinion, not as theory or fact.

Click to expand...

Well said!

Can't say that I agree with the op one bit. I've never used Astra blades, so I won't comment on something I know nothing about and risk making a fool of myself, but have used both Derby Extra and Feather blades. The Derby Extra blade are absolutely horrible. I'd much rather use 200 grit sand paper. Very inconsistent, tug badly, might be able to get two shaves per side of the blade, cut my face worse than any other blade I've used, and I had new blade stop working mid shave causing blood loss. The Feather blades are the complete opposite of the Derby Extra blade. In fact, the Feather blades work so well for me, I can get 14 two pass shaves out of one blade. 100 blades will last me nearly four years. Now that's saying something, when I can use one blade instead of four in a two-week period. So, now that I've given my nickels worth, good day to you and happy shaving.

Feathers are interesting to me. I have used many of all of the blades here, Derby, Astra, Feather. In the beginning, Astra became the smoothest, sharpest blade I'd used after using both Feather and Derby. After using Astras for a while and developing my technique, I wanted to see if I could find a sharper blade and for me, Gillette Silver Blues became just that. Sharper and smoother than an Astra from what I could tell. After developing my technique even more, I went back to Derbys and still could not use them. Feathers however, I found I could use and still can. On the first shave, the Feather is abrasive, but the next two shaves for me are smooth and fantastic. I do find however, after fluctuating back and forth between the Feather and Silver Blue, that the Feather does not give me a closer shave for some reason. Not sure if I'm too tentative or what the deal is, but Feathers ARE sharp, the sharpest I've used. The problem is, they are not as smooth on my face as Gillette Silver Blues or Polsilvers which I get a more enjoyable, closer shave from, because I can utilize their sharpness/smoothness combo.

SiBurning said:

I think the focus on sharpness is midguided, partly because I don't know how to define sharpness in terms of shaving. The very word shaving even seems wrong.

IMHO, cleaving is a better word. Hair is cut mostly by splitting it, so a razor blade is similar to a axe or cleaver. You want a small angle to develop the initial cut and lead through the material, but close behind that you want a larger angle to help split the hair. But too large an angle will split the hair too quickly, causing it to split up or down its length, rather than straight through.

Click to expand...

A slant doesn't cleave, so much as slices.

IMO, the proper word is "raze", which applies regardless of the means used. It's funny to me that I never see the word never used, seeing as how we're all using razors.

I had taken up the practice of palm stropping my Feathers and Astras to ensure a smooth first shave. I found no need to do this with the PolSilvers. Now I have a carton of each of these three blades and try to mix things up.

yakster said:

I had taken up the practice of palm stropping my Feathers and Astras to ensure a smooth first shave. I found no need to do this with the PolSilvers. Now I have a carton of each of these three blades and try to mix things up.

Click to expand...

Interesting, palm stropping. Have to give it a try. Specifics you can share as how too?

Nothing too scientific, heard about it hear along with corking as a way to get good shaves on a new blade. I would just drag the bare blade along my palm backwards so that there's no cutting action like I would if I were stropping a straight razor on a strop. Seems like it would go against common sense and remove some of the coating, but seems to work for me.

Thanks.

I used an Astra yesterday and a Feather today in the same razor. Feather gave me a better shave, so I'll be sticking with them for now. Of course, YMMV!

Interesting theory. IMHO, all blades are sharp. The differences are really in the bevel and the coatings, not the edges. I have tried around 30 different blade types, and I haven't found one that is any more or less likely to cause nicks and weepers. Some are definitely smoother than others, but I still contend that's a different variable than sharpness. Just my $0.02

Feather blades last 7 days in my ATT. But if I use my Wolfman OC they last a week.

Explanation on how the Feather DE blade tricks you into believing its Scary Sharp

Click to expand...

Simple - by being sharp.

jackgoldman123 said:

Feather blades last 7 days in my ATT. But if I use my Wolfman OC they last a week.

Click to expand...

That right there is solid math for a world where five out of four people don't understand fractions.

GADify said:

That right there is solid math for a world where five out of four people don't understand fractions.

Click to expand...

Five out of 3 blades last me 4 days.