What's new

Blade coatings: what do they mean.practically?

Most blades offered for sale are either stainless or coated in platinum. Others have a coating of teflon, chrome, titanium, or iridium.
From a practical point of view, how do these variously coated blades affect your shave ? Comfort ? Sharpness ? Aggressiveness ?
 
Personally, I pay no attention to that. Early on, I sampled a couple of dozen brands, tried them all, and simply reordered the ones that worked best for me. Much of the claims and labels are just advertising, IMO. No doubt, some on B&B may disagree.
 
Nothing, really. Marketing hype. What difference could a coating possibly make on an item that you are going to use 4-5 times and discard?
 
As far as I know the coatings is for two things

1-rust prevention
2-helps prevent snagging and buildup

From reading about older blades that didn't have these coatings, the blades would rust and lose their edge a lot faster.
 
I know that some drill bits are coated with titanium to provide lubrication. The same could apply to blades. Anything that reduces friction may provide a smoother shave. Hydrophobic coatings, like PTFE, may also make it easier to rinse the blade clean, which also might reduce friction. This is all theory though; the proof is in the shave. Also, if you start with a crappy blade, you'll end up with a coated crappy blade (CCB).
 
Most blades offered for sale are either stainless or coated in platinum. Others have a coating of teflon, chrome, titanium, or iridium.
From a practical point of view, how do these variously coated blades affect your shave ? Comfort ? Sharpness ? Aggressiveness ?

From a practical point of view, the writing on the label is more or less meaningless. Anyone can print "iridium" or "platinum" on the wrapper or blade. No one seems to enforce any labeling standards on blades.

In theory materials matter quite a bit. All modern DE blades made for shaving have an anti-friction coating, even the ones sold as plain "stainless". That anti-friction coating makes shaving more comfortable. However not all anti-friction coatings will be the same, and this is one reason why YMMV is so strong in blades. Underneath that anti-friction coating there may be a hardness coating: platinum, chromium, etc. — though I am skeptical about iridium. If there is a hardness coating, it is meant to make the blade last longer.

The wiki has a bit more on this, at Razor_blades.
 
Long before the various alloys and coatings, blades were made of carbon steel, which is iron, carbon, and traces of other substances. Carbon steel rusts quickly,especially if exposed to water. The rusting alone required either careful drying, rinsing in isopropyl alcohol, frequent blade changes, and combinations thereof. When stainless blades debuted 50 years ago, they were pitched as having sharpness and longevity. Where DE has survived, some coatings are still promoted on that basis, and others on claims that they enable smoothness. YMMV.
 
Long before the various alloys and coatings, blades were made of carbon steel, which is iron, carbon, and traces of other substances. Carbon steel rusts quickly,especially if exposed to water. The rusting alone required either careful drying, rinsing in isopropyl alcohol, frequent blade changes, and combinations thereof. When stainless blades debuted 50 years ago, they were pitched as having sharpness and longevity. Where DE has survived, some coatings are still promoted on that basis, and others on claims that they enable smoothness. YMMV.

What about when uncoated stainless debuted in 1930 as the Gillette Kroman, and failed? And then as the Darwin cobalt steel, and failed? And then as post-WWII blades like the Silver Star?

Coatings made a difference.
 
I can't prove one way or the other if blade coatings help. All I know for sure is that my go to blade ,Personna Blue, is coated and very smooth on my face where all other blades are not smooth at all.

Blues give a nip/scrape free shave where other blades make me look like a man who lost a street fight I'm so cut up! :w00t::w00t:
 
I imagine blade coatings are applied as a way to help prevent rust and encourage water resilience for the edge. It wouldn't make a significant difference from one coating type to the next but I don't think a significant difference is what manufacturers are looking for. some skin is oily, some is dry. Some skin is very soft to the touch and some feels a bit rougher. Each coating type will help blade productivity based on your face. This is why so many people have extreme differences when talking about a blade. I personally do not like the Personna lab blue or Astra very much. I absolutely love Gillette Platinum and Gillette 7 O'clock yellow. Voskhod is nice and I can get the job done with a Derby but cutting efficiency is lacking on Derby however the blade is super smooth so I can successfully shave with it. I'm not sure if this is the coating or if the blade edge is just very very polished.
 
Have always wondered about this.

Appreciate your expert comments. My summary is that coatings do not mean much on modern razor blades.

Certainly open to correction by the gurus.
 
For me, my experience is that PTFE coated blades are smoothest for me. I can to this conclusion during my initial blade sampling pack. I landed on Gillette Silver Blues as my preferred blade, & GSB are PTFE coated.
 
I think some of these coatings are worth something ...especially for carbon steel blades. They tend to resist corrosion a little better. I also find that the first shave is smoother with a coated blade such as a Voskhod or a Personna Blue/Lab. Now if you were to ask me does it make any difference in comfort to a Wilkinson Sword Classic (which is also PTFE treated) I would say no - I find these to be a bit rough out of the wrapper).
 
Last edited:
For me, my experience is that PTFE coated blades are smoothest for me. I can to this conclusion during my initial blade sampling pack. I landed on Gillette Silver Blues as my preferred blade, & GSB are PTFE coated.

Where did you find out that the Gillette Silver Blue are PTFE coated?
 
Veering very slightly off the topic at hand, but on the topic of blade coatings: I can't remember which blade it was, but I've had one which had a wrapper that stated "Please rinse razor blade in hot water prior to use to remove preservative for a smoother shave".
Has anyone else ever read anything like that?

I know we all rinse the blade in one way or another throughout the shave, even if it's just rinsing off the soap and hair, but does anyone actively rinse their blade before using it at all for that reason?

TPL
 
Top Bottom