I suspect the same. Since they are not meant to be used repeatedly, using the easiest to process material makes manufacturing sense. The disposable philosophy is maximized if the blade gets sharp, but degrades quickly. The blade will never see really bad shaving angles, like a straight does, either.
Straight sharpness vs DE question
- Thread starter benjtaylor
- Start date
Many DE blades are coated (usually Teflon/PTFE I think?)
Ahh, well the bevel angle isn't going to be narrower on a DE than on a straight. Straights are 16° - 17° included usually, and that's about as narrow an angle as is possible without the edge becoming too weak and chippy.
I wouldn't have, because that's wrong. Measurements of the Feather Pro Super blade for their Artist Club razors show a final bevel angle of about 19 degrees. Typical DE blades are in the ballpark of 25 degrees, though.
With regard to the materials for DE blades, I suspect martensitic stainless tempered to about the same range as a straight is the rule. If I were a betting man, I would guess Sandvik 13C26 (originally developed as a razor blade steel though also used in other things these days, still supplied in strips suitable for punching out DE blades) is a very typical alloy for these purposes, though Gillette's plants in Russia probably aren't springing for the real deal from Sweden (I think GOST has a standard for a generic equivalent)
Where can I find these measurements? Or have you measured them yourself?
A guy rented time at the University of Western Ontario's electron microscopy lab, sectioned a bunch of blades with a focused ion beam, them measured them via SEM. Some folks have issues with his experimental methods on the other posts he's made on his blog (and his bespoke definitions of "keen" and "sharp" are useful for his purposes but not really intuitive), but I don't think there's any reason to doubt that his measurements are accurate.
Alright then. The Feather AC Super is not the best example in existence to use to support the observation that assuming a DE, or otherwise mass produced disposable shaving edge, is based on a more acute angle than a typical straight razor has. That's good to know. And shame on Seraphim for the 25 degree figure, too. And shame on me for perpetuating the error.
Still, I find it interesting that it's intuitive to assume that the very sharp/keen blades that are made from relatively thin material shave effectively because of a geometry advantage that amounts to having a more acute bevel angle.
I kind of like the definitions of sharp vs keen that were given. Lots of stuff happening at that magnification.
Still, I find it interesting that it's intuitive to assume that the very sharp/keen blades that are made from relatively thin material shave effectively because of a geometry advantage that amounts to having a more acute bevel angle.
I kind of like the definitions of sharp vs keen that were given. Lots of stuff happening at that magnification.
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